feb 12th games,another fantastic night coming up

Pinkerton Dover was not pretty game. Seemed like everyone was in foul trouble on both sides. Burt had two quick ones (terrible charge call on one) and sat most of first half. Pinkerton was up most of the game until the fourth, couple lead changes in the fourth than tied with 30 seconds left and Dover has ball. Pinkerton comes up with quick steal and ended up making shot with about 4 seconds left for the win.

That's good, I was hoping that it was not true. To bad for the Central Girls that could have been a big win.
Congrates for taking them to OT. Now they need to focus on Londenderry, they do not want to go into
the tournament as 4th seed.

Central/winny boys- Winny led the entire way, even with dunn and gould in foul trouble.
The ferge kid from central was lights out from 3 point land and almost pulled a stunning come from behind at the end of the game.
Thought Cornin from Winny outplayed the much taller wickey.

Try not to fall asleep reading all of this. Or just read it tomorrow over a bowl of cereal, 12 pancakes, 3 english muffins and a plate of eggs (that's probably how long it will take you to read this mammoth of an article) on http://www.nhsportspage.com/.


The Trinity Pioneers have earned the right to call themselves Champions after winning the NH Class L State Title last March. But Coach Dave Keefe and Pioneer players have had to prove all year that they belong in the contender conversation this season. Friday night's tilt at 9-2 Bishop Guertin was the perfect opportunity to tap the rest of Class L on the shoulder and say, "hey, we're still here, and we're gonna be standing right behind you come March, so you better watch your back".

Despite missing the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities from the line within the last 24 seconds, Trinity escaped the "Collidgidome" in Nashua with a 48-45 victory. Connor Green (9 points) for BG had an opportunity to put BG ahead with 7 seconds to play when he was able to penetrate to the left baseline and pull up for a contested shot that fell just short. Pioneer Senior point guard Phil Hayden (12 points) would nail 2 free throws to put Trinity up 3 with less than 2 seconds to play. Players Lounge member Steven Cuipa's half-court heave at the buzzer bounced off the back rim giving Trinity the victory.

The intensity and grit displayed by both teams in the last 30 seconds of the game were what this entire game was all about. Although the game only reached the 40's in overall score, the action was non-stop and speed of the game fast and furious. With both squads opening in a man-to-man the matchups would be key to stopping the other's very potent offense. Sean McClung (10 points) , the Class L leading scorer at 19.2 points per contest, had the assignment of guarding Trinity 3 point specialist Zach Stevens (14 points), and vice versa. The other big matchup was BG's Green facing Trinity' All-State favorite David Madol (game high 16 points, 5 blocks), averaging a respectful 15.5/gm himself.

Madol would open the scoring quickly, pulling up on a dribble drive to the left hash for 2, and scoring over McClung in the lane to put Trinity up early 4-2. The BG "Big 3" of Scott St. Lawrence (12 points), McLung and Green would score in succession in that order with each assisting on the other's bucket to give the lead back to the Cardinals at 8-6 halfway through the first.

Against the man defense Trinity was imploring, BG's capable ball-handling bigs were able to take their Pioneer opposition off the dribble, and create opportunities for themselves or for others once penetrating the lane.

On the other side of the court, Keefe was begging his players to slip screens and curl off picks in their motion offense. Hunter Viscarello and Hayden would both hit long jumpers, Hayden's a 3, to give the Pioneers what appeared to be a comfortable 5 point lead with less than a minute to go in the quarter. But a mid-range jumpshot by the steady and consistent St. Lawrence and a finish and foul on a breakaway by McClung quickly knotted the score at 13 after the first frame.

The second quarter would have a much different tone to the ball game. Both teams experienced with zone defense and the first play of the quarter for the Pioneers had Hayden at the top of the key, and Madol setting a screen down low, then sealing his man to the high side opening himself up towards the basket. A bullet to Madol from Hayden gave him an easy layup. A Stevens drive and 8' floater gave Trinity a 17-13 lead. BG again responsed after Madol blocked a St. Lawrence jumper, the ball trickled to a wide open Green who nailed a deep 3, closing the margin back to 1.

Madol and St. Lawrence would trade jump-shots over the next 2 minutes. With 4:26 remaining in the half, Hayden again would inbound the ball from under his own hoop, this time outlet-ing to Madol at the high post, then stepping in under the basket, sealing his man and scoring for 2. It would be the last they'd hear of the ball swishing through the net for the remainder of half, although they held a 23-18 lead at the time.

