MANCHESTER – One of Matt Quirk’s jobs for the Bishop Brady boys’ basketball team is to keep things under control. When the press comes, when his teammates get fired up, when the game is close and the crowd is against the Green Giants, Quirk is the steady hand that steers the ship.
It turns out the senior point guard is also the guy who can hit the big shot when Brady needs it most. That was on display Friday when Quirk knocked down the game-winning bucket over a tenacious and aggressive Manchester West squad in a 53-50 win on the road.
“It felt good,” Quirk said of the shot leaving his hand. “I felt a kid behind me so I tried to elevate a little more on it and as soon as I let it go, I knew it had a chance.”
A chance? Better yet, it didn’t even graze the rim.
If it weren’t for Quirk’s composure, Brady might not have even gotten a shot off at all.
The original inbound play the Green Giants drew up when they called a timeout with 13 seconds left trailing by one was quickly thwarted by West’s relentless defensive pressure.
Bryce Johnson, who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, was double-teamed for a healthy portion of the second half, mostly in part to a 17-point first half. Johnson was the one Brady’s Eero Myllymaki inbounded the ball to out of the timeout. But the second Johnson touched it, he knew he was in trouble.
“I ran through the play before we even passed it in (on accident) so I felt like I gave it away,” Johnson said. “So then we just had to improvise. Had to get the ball in. I got it in the corner, which is never a good spot and I got trapped and lost the ball but thankfully Matt got it and made a big shot for us.”
In the right place at the right time, Quirk scooped up the bouncing ball, took a few dribbles to the top of the key, created some space and elevated above everyone around him, knocking down the bucket that silenced a rowdy crowd.
“We just wanted to come away with the best shot possible,” Quirk said. “The play kind of broke down a little but I was fortunate enough to get the ball in my hands and get a good shot off.”
Johnson said that once he saw Quirk corral the loose ball, he knew his team was in good hands.
“He wasn’t having a great game but I know he’s clutch,” the junior guard said. “I know he can make those shots. So I was like, ‘It’s going in.’ I knew it right away.”
The victory looked like anything but a sure thing in the fourth quarter, though. The Green Giants (4-2) – coming off a 16-point loss at Goffstown on Tuesday – held a comfortable 37-30 lead over the Blue Knights (5-3) going into the final frame. But West quickly sent the message that it wasn’t going quietly – and neither were the fans.
“West has a great environment here. You know, the fans really get into it. We knew that,” Quirk said. “But we also knew that if we stuck together like a team and we played hard and did what coach was telling us to do, we’d have a chance.”
The Blue Knights made seven of their eight field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter and even took a 50-49 lead – their first of the game – with 29 seconds left. Brady, meanwhile, coughed up turnovers on three straight possessions during West’s run and managed just two field-goal attempts over the final two minutes.
“They had a great comeback so I was definitely a little nervous but I never doubted that we could pull it off,” said Quirk, who scored all eight of his points in the second half – when his team needed him most.
A solid first-half effort from Matt Desmarais (12 points, five rebounds) gave Brady a 25-19 lead at halftime, but Dominic Plourde did his best to keep his team in the game. He put together a dominating fourth quarter for West, which had won four in a row going into Friday’s game. He scored all but one of his 15 points in the second half and ended with eight rebounds, including four offensive.
Where the Blue Knights really struggled was from 3-point range. That didn’t stop them from shooting, though. West went just 5-for-17 from deep and shot 6 of 22 from the field in the first half.
“It was good to see the team pull together in the end and finish a close game together,” Brady Coach Cole Etten said.
Quirk’s message for his team after the game was simple: “We really needed this one.”
He added, “We play Milford, one of the best team’s in our division on Monday, so it was huge to come out here with a win and we are on to Milford now.”
(Michelle Berthiaume can be reached at 369-3338, mberthiaume@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @MonitorMichelle.)
Nashua South 57, Concord 50
Key players: Concord – Matt Giroux (23 points), Tyler Blodgett (19 points, 5 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide trailed by eight points at halftime and by as many as 13 points in the third before Concord cut the deficit to five points. Blodgett played his best game of the season and Giroux scored a game-high 23 points, but the Tide ran out of gas.
