Tag: Pelham

Pembroke finishes off Pelham to advance to D-II final

By: KJ Cardinal

ROCHESTER, NH – Top-seeded Pembroke used a 21-8 fourth quarter to finish off No. 4 Pelham, 57-42, in Division II semifinal action on Monday night at the Rochester Recreation Center.

The Spartans advance to the title game to take on No. 3 Sanborn on Sunday at 12 noon at UNH.

Pembroke controlled the game throughout as the Spartans jumped out to a 13-6 lead after one quarter and later led 29-20 at the break. Pelham cut into the lead in the third quarter as the Pythons trailed by just two entering the final stanza, 36-34. But, the fourth quarter belong to Pembroke as they rolled to the victory.

Andrew Fitzgerald led all scorers with 18 points for the Spartans, while Evan Berkeley added 13. Pelham was paced by 13 points from Brady O’Connor.

Check out the full photo gallery by KJ Cardinal…

Pembroke Boys vs. Pelham (03.10.25) - KJ CARDINAL
Pembroke Boys vs. Pelham (03.10.25) – KJ CARDINAL
114 photos

Strong second half sends Laconia past Pelham to semis

By: KJ Cardinal

LACONIA, NH – Top-seeded Laconia outscored No. 8 Pelham by nine in the second half to pull away to a 61-48 victory in quarterfinal action of the Division II state tournament on Saturday.

Macy Swormstedt led all scorers with a game-high 27 points for the Sachems, while Madeline Mousseau added 14.

The Pythons were paced by 19 points from Ava Milley and 10 from Addie Breault.

Laconia advances to take on No. 4 Oyster River in the state semifinal at Pinkerton Academy on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Check out the full photo gallery by JS Sherburne…

Pelham Girls at Laconia (03.08.25) - JS Sherburne
Pelham Girls at Laconia (03.08.25) – JS Sherburne
96 photos

Pelham downs Coe-Brown in semifinal overtime thriller

By: KJ Cardinal

PELHAM, NH – No. 4 Pelham needed overtime to dispatch No. 5 Coe-Brown in a Division II quarterfinal on Friday night.

The Pythons advance to the semifinals and will face top-seeded Pembroke on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Recreation Center.

Pelham came out firing as they netted 23 first-quarter points and held a 23-18 lead after one. The two squads played even in the second quarter as the Pythons led 30-25 at the break.

The third quarter belonged to Coe-Brown as the Bears erased the five-point deficit to lead 45-42 heading to the fourth quarter. Pelham would go on to tie the game and force overtime at 55-55.

In the extra session, both teams were limited to just one field goal apiece, but the difference came at the charity stripe. Coe-Brown went 3-for-6 from the line, while Pelham was 9-for-12, including a perfect 6-for-6 from Justin Bowlan.

Pelham was led by Luke Estell’s game-high 19 points, including three triples. Brady Hegan and Shawn Bodenrader netted 18 and 11 points, respectively. The Bears were paced by 18 points from Matt Flanagan, 14 from Jack Matson and 11 from James McKane.

Check out the full photo gallery by our Jill Stevens…

Coe-Brown Boys vs Pelham (3-7-25)-Jillana Stevens
Coe-Brown Boys vs Pelham (3-7-25)-Jillana Stevens
123 photos

Pelham flies past Kingswood in Division-II first round

By: Logan Paronto

PELHAM, NH – No. 4 Pelham poured in 26 points in the second quarter to fly past No. 13 Kingswood, 68-40, in Division II opening round play on Tuesday night.

Brady O’Connor nailed three from downtown in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points, while Brady Hegan added a team-high 15 to the scoresheet.

Brady Moulton paced the Knights with 12 points.