Guertin's ensuing 9-0 run included a very nifty pass from St. Lawrence to a backdoor, baseline cutting McClung for a reverse layup and foul. A no look pass from McClung to Green streaking down the lane led to two foul shots and a 27-23 halftime lead for the Cardinals.

The 2/3 zone defense Coach Jim Migneault had his kids in had struggled to stay tight in the first 4 minutes of the second quarter. Suddenly though, the zone clamped down, not allowing penetration and contesting the outside shooters, leaving the Pioneers scoreless over the last 4 minutes of the half. For the game, only Hayden had a 3 pointer (2) and players like Stevens, freshman Travis Descoteaux and Gordon Duffley were shut out from outside despite attempting at least 10 3 pointers between them.

The Trinity halftime speech was likely centered around their defensive assignments. Trinity was never going to outscore BG (leading Class L with 68.4 ppg). But what the Pioneers (2nd in Class L allowing only 46.3 ppg) could do is prevent them from scoring.

Trinity would do just that opening the 3rd, using several defensive looks including a 3/2 zone and switching back to man basics as needed. During a stretch of the first 4 minutes the Pioneer version of the "Big 3" all scored as Madol pulled up for a 10 footer, Hayden hit a 3 against the zone from corner and Stevens tipped in a Madol missed layup to cap a 7-0 run and give the lead back to Trinity 30-27 with 3:55 remaining. The Trinity 3 would combine for 42 of the Pioneer 48 points on the night.

The teams traded buckets over the next 3 minutes until Madol aggressively blocked 2 successive shot attempts by BG and fouled Green on the 3rd straight block. Green would miss both free throws, sending the very faithful and well represented Pioneer fan base into a frenzy.

The block sequence appeared to push Madol into the next gear, and he took the ball into the lane on the next possession and went to the rim hard, getting fouled and falling harshly on his back, his head snapping back within inches of the hardwood. After being down for about a minute, he got up, and calmly sank both free throws. The atmosphere had reached playoff levels, and both teams were playing like it was their last game.

In the fourth quarter, another nice pass from St. Lawrence at the high post to a cutting McClung closed the gap to 40-39 with just over 5 minutes to play. Trinity answered with their own high-low this time with Madol curling off a Stevens pick, collecting a pass and dumping it back down to Stevens rolling to the hoop for 2 with 3 minutes to play.

Missing at this point was one Connor Green of the BG "Big 3" equation. While his teammates had aptly stepped in during his 0-6 second half performance from the field, the last 3 or 4 minutes to this point had been played without him. Down 1 with 2 to play, BG began doubling the ball handler, forcing a unsettled situation. But seasoned PG Hayden was able to find Stevens alone under the hoop twice in the last 2 minutes for uncontested layups.

With 38 seconds to play, coming out of a timeout facing a 2/3 zone BG swung the ball around the perimeter until they found McClung open in the lefthand corner for 3, which rimmed out. With no rebounders underneath it was a shot they may have wanted to have back. But on the inbounds play on their end of the court, BG stole the pass when Trinity couldn't get it to Hayden, and Mike Kelly finished a layup making it 46-43.

Trinitys Viscarello missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and that led to a break out and a Cuipa layup closing the gap to 1. Again, Hayden was sent to the line with a 1-and-1 opportunity only to miss the front end, giving BG one last chance with 7 seconds to play. Enter a cold Connor Green, who to this point had been sitting upwards of 5 minutes of game time, and easily 15 minutes of real time. Inbounding under their own hoop the ball went to Green who made a drive to the left baseline and rose up for the jumpshot. A good look at the basket, but not an aggressive play at the rim that is typically sought after in this situation. Hayden closed the game out with his 2 free throws.

The win for Trinity on the road puts them at 9-3, now tied with BG for second place in the league standings. Trinity's got a big week ahead of them hosting Merrimack and traveling to Hudson to face a Alvirne squad nobody is quite sure what to make of at this point in the season. After that the schedule eases up a bit leading up to the playoffs

Bishop Guertin still sits nicely in the top tier of Class L, but has a tough stretch in the near future facing Pinkerton, Memorial, Winnacunnet and West successively. They'll need to win 3 of those 4 to ensure a top 4 seed going into the playoffs.