Coach’s quote: “Our last (five) losses have been by nine points or less. We’re in games, we just need to find a way to get over the top.” – Concord’s Dave Chase
Records: Nashua South 4-3; Concord 1-6
Coe-Brown 58, Bow 44
Key players: Coe-Brown – Brody Ashley (17 points, 5 rebounds), Sam Lupinacci (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Scott Spenard (9 points, 3 steals), Dylan Andrews (4 points, 5 rebounds), Jacob Snow (4 points, 5 rebounds), Kyshaun Rowell (4 points), Shawn Spenard (4 points, 6 assists), Mitchell Wade (2 points, 3 rebounds); Bow – Nate Alford (14 points), Ryan Andrews (12 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears executed their game plan to earn their seventh straight game with a road win against the Falcons.
Coach’s quote: “Coe-Brown executed better than us. They’re a good team. It’s going to take some work for us to get up to that level.” – Bow’s Chris Gaudreau
Records: Coe-Brown 7-1; Bow 3-3
John Stark 49, Windham 35
Key players: John Stark – Isaiah Lovering (13 points, 5 steals), Cooper Gorski (14 points), Drew McQuarrie (12 points, 11 rebounds), Kyle Hagman (4 points), Troy Gamache (4 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals overcame an ugly first quarter in which they trailed 5-2 to build a 14-12 halftime and 31-19 third-quarter lead. Lovering scored 11 of his points in the second half and guards Hagman and Gamache played well off the bench on both ends of the floor to secure the win.
Coach’s quote: “We really came out strong defensively. I was really proud of our defensive intensity.” – John Stark’s Mike Smith
Records: John Stark 5-3; Windham 2-4
Timberlane 77, Pembroke 68
Key players: Pembroke – Sean Menard (22 points), Noah Cummings (16 points)
Highlights/key moments: Timberlane knocked down a few big jumpers in the third quarter to pull away for good.
Coach’s quote: “We got in foul trouble early and didn’t shoot well. When you are having that type of night it’s a hard hole to dig out of.” – Shannon Sciria
Records: Timberlane 5-2; Pembroke 3-4
Pittsfield 63, Gorham 26
Key players: Pittsfield – Cam Darrah (31 points, 6 3s, 8 assists), Casey Clark (7 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds), Garrett Hadley (6 points), Matt St. George (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: Darrah scored all of his points in the first three quarters to help the Panthers jump out to a 42-12 halftime lead. Gabe Anthony held Gorham’s top player to just four first half points.
Coach’s quote: “Our work rate on defense was tremendous in the first half. After a two hour bus ride you’re always skeptical about how you’re going to come out. With Gabe limiting (Gorham’s top player’s) touches on the ball, we were able to force turnovers and capitalize in transition.” – Pittsfield’s Jay Darrah
Records: Pittsfield 9-1; Gorham 1-6
Hopkinton third, John Stark fifth
Key players: Hopkinton – Zachary Berliner (3rd); John Stark – Aiden Moser (2nd)
Highlights/key moments: Hopkinton only had three skiers and John Stark only had two, but the Hawks and Generals made the most of their runs, each placing one skier in the top three. Sunapee (381) won a six-team meet over Deryfield (377), Hopkinton (273), Newport (256), John Stark (187) and Moultonborough (173).
Coach’s quote: “Aiden and Zachary both had strong performances again tonight to lead their respective teams.” – Hopkinton and John Stark’s Bob Berliner
Concord goes 4-0
Kearsarge goes 2-2
Key players: Concord – Max Cross (1st 200 free, 1st 100 free), Kevin Quinn (1st 200 IM, 1st 500 free), Jay Blasko (2nd 200 free, 2nd 100 free), Aaron Saffian (2nd 200 IM), Ethan Case (2nd 500 free), 200 free relay (1st, Cross, Blasko, Saffian and Aaron Freed), 400 free relay (Quinn, Case, Blasko, Cross); Kearsarge – Peter Russel (2nd 100 breast), Nicholas Nestler (3rd 50 free, 5th 100 back), Jacob Lipscomb (4th 50 free, 5th 100 free)
Highlights/key moments: Quinn and Cross each won a pair of individual events as the Tide swept a five-team meet at Stevens, defeating Kearsarge, Stevens, Merrimack Valley and Lebanon. Kearsarge earned wins against Stevens and MV.
Coach’s quote: “The boys pulled together and strung together a good meet. Cross, Quinn and Blasko have all posted State Qualification times for the State Meet next month.” – Concord’s Bill Quinn
Bishop Brady at Keene
Key players: Bishop Brady – Hanzhe Wei (1st 100 back, 1st 200 IM)
Highlights/key moments: Wei had a solid pair of individual victories for the Giants in a six-team meet at Keene.