Salem Trinity

Salem wins on a 3 pointer with no time left down.

Gallant grabs his own missed and falling down kicks it out for that game winner number 30 for Salem

Wol majong was the best player for Trinity and they ran their offense through him

This game along with the South West game gave me a great Idea it was like a playoff atmosphere.

I think the NHIAA so schedule one Saturday game of the week and play the JV game at 1200 and the V game at 130

That way you can give the coaches a chance to scout the teams give some kids more exposure and really bring up the excitement for NH HS basketball.

This half of basketball I saw today was the best half of basketball I have seen in a long time.

It would take a little work to do the schedule next year you would not want Milford in the game of the week based on the past two seasons but NHIAA can do some work.

Salem 42 Trinity 40

There are many different things that can win a basketball game. Shooting, defense, coaching, turnovers and decisions are definitely some. Sometimes, good old fashioned heart and desire will get your team a big W.

Salem was down by 6 to 8 points early in the 2nd half as the game continued from the Friday night 24 - 16 lead for Trinity after the blackout. Salem's defense clamped down on Trinity when they really needed it to give them a chance to get back into this 16 minute continued game. It seems as if Wol Majong was the only Pioneer who was thinking of Rule 5 Section 3 which states, "The winning team is the one which has accumulated the greater number of points when the game ends." Majong did his best to accumulate points for Trinity by scoring on an array of outside shots and medium depth pull up jumpers. The problem for Trinity is Majong was the only Pioneer following Rule 5 Section 3.

This was the first time I had seen Salem play since their prelim playoff loss to Memorial last year. I can see why Salem has surprised some basketball people and has been near the top of the standings all season. Some teams, like Trinity, have a lot of length. Salem has strength and width. Add the ingredients of heart and desire and you have a tough Blue Devil team to contend with. Salem attacks the offensive glass with ferocity while protecting the defensive glass. 2nd chance points are very key for Salem when Gallant, Lorenz and Cannone control the rebounding action. Rebounding can come down to will, desire and a mind set to get the ball before your opponent does. Salem rebounds as well as any team I've seen this year and they did it against the tallest team in D1 this morning.

Salem was up 39 - 38 with around a minute to go. Majong completed his fine Sunday morning of basketball with a pull up jumper to put Trinity ahead 40 - 39. Salem then had the ball and was running down the clock to get the last shot. Rewind to last year when they were in this same situation at Memorial in the prelim game. In that game Salem seemed content to run the clock down near the end and hope upon a long LaRosa 3 pointer. It was almost eerily similar in the way Salem played out their last possession against Trinity this morning. Their offense was stagnated by good Trinity defense. Salem calls a TO with 14 seconds left to reset the offense. The Blue Devils inbound, look for the outside shot and then kick it into Gallant who shoots with 6 seconds left. Trinity's Aluko had the inside track to the rebound with the angle and with his length. Salem's Gallant out hustled Aluko for the most important rebound of the game. As Gallant is securing the rebound and falling down he passes it to Jeff Meisser, who is elbow extended beyond the arc and in front of the Salem bench. Meisser fires the 3 which nestles into the north side McHugh gym net just as the buzzer sounds to give Salem the heart stopping 42 - 40 victory.

Meisser's winning 3 was shot from the exact same area from where Memorial's Allie Hartford shot her game winning buzzer beating banked 3 pointer that defeated the Lady Pioneers three weeks ago to the day. 2 losses for the Pioneers' basketball programs on Sundays with buzzer beating 3's in the exact same location on the Trinity gym floor. Maybe Trinity should consider contacting Linda Blair and a priest with exorcism experience to chase away the basketball demons from that part of the McHugh gym floor?

There are many things that can win you a basketball game. On this morning it was Joe Gallant's heart and desire to get a precious rebound that helped Salem get the big victory. It's nice to know with scouting, video and game plans that good old fashioned heart and desire can be the difference in winning a basketball game.

T@F,you were there, I didn't see you.big cuips and I went,then we went to billy's owned that place for a few hours,went to the 99 to get our pool numbers,bg for a potluck dinner and tell everyone they are now in 1st place,then back to the 9's for 1,now shower,wake,and get the party started.Wild bill holler ended up with the GOLDEN TICKET.After seeing the bg's boy's faces after hearing trinity lost I would be very surprised if they don't run the table.These kids want it,seniors,seniors, seniors.Did anyone elso but majong score for trinity in the second half?T@F heart and desire are 2 things that the lads from lund rd are not lacking.

did you T@f?How about the salem kid who CHUCKED a 3 off the glass to end the 3rd?

is there anything better then waking up in 2nd place,and going to bed in 1st?