In what likely could be a quarterfinal, semifinal or even championship matchup, this game was one that epitomizes the Class L season to date. Any team, on any given night, can win in any venue. A superbly played, coached and officiated game, this was New Hampshire Class L basketball at its best.

Nice report Assistant. For your information I read it eating pork fried rice and house lo mein.

Another wild and exciting night of basketball in the state. How about the Central girls almost stealing one from Winny? That's unbelievable. Central boys with another hard luck loss. I talked to people who were at the Memorial - North game and they said the last 4 minutes were very exciting with Memorial getting the big comeback win.

When you see a night's action like tonight it makes you yearn for the days when they did the Quarterfinal quadrupleheader in Durham a few years ago. There is no question that 3 of the 4 quarterfinals if not all 4 will be unbelievable games this year. Unfortunately, due to economics, basketball fans can only see 1 game on Saturday March 13th. That is a crying shame.

I would like to thank my basketball friends for keeping me updated on the exciting games tonight. I wasn't able to attend any of the games, but I had a very satisfying night of basketball.

The BG/Trinity game was one of the best I've seen in the 7 years I've been coaching/covering Class L in NH. Really a fantastic game in a great environment. And as you read in my column, the officials were great as well.

Interestingly there were only 27 fouls called for the entire game. The flow of the game was completely dictated by the players, and although it was a physical game, it was fairly officiated both ways. BG fans might say differently but from a unbiased observer, great game all around.

Other scores tonight:

Alvirne 75
Keene 49

Pinkerton 49
Dover 47

Pinkerton (49): Park 1-0-2, Colbert 3-2-8, Williams 1-0-2, Light 2-0-4, Curry 1-1-3, Patrikis 2-0-4, Proulx 3-2-9, Matthieu 7-3-17. Totals 20-8-48

Dover (47): Al-Darraji 2-2-7, Lund 0-0-0, Ja. Howard 0-0-0, Mejia 0-0-0, Burt -8-17, Dube 1-2-4, Taveras 0-0-0, Faustino 3-3-9, Duffy 3-1-10. Totals 13-16-47

3-pointers: P — Proulx; D — Duffy 3, Burt, Al-Darraji

Goffstown 41
Exeter 53

Winny 56
Central 53

Merrimack 61
South 51

Salem 33
West 58

Salem (33): Klecan 0-0-0, Jake Matthews 0-0-0, Ruffen 0-0-0, Jared Matthews 1-0-2, Baldwin 0-0-0, Lorenz 2-1-5, LaRosa 6-4-20, Henrick 0-0-0, Cannone 1-0-2, Meisser 0-2-2, Meisner 0-0-0, O'Shaughnessy 0-0-0, Williams 1-0-2, Totals 11-7-33

West (58): Martin 4-1-9, Abdulla 0-2-2, Valentin 10-0-22, Gonzalez 3-3-9, Asselin 6-0-12, Ilic 2-0-4, Totals 25-6-58

Londonderry 61
Timberlane 29

Londonderry (61): Champa 2-0-5, Ball 1-0-2, Schwalbe 3-0-6, McMullen 2-3-8, Colby 3-1-8, Sanborn 2-0-6, Finnegan 6-2-14, Flanders 4-1-12, Doucette 0-0-0, Martinez 0-0-0. Totals 22-7-61

Timberlane (29): Gilman 0-1-1, Baker 2-0-4, Siemering 3-0-6, Faia 2-1-6, Matatall 3-1-7, Sloane 1-1-5, Carrigan 0-0-0, Early 0-0-0, Cassidy 0-0-0, Bidgood 0-0-0, Breen 0-0-0, Perry 0-0-0. Totals 12-3-29

3-pointers: L — Champa, Schwalkbe 2, McMullen, Colby, Sanborn 2, Flanders 3; T — Sloane Faia

Came across this Greater Nashua focused HS sports blog the other day - check it out they do a nice job covering all different sports.

http://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/

Sam Walker's shot was NOT a 3 pointer (whether she was fouled on the shot was debatable)......and I AM a big CHS fan. Each official seemed to utilize "different mechanics" on the shot, but it was the correct call. The officiating was shaky at times both ways (they gave Bakolas her fourth foul in the 3rd quarter when it was committed by Walker), but each team had their chances. It was great to see such an intense girls game. I don't see many girls games during the year but this was one I am glad I did not miss. I am definitely going to take in a few more of these games down the stretch!

