MEREDTIH – Inter-Lakes High School is home to one of the more unique gyms in all of Division III. Its tight, confined shoebox-esque feel has catered to the boys’ basketball team’s style well over the years, including an undefeated home record a season ago.
So even though Belmont rolled into Thursday’s showdown with the Lakers sporting an unblemished record and three wins on the road, it was safe to say Belmont Coach Jim Cilley, at least on some level, wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the trip.
“I think this is the toughest gym in the state to play,” Cilley said after Inter-Lakes handed Belmont (4-1) its first loss of the year in a 53-46 defeat. “You feel like you’re suffocated in here because the court is so small. It’s got the weird dotted lines. There’s no excuses for that, we’ve played here plenty of times and the rims are extremely tight so if you’re not perfect with your shot, nothing is going to go in.”
The Lakers (4-1) weren’t worried about their own gym’s many quirks, of course. They were focused on getting back into the win column after a suffering a rare home loss to Berlin on Tuesday.
“We called it a must-win, but let me qualify that: It’s not a must-win to make the playoffs. It’s a must-win if you think you’re elite,” Inter-Lakes Coach Mike Rathgeber said. “You’ve got to beat a team that’s 4-0, in first place and playing well … The Berlin game was so awful for us. Unexplained awful and we just had to fix this. We’re looking at a team that got so much preseason hype being 3-2 going into Christmas with 4-0 Somersworth next. We were feeling a little pressure, we had a come-to-Jesus meeting, and to my kids’ credit, they responded.”
The Lakers sputtered early from deep, shooting 1-for-11 from behind the 3-point line in the first half before almost completely abandoning the approach in the second half – an adjustment that ultimately led the Lakers to the much-needed victory.
The lone 3-pointer, though, was a big one. It came off the fingertips of sophomore guard Davis Jollimore (10 points) at the second-quarter buzzer and cut Belmont’s lead to 23-22 at the half.
“We wanted to play inside and we got away from that in the first half a little bit,” Rathgeber said. “At halftime, I said to them, ‘You’re 1-for-11 and that’s okay. We don’t need that to win. Let’s go inside, let’s get Trevor (Hunt) in foul trouble, let’s get him out of the game, let’s play a weakened Belmont team and close it out inside blue collar like, and we did.’”
Hunt, Belmont’s most talented big man, finished with 16 points, but did sit on the bench for a good chunk of the second half with foul trouble. Even when Hunt reentered the game later in the half, he wasn’t able to play the physical style of defense he’s accustomed to.
That opened the door for Inter-Lakes senior captain Zach Swanson to take over in the paint. Swanson scored seven of his game-high 18 points in the second half – adding an and-one layup late in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a nine-point cushion. Swanson also added 10 rebounds to round out his stat line.
“We didn’t want to let Zach get the ball on the right block because that’s where he gets all his points, on the right block,” Cilley said. “We tried to deny that, gave up post touches and he just shot layups over us.”
Belmont did adjust, eventually bringing over a second defender to face guard Swanson with help behind that allowed the Raiders get back into the contest, but Swanson was far from the only scorer on the night for the Lakers.
Co-captain Ryan Kelly poured in 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers and freshman Eli Swanson delivered the most balanced game of his young career with nine points and eight rebounds.
Hunt led the way for Belmont in points and on the glass while receiving solid contributions from Doug Price (eight points), Caleb Burke (seven points) and Derek Stevens (three).
“I wouldn’t of felt as satisfied with this win if we won by a lot because I would have walked off saying we’re still not tested,” Rathgeber said. “It could of went either way right until the last three minutes of the game and we mostly, mostly stayed poised.”
Next up for both teams will be a pair of holiday tournament games. Inter-Lakes is set to face Newmarket in the Farmington Holiday Tournament on Monday while Belmont will play in the Lakes Region Holiday Tournament in Gilford on Tuesday.
Pembroke 54, Merrimack Valley 48, OT
Key players: Pembroke – Sean Menard (offense), Noah Cummings (offense), Brandon Linscott (offense); MV – Jake Hebert (20 points), Ben Davis (10 points), James Shattuck (9 points)
Highlights/key moments: Menard hit two 3s in the third quarter and Cummings also made some key buckets down the stretch to force overtime. The scored was tied 46-46 at the end of regulation, but the Spartans outscored the Pride 8-2 in overtime for the win. Linscott made a huge three-point shot in OT, giving the Spartans their first victory in over a year.