Private Catholic Institutions in the Bible Belt where I am from go to church on Sunday,Chick Fil-A Closes and Sunday is for rest. Looks to me like God was watching... Actually it just looks like I was right and Salem is a very tough team with defense,rebounding,heart and enough scoring to be in games til the end. If Meiser is on they can play with and even beat the top teams in the state.

GNG wrote: did you T@f?How about the salem kid who CHUCKED a 3 off the glass to end the 3rd?

That was Salem QB Cannone who banked in the 3 at the end of the 3rd from the opposite side from where Meisser hit the game winner. What is it with quarter and game ending 3's at Trinity this season by the opposition on Sundays? You would think the Pioneers would have a little extra edge with Sunday games.

I saw you GNG. Although you don't have a God-like presence when you sit at the top of the stands near the middle, it is quite an imposing aura you emanate, whether you are north or south of the 300 line.

With the partying schedule you and your BG colleagues are keeping today it sounds like even Charlie Sheehan would have a tough time keeping up with you guys. I look at Saturday March 19th with the D1 and D2 championship games and think of the scenario of Milford and BG hoisting the plaques. I could go from Milford to Merrimack to Nashua back to Milford to partake in the post championship celebrations wearing my Milford and BG t-shirts the night of March 19th. I'm just wondering if I should block off March 20, 21st and 22nd in my schedule to recuperate?

GNG wrote:big cuips and I went,then we went to billy's owned that place for a few hours.

I was just thinking of the numbers of GNG and Big Cuips owning Billy's if they kept ordering the $2 Coors Light draft special. Still can't figure out GNG's dieting logistics.

Couple of other observations about this terrific half of basketball on a Sunday morning:

*When I walked into the gym, the scoreboard to start the second half was 24 - 16 Trinity. Final score was 42 - 40 Salem - which means Salem outscored Trinity 26 -16 in the second half. Talk about symmetry - and evenly matched teams - I have a feeling that if these two teams played each other 10 times, it's coming down to the final possession in 9 of them.
*The difference in this game was definitely on the boards. Lorenz from Salem was an absolute beast on the offensive glass - he seemed to be everywhere. Quite a few of Salem's points came as a result of second (and third) chance opportunities as a result of all the hard work on the offensive boards. On the defensive side, the hard work of the Salem bigs on the defensive glass kept Trinity to very few (if any) second chance opportunities. The Salem bigs definitely came out with a purpose this morning and if they can continue to play like that, they are a very scary team.
*On the Trinity side, I'm with CNG in that I really can't recall anybody other than Majong scoring this morning. It did seem like that may have been part of the game plan on the Trinity side though - maybe a strategy against the difficult matchup zone Salem uses that they got a look at on Friday night. Majong was able to continually penetrate for good looks off the dribble from 10 - 12 feet and he was hitting them so they kept at it. The other side of that though is no real offensive flow - and with Salem pounding the glass for every rebound to limit second chance opportunities - Trinity's overall shot attempts were really low.
*I'm not sure how the first half went, but if this half was any indication, I'm guessing Gallant and Meisser must have had 30+ (maybe 35) of Salem's 42 points. I will be very interested to see the box score tomorrow.
*With a 2 point win, Canonne's no look, turnaround, off the backboard 3 to end the third was HUGE! Yet another example of what make this game so exciting and great - if either of Canonne's or Meisser's last second shots were off a hair, they catch a part of the rim and bounce away and Trinity escapes. Unbelievable!

I wouldn't be surprised if these two teams see each other again. I certainly hope this is a preview of what we have to look forward to in March come playoff time anyway!

Hoopfan4 - to my knowledge the only other basket scored by a Pioneer, not named Majong, was Aluko on a twisting and acrobatic banker when it seemed he would almost lose the handle with about 3 minutes to go in the game. I am hard pressed to remember another Pioneer scoring besides Majong and Aluko for Trinity's 16 second half points.

and still do.

I don't remember receiving an invite for your "Charlie Sheehan Night."

That's OK. I'll check with Coach Migs for a t-shirt. He's a stand up guy. I'm sure he's had your back on a few occaisions.