Hopkinton may be one of the heavyweights in Division III boys’ basketball, but when it comes to the Capital Area Holiday Tournament, the Hawks are undersized.
“We’re the smallest Division III school, and we’re the only D-III school that’s in this tournament, so I said to the team they should come into these games angry and show them that you deserve to be here,” Hopkinton coach Steve Signor said.
The Hawks did that on Saturday with a 51-48 win against D-II Merrimack Valley. Hopkinton led by 10 with less than three minutes left in the fourth before withstanding a late run from MV. The Hawks will face Bow, another D-II team, in Sunday’s 6:15 p.m. semifinal.
“We think we belong in this tournament,” said Hopkinton senior Kevin Newton-Delgado, who finished with a game-high 21 points, “and we want to show people we can play.”
While the Hawks were playing with an extra hop, the Pride lacked energy, according to MV coach Tim Mucher.
“This game is supposed to be fun and exciting, and for whatever reason we didn’t have any energy and we didn’t play inspired basketball, we just showed up,” Mucher said. “Hopefully the kids learn that it’s supposed to be fun and exciting, that you’re supposed to get up and challenge people, and hopefully we’ll put that into our consolation game (against Concord) tomorrow morning.”
Caleb Heath (19 points) and Matt Grandmaison (16 points) did most of the scoring for the Pride, who shot well (45.9%) but got outrebounded 27-18, committed 21 turnovers and scored just 29 points in the first three quarters.
MV is playing without senior forward Kyle Dube, who has led the Pride to the D-II semifinals the last two years. Dube has an injured knee and will miss the entire season.
“Unfortunately it happened to a quality kid and we’re learning to play without him,” Mucher said of Dube. “Games like this we would have looked to him to finish the game, but now we’re trying to find a new identity.”
The Hawks (2-1 in D-III) are also figuring out the best way to use their deep roster, and they used Saturday’s first half as something of an experiment, playing 11 players on their way to a 20-16 halftime lead.
“Everybody got on the floor in a meaningful moment in the first half and it sorted itself out who was ready to play,” Signor said. “We’re still trying to figure out our rotation and who fits where and who plays well with each other. I saw some really nice things tonight so we’re getting there, but were not there yet.”
Hopkinton went on an 8-0 run midway through the third that was highlighted by a Newton-Delgado dunk and put the Hawks in control of the game with an 11-point lead.
“When we had those runs we had some great ball movement,” Signor said. “We were unselfish, moved the ball up the floor and made some layups off of it.”
All that led to a 37-29 lead for Hopkinton after three quarters. Heath and Griffin Wheeler, who scored six of his eight points in the fourth, kept MV close until the end, but the Hawks never gave up the lead or their belief.
“We never went down and we never gave up,” Newton-Delgado said. “We keep telling each other to always be positive, never get down, keep the same energy, and we’re learning that.”
Hopkinton senior Shep Murdough had two key steals and scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter. Michael Baer finished with 10 points for the Hawks despite missing the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. MV sophomore Eli Gove had five points, five rebounds and three assists.
Boys’ Basketball
John Stark 66, Pembroke 50
Key players: John Stark – Christian Barr (43 points, 13 rebounds), Jayden Sheppard (8 points); Pembroke – Mike Pitman (18 points), Cooper Gilman (7 points, 6 rebounds)
Highlights: Barr set a tournament record with his 43 points, breaking the old mark of 42 set by Pembroke’s Matt Alosa in 1990. Barr, a senior, had 15 points in the first half as the Generals took a 29-22 lead into the break. Barr poured in 15 more in the third quarter as Stark pushed its advantage to 52-38 going into the fourth quarter. The Generals will play in the 7:45 p.m. semifinal on Sunday against the winner of the late Bishop Brady vs. Kearsarge game.
Records: John Stark 0-1 in D-II; Pembroke 0-1 in D-II
Bow 69, Concord 58
Key players: Bow – Matt Lamy (16 points, 5 assists), Steven Guerette (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists), Nick Kiah (11 points, 4 rebounds), Shaun Lover (9 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists); Concord – Rylan Canabano (24 points, 6 steals, 3 assists), Tyler Clark Toy (13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), Ivan Yen (9 points, 3 rebounds), Hamza Abdulrahman (8 rebounds)
Highlights: Yen hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer to tie the game 30-30, but the Falcons outscored Concord in the second half to advance in the Capital Area Holiday Tournament. Bow will play Hopkinton in Sunday’s semifinal at 6:15 p.m.
Records: Bow 1-1 in D-II; Concord 0-0 in D-I
Bishop Brady 61, Kearsarge 44
Key players: Bishop Brady – Halle Laramie (17 points, 9 rebounds), Ami Rivera (15 points, 7 rebounds), Libbey Hick (11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals), Riley Marsh (6 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks); Kearsarge – Caroline Camp (11 points)
Highlights: A transition layup with 3:38 left sparked a key run and the Giants were able to secure a spot in the Capital Area Holiday Tournament semifinals with a victory on Friday night. Bishop Brady will tip-off against John Stark on Sunday at 4:45 p.m. at NHTI.
Coach’s quote: “A slow start and a late game resulted in some early adversity in our game style. Our girls pulled through to move on to the semifinal on Sunday. Kudos to Kearsage for the back-and-forth game.” – Bishop Brady’s Annie Mattarazzo
Records: Bishop Brady 2-1 in D-II; Kearsarge 1-2 in D-II
John Stark 47, Pembroke 41
Key players: John Stark – Anna Stenger (17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals), Chelsea Woodsum (12 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 blocks), Brady Johnson (8 points, 5 rebounds); Pembroke – Ashley Stephens (10 points, 6 rebounds)
Highlights: The Generals stayed composed in the fourth quarter to hold off a late Spartan run and secure an opening-round victory in the Capital Area Holiday Tournament at NHTI on Friday night. John Stark will play in the semifinals against Bishop Brady on Sunday at 4:45 p.m.