Coaches’ quotes: “I’m just incredibly happy for these guys who struggled through an 0-16 season last year. They deserve every bit of feeling like we do tonight.” – Pembroke’s Shannon Sciria
“Pembroke made a couple of more shots than us in overtime. They outscored us. They played better than us tonight.” – MV’s Tim Mucher
Records: Pembroke 1-2; MV 0-3
Pelham 60, Bishop Brady 55
Key players: Brady – Eero Myllymaki (15 points), Matt Desmarais (13 rebounds, 6 points), Bryce Johnson (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists), Matt Quirk (12 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Giants dropped a close game to the Pythons for their first loss of the season.
Coach’s quote: “We need to learn from it and move forward.” – Brady’s Cole Etten
Records: Pelham 2-0; Brady 1-1
Epping 65, Pittsfield 55
Key players: Pittsfield – Cam Darrah (17 points, 6 rebounds), Josh Whittier (15 points, 8 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Panthers oustscored Epping 19-13 in the second quarter and trailed by just one point at halftime. Whittier scored two buckets to give Pittsfield a 33-30 lead to start the second half, but Epping went on a 15-5 run to close the quarter en route to handing Pittsfield its first loss of the season.
Coach’s quote: “We didn’t value the ball enough tonight. Some costly turnovers forced us to play into a faster paced game down the stretch which favored Epping.” – Pittsfield’s Jay Darrah
Records: Epping 3-1; Pittsfield 4-1
Bishop Brady 61, Pelham 54
Key players: Brady – Riley Bennett (18 points, 8 rebounds), Sarah Doherty (9 points, 6 assists), Sam Will (11 points, strong rebounding), Sofia Riccio (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Giants brought their record above .500 with a win over a strong Pythons squad. Brady rallied in the fourth quarter with Cait Mallahan making two key baskets and Bennett hitting a huge shot with under a minute to go.
Coach’s quote: “It was a great team effort and all around team energy. A big fourth quarter run sparked a good overall team performance.
We stayed poised and played with composure. I’m proud of the girls as they worked so hard.” – Brady’s Annie Alosa
Records: Brady 2-1; Pelham 3-1
Bow 50, Plymouth 23
Key players: Bow – Lea Crompton (18 points), Lauren Goyette (9 points), Megan Remick (8 points), Taylor Darrell (3 steals, 3 assists), Sarah Martin (defense), Julia Landcastle (defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons rebounded from a sloppy win Monday night with a decisive victory over the Bobcats.
Records: Bow 3-1; Plymouth 0-4
Coe-Brown 49, Souhegan 42
Key players: Coe-Brown – Chelsea McCallion (18 points), Catie Langdon (10 points), Ahna McCusker (11 points, 8 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears played strong defense, taking a 24-19 halftime lead and hanging on the rest of the way.
Coach’s quote: “Defensively we were just able to hold them. We held their (top shooter) and contained her. That’s basically what won the game for us. We were also able to capitalize on the transition, scoring some easy baskets.” – Coe-Brown’s Joe Vachon
Records: Coe-Brown 2-2; Souhegan 2-2
Hollis-Brookline 64, Laconia 44
Key players: Laconia – Helen Tautkus (17 points), Becca Howe (12 points, 2 3s)
Highlights/key moments: The Sachems kept it close early on, trailing just 15-13 after one quarter and 30-27 at halftime, but the Cavaliers pulled away in the second half
Coach’s quote: “We played hard tonight although had lapses in scoring at times which made it hard to maintain against a big and physical Hollis team. They spread the court well and made shots all in all four quarters, credit to them.” – Laconia’s Jeff Greeley
Records: H-B 3-1; Laconia 1-3
Merrimack Valley 55, Pembroke 45
Key players: MV – Carly Huckins (25 points), Sara Osborne (10 points), Megan Johnston (9 points), Camryn Burr (7 points) Abby Grandmaison (14 rebounds, 4 points); Pembroke – Morgan Allen (14 points), Olivia Langevin (13 points), Brooklyn Zanis (13 points, 8 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride remain undefeated with a victory on the road over the Spartans.