Great game at lund rd last night,Madol impressed me with his ball handling skills.I now find myself rooting for Merrimack tuesday so bg can stay in the top 4.Judging by the way Coach Migs was acting after Green took that last shot,I don't think that was the play he drew up after the timeout.One humorous note for T@F,late in the game Remillard saw some blood on Hayden,and told the ref that the guy was bleeding all over him.It took about 3 -4 minutes for the refs to sort it all out{turns out Madol had a cut on his hand}Meanwhile,Hayden and remi are jawing back and forth{I heard alot of mothers were involved in the conversation}.These are my observations FROM THE BLEACHERS LAST NIGHT. Trinity has the horses to go all the way,Madol is the best player I have seen this year {who doesn't wear green and gold}.I like Hayden's toughness.Keefe is a great coach,but he doesn't use his bench very much,that could be an issue come playoffs if someone gets in foul trouble.From the BG side,coach Migs seems comfortable having alot of juniors out there with ST Lawrence at the end of close games,this can only help them come March.I have heard people say BG has too much depth,for me that's like saying you have to much good pitching.One other note,I don't believe Green is 100 % yet,so that might be a reason his minutes were down.

IMO Madol is the best player in Class L regardless of jersey. Trinitys system is well suited for his skill set and Keefe gives him freedom to create and do his thing when the time is right.

The blood incident was painful as it broke up the flow for a good 5 minutes. BG fans were colorful in their views of the refereeing in the final few minutes, blood incident included, but I thought both officials had a above average night in front of a tough crowd.

I thought the ref's did a good job,you may be right Madol might be player of the year.I'm just partial to ST.lawrence because I have seen firsthand how much he means to the team.He is the glue that holds that team together. His game is much more then stats{even though he has good stats},it's his leadership that has allowed this team to flourish.I would put Larosa,Madol, Floras,McClung, and St lawrence as my candidates. I left off the player from West because of the short fuse.I am sure there are many deserving players,this is just my short list.

Big Guy- Thanks for the story behind the stories from the BG- Trinity game. Does this kid Remy from BG spend his summers knocking down hornet's nests and stirring them up? He sure does a good job of stirring up hornet's nests on the basketball courts.

There was a "blood incident" at the Pinkerton CHS game as well.

When a player has a blood incident, does the game stop for him to get cleaned up or is the game continue with another player?
I ask this, as the CHS/winny JV game, it happened and the chs coach was stalling to get that player back on the court.
After awhile, the ref made them replace him.

T&F, He spends his summers taking candy from babies.A classic case of football player{olb/RB} playing hoops.What he lacks in talent, he makes up with desire,aggressiveness,and a whole lot of heart.The ironic thing is off the court,he is the nicest kid you could ever meet.

NH Hoop guy - in the blood incident you are talking about a player must be substituted for when blood is discovered on his body or uniform. The only way a coach can keep that player in the game is to take a time out and have that player be ready to re-enter the game at the end of the time out. Blood on the body most times can be fixed with a quick band aid and tape. If there's blood on the uniform then it becomes more of an issue. A bloodied uniform can't be used in the game again. A substitute shirt or shorts has to be used. It is legal for a player on the end of the bench to "give up" his shirt or shorts to a starter, etc. for the rest of the game and not face a penalty in the scorebook for changing numbers for that starter, etc., if it is a uniform top that needs to be replaced. If a coach chooses not to use a TO for a bloodied player, then that player has to come out and can't re-enter the game until the next dead ball after time goes off the clock and the player has to be cleaned up.

They basically stalled the game for Madol to get the blood cleaned up wherever it had come from. Not sure if it was his or not. But he didn't come out.

That's interesting with the Madol blood incident, Asst. By rule, it doesn't seem like the right thing was done. Any player discovered with blood on his/her body or uniform must leave the game immediately. Stalling is not in the rule book for blood found on a player or uniform.

My take on this was while they were searching for where the blood came from several guys were cleaned up and reinspected to make sure they were not the one bleeding. The search for the source of the blood is what bought Trinity and BG a chance to make sure they got the blood off key guys.

yea I agree ChiKid, maybe "stall" wasn't the right word. Regardless Madol was allowed to go to the bench, clean up and get back in the game.