Pelham will host No. 5 Coe-Brown in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

Kingswood ends its season with a 7-12 record.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…

Kingswood Boys at Pelham (03.04.25) - Jillana Stevens
Kingswood Boys at Pelham (03.04.25) – Jillana Stevens
93 photos

Dulac’s halfcourt buzzer-beater lifts Oyster River past Pelham

By: KJ Cardinal

PELHAM, NH – Trailing by two with 2.2 seconds left, Oyster River’s Cole Dulac took the inbound pass, made two dribbles and threw up a half-court heave that banked in as time expired to give the Bobcats a 74-73 victory over Pelham on Friday night in the regular-season finale for both clubs.

Dulac finished with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Matt Jernigan led all Bobcats with a game-high 25 points, while Brendan Kirby (13), Max Scopel (10) both added double-digits.

The Pythons were paced by four players in double figures: Justin Bowlan (14), Shawn Bodenrader (13), Luke Estell (12) and Brady Hegan (11).

With the win, Oyster River finishes the regular season at 13-5 and will be the No. 7 seed for the upcoming Division II state tournament. Pelham falls to 14-4 and is in a four way tie for third.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…

Oyster River Boys vs Pelham (2-28-25) -Jillana Stevens
Oyster River Boys vs Pelham (2-28-25) -Jillana Stevens
91 photos

Milford pushes past Pelham

PELHAM, NH – Milford went on the road and earned a 61-49 victory at Pelham on Monday night.

The Spartans were led by a game-high 21 points from Avery Fuller, 12 from Shea Hansen and 11 from Ellianna Nassy. Sophia Guinazzo and Grace Riley both netted 16 points apiece to pace the Pythons.

With the win, Milford improves to 8-2 on the season, while Pelham falls to 6-5.

Check out the full photo gallery by our Jill Stevens…

Milford Girls at Pelham (02.03.25) - Jillana Stevens
Milford Girls at Pelham (02.03.25) – Jillana Stevens
90 photos

Strong second half sends Pelham past Lebanon

By: KJ Cardinal

PELHAM, NH – Host Pelham started slow, but finished strong to record its eighth-straight victory with a 78-52 win over Lebanon on Tuesday night.

The Raiders jumped out to an 18-13 lead after one quarter of play before the Pythons poured in 22 second-quarter points to take a 35-30 lead to the half. Pelham outscored Lebanon 43-22 in the second half to cruise to the victory. 

Brady O’Connor led all scorers with a game-high 18 points for the Pythons. Brady Hegan (17 points), Justin Bowlan (12) and Shawn Bodenrader (12) all netted double digits as well for Pelham. Tyler Rainey paced Lebanon with 15 points.

With the win, Pelham improves to 8-2 on the season, while Lebanon falls to 1-8.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens… 

Lebanon Boys vs Pelham (1-28-24)- Jillana Stevens
Lebanon Boys vs Pelham (1-28-24)- Jillana Stevens
81 photos

NHIAA preseason heats up

By: KJ Cardinal

Just like the unseasonably warm weather, the 2024-25 NHIAA season is beginning to heat up as well.

Yesterday marked the first practice date for Division IV squads with many holding tryouts around the state. D-III follows suit next week (Nov. 25) with D-I & D-II just seven days later as well (Dec. 2).

The D-IV season official tips off with 2024-25 opening night being held on Friday, Dec. 6, while Divisions I, II & III throw it up on Dec. 13.

Before we get to the regular-season slate, however, there are six official NHIAA sanctioned preseason jamborees on the docket. Check out the events below as this will be your first chance to see these squads in action…