Coach’s quote: “The win is great, but we have a lot of work to do. We need to put together 32 minutes of consistency. I love being 4-0 going into the Christmas break.” – MV’s David Huckins
Records: MV 4-0; Pembroke 2-3
Belmont 46, Inter-Lakes 35
Key players: Belmont – Julianna Estremara (14 points), Chloe Sottak (9 points, 3 3s), Taylor Yelle (13 rebounds), Mackenzie Donovan (7 points), Sarah Chase, Jordan Sargent and Mariah Watson (good defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Raiders held an 11-4 lead after the first quarter and led 27-22 at halftime. The Lakers cut the Raiders lead to 34-31 heading into the final frame, but Estremara shot 9-for-12 from the free-throw line down the stretch to hold on to the win.
Records: Belmont 3-3; I-L 1-5
Epping 30, Pittsfield 26
Key players: Pittsfield – Lindsey Massey (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals), Katie Rollins (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals)
Highlights/key moments: The Panthers trailed 28-14 at the end of the third quarter, but outscored the Blue Devils 12-2 in the fourth quarter, falling just short of completing the comeback.
Coach’s quote: “I’m proud of the girls for not giving up. They really came together on defense and were aggressive going to the basket. We just ran out of time.” – Pittsfield’s Heidi Hall
Records: Pittsfield 0-5
White Mountains 60, John Stark 24
Campbell 42, John Stark 24
Key players: John Stark – Jacob Mitchell (two wins by pin), Dylan Fulcher, Anthony L’Huereux and Jeffrey Johnston (win by pin)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals had wins from Mitchell and Fulcher against Campbell and wins from Mitchell, L’Heureux and Johnston against White Mountains, but John Stark came up short in a tri-meet.
Londonderry 4, Bishop Brady 1
Key players: Brady – Nate Bowler (shorthanded goal), Matt Strickland (32 saves)
Highlights/key moments: On Wednesday, the Giants tied the game 1-1 in the second off a shorthanded breakaway goal by Bowler, but the Lancers retook the lead late in the second and added a pair of insurance goals in the third.
Coach’s quote: “We took too many penalties and didn’t attack the net the way we are capable of. On a positive note, our penalty kill unit was excellent killing off two 5-on-3 penalties and scoring a short-handed goal. Hopefully we get the penalties under control but its good to know that penalty killing unit is solid.” – Brady’s Brian Saucier
Records: Londonderry 2-0; Brady 1-1
Bow goes 3-4
Key players: Bow – Ethan Rychwalski (3rd 50 free), Joe Chen (3rd 100 breast)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons had a pair of third-place finishes in a nine-team meet at Hanover on Wednesday. Bow defeated Ste vens, Merrimack Valley and Kearsarge, but fell to Bishop Brady, Conant, Hanover and Lebanon.
John Stark at Bedford
Key players: John Stark – Garett Chartier (10th 50 free)
Highlights/key moments: Chartier, a first-time swimmer, closed in on qualifying for states, clocking a season-best 30.03 in a four-team meet.
Bow goes 6-1; Hopkinton goes 3-2
Key players: Bow – Katie Jenkins (2nd 100 IM, 3rd 100 back), Dillon Hicks (2nd 100 breast, 4th 100 IM), Riley Hicks (3rd 100 free, 5th 50 free), Amanda Sampo (3rd 200 free, 5th 100 back), Sonya DeLorie (6th free), Liz O’Sullivan (6th 200 free); Hopkinton – Bin Bin Schell (2nd 100 back, 3rd 100 fly), Eva Piernas (4th 100 fly, Sydney Stockwell (5th 100 free, 6th 100 back)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons had several top five finishes to defeat Hopkinton, Stevens, Lebanon, Kearsarge, Conant and Bishop Brady, while only losing only to Hanover.
The Hawks defeated Bishop Brady, Kearsarge and Stevens, while falling to Lebanon and Hopkinton.
John Stark at Bedford
Key players: John Stark – Madison Duclos (13th 50 free)
Highlights/key moments: Duclos, a first-time swimmer, clocked a personal-best time in a four-team meet at Bedford.