DATEGENDEREVENTHOSTPARTICIPANTS
December 1GirlsPreseason Basketball JamboreeLin-WoodHoly Family, Concord Christian, Franklin, Lin-Wood
December 3BoysNewfound InvitationalNewfoundInter-Lakes, Winnisquam, Laconia, Plymouth, White Mountains, Newfound
December 7BoysBelmont Boys Basketball Preseason JamboreeBelmontMascoma, Monadnock, Newport, Belmont
December 7BoysPinkerton Basketball JamboreePinkertonCentral Catholic, Malden Catholic, Salem, Greater Lawrence Tech, Pinkerton
December 7GirlsPreseason JamboreeKennettWhite Mountains, Inter-Lakes, Berlin, Fryeburg, Kingswood, Plymouth, Gilford, Laconia, Prospect Mountain, Moultonborough, Littleton, Kennett
December 7BoysNH Sports Page Basketball JamboreeLondonderryNashua South, Kearsarge, Pelham, St. Thomas, Pinkerton, Windham, Trinity, Bow, Portsmouth, Pembroke, Londonderry

Pelham downs Coe-Brown in a semifinal overtime thriller

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – In a game you didn’t want to see end and one that you hated to see either team lose, top-seeded Pelham needed overtime to defeat No. 4 Coe-Brown, 59-56, in semifinal action of the NHIAA Division II Boys Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Oyster River High School in Durham.

The Pythons advance to the title game where they will take on No. 2 Hanover on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

The Bears were ready to play as head coach Dave Smith saw his squad come out the gates quickly with 17 1st-quarter points and take a two-point lead after the opening eight minutes of action. The Pythons responded in the 2nd and took a one-point lead to the break.

Neither team could get separation from the other throughout this one as the largest lead either team held was a mere six points.

CBNA won the 3rd quarter by two points to take one-point lead to the final frame, 41-40.

The 4th wasn’t for the faint of heart. Pelham’s Zach James connected on a three-pointer with 2:48 left to give the Pythons a 51-47 lead. Coe-Brown wasted no time in responding as James McKane’s only basket of the game came just 26 seconds later to cut the lead to two, 51-49, with 2:22 left in regulation.

CBNA’s Connor Bagnell stole an inbounds pass with 38 seconds to go to give the Bears the ball with a chance to tie the game. After nearly turning the ball over to start the possession and getting an offensive rebound off a Quinn Salter miss, Coe-Brown called a timeout with 10 ticks remaining.

The Bears’ Ryan Kouchoukos drove the lane, beating James off the dribble, and was fouled from behind as his layup banked in to tie the game at 51-51 with 4.7 seconds left to play. Kouchoukos would miss the ensuing free throw and a Peter Hemmerdinger’s desperation three at the buzzer came up short for Pelham and this game was headed to overtime.

The extra session belonged to Hemmerdinger as he netted six points in overtime and opened up the scoring with a three-pointer in front of the Pelham bench with 3:09 left to play. He connected on a floater on the following possession to push Pelham’s lead to four, 56-52.

A pair of Bagnell free throws with just over two minutes to play cut the Pelham lead to two, 56-54. The Python offense would kill more than a minute off the clock before Adrian Villanueva was fouled with 50.7 seconds remaining. Villanueva made the first of two free throws to push Pelham’s lead to three, 57-54.

James and Hemmerdinger would each make a free throw down the stretch to put the game out of reach for the Bears.

The Pythons were paced by 17 points from James, while Hemmerdinger (14), Dom Herrling (13) and Connor Travis (10) all tallied double-digits as well. The Bears were led by 17 points apiece from Salter and Jack Matson and 16 from Bagnell.

Check out the full highlights by Tim Lee…

Oyster River was painted red and black last night as Coe-Brown showed up and showed out to support the Bears down the road in Durham. CBNA may not have come away with the victory, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of support or school spirit…

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Jeff Criss of Perfect Photos…

Fast start propels Pelham past Hollis-Brookline

Pelham jumped out to a 21-7 lead after the 1st quarter and never looked back as the Pythons rolled past Hollis-Brookline, 69-44, on Friday night.

Pelham was paced by a game-high 20 points from Olivia Todd, 14 from Sophia Guinazzo and 12 from Grace Riley. The Cavaliers were led by 15 points from Emily Tebbetts.

With the win, the Pythons improve to 7-4, while the Cavs fall to 5-5.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…