Coach’s quote: “That (composure in the fourth quarter) showed some good early-season decision making which will help us later as long as we keep improving.” – John Stark’s Bruce Johnson
Records: John Stark 3-1 in D-II; Pembroke 2-1 in D-II
Concord 9,
Manchester Central-West 0
Key players: Concord – Ryan Doherty (2 goals), Matt Hauschild (2 goals), Donovan Hayes (goal), AJ Fennelly (goal), Tyler Coskren (goal), Joey Ala (goal), Brooks Craigue (goal)
Highlights: The Crimson Tide outscored its opponents 24-0 in its three group-play games at the Brian C. Stone Christmas Memorial Tournament in Manchester. Concord will now face Bedford in Sunday’s 4:15 p.m. final.
Records: Concord 2-0-0 in D-I; Central-West 0-1-0 in D-I
Concord 2nd
Key players: Concord – Vose O’Sullivan (1st 600 in 1:32), Brayden Kearns (1st 1,000 in 2:43), John Murphy (1st 1,500 in 4:29), Matt Lavoie (4th 600), Sam Hilts (4th 1,000), Aiden Gleason (5th 1,500), 4×800 (1st), 4×400 (2nd), 4×160 (3rd)
Highlights: The Tide swept the distance events and also won the 4×800 relay to finish second in an eight-team meet at UNH. Bedford (65.5 points) narrowly bested Concord (56). Exeter (46), Windham (37) and Bishop Guertin (32) rounded out the top five.
Pembroke 1st
Key players: Pembroke – Harry Army (1st long jump in 19-3), James Dupuis (1st shot put in 38-1½, 2nd 55 hurdles, 2nd high jump), Tyler May (2nd shot put, 3rd 55 dash, 3rd long jump), Jacob Marden (3rd 300), Peter Landry (3rd shot put), 4×800 (1st), 4×400 (3rd), 4×160 (5th)
Highlights: The Spartans won a 10-team meet at UNH thanks to Dupuis and May scoring in three individual events each, plus victories from Dupuis and Army in field events. Pembroke (67 points) bested Oyster River (43), Pelham (41), Manchester West (30), Trinity (29) and Campbell (29) in the top six.
Bow 2nd, Merrimack Valley 4th, Bishop Brady 14th
Key players: Bow – Colin Lessard (2nd 1,500), Colin Bayer (2nd 55 hurdles), Jackie Zou (4th long jump), Adem Aricanli (4th 600), Ben Neff (4th 1,000) Gabe Neff (5th 300), 4×400 (1st), 4×800 (1st); MV – Seth Baylus (1st 55 dash in 6.81, 1st 300 in 39.18), Isaac Linscott (2nd 600), Cam Butt (3rd 600), 4×200 (2nd), 4×400 (4th), 4×800 (4th); Bishop Brady – John Horangic (6th 1,000)
Highlights: Lessard, Aricanli and the Neff brothers were the winning quartet in both the 4×400 (3:54) and the 4×800 (8:51) to lead the seven-man Division II Falcons to second place in a 15-team meet at Plymouth State. Division I Salem (46 points) won the meet, with Bow (45), Milford (44.5), Merrimack Valley (43) and Belmont (28) rounding out a tightly-contested top five. Baylus won two events and anchored the runner-up 4×200 to lead the Pride. Horangic scored Bishop Brady’s single point.
Concord 4th
Key players: Concord – Nydia Lane (3rd 600), Katherine Kennedy (4th 1,500), Julianna Messina (4th 600), Gabriela Pimental (tied 4th high jump), Christina Mallette (6th 1,000), Abby Goulas (6th 1,500), 4×160 (3rd), 4×800 (3rd), 4×400 (4th)
Highlights: The Tide finished fourth in an eight-team meet at UNH. Exeter (94 points), Pinkerton (55) and Bishop Guertin (48) were the top three teams. Concord (36.5) and Bedford (32) rounded out the top five.
Pembroke 2nd
Key players: Pembroke – Cassidy Rondeau (1st long jump in 15-¼, 2nd high jump), 4th 55 dash), Amanda Montminy (3rd 300), Kaitlin White (4th 300), Molly Keyes (5th shot put), Lauren Lehoullier (6th 1,500), 4×160 (1st), 4×800 (2nd)
Highlights: Rondeau won the long jump and scored individually in three events to lead the Spartans (46 points) to second place to Oyster River (64 points) in a 10-team meet at UNH. Portsmouth Christian (39), Campbell (36) and Newmarket (30) rounded out the top five.
Merrimack Valley 2nd, Bow 7th, Bishop Brady tied 11th
Key players: MV – Theresa Irving (1st high jump at 4-10), Sophia Reynolds (2nd 1,500, 3rd 600), Emma York (3rd 1,500, 4th 600), Madisyn Garrity (4th 55 hurdles), Addie Hodge (5th 55 hurdles), 4×800 (1st), 4×400 (3rd), 4×200 (6th); Bow – Kristina Pizzi (2nd 300), Maya Brochu (6th 1,500), Amy Eweka (6th shot put), 4×400 (2nd), 4×800 (4th); Bishop Brady – Abby Shagena (6th 600, 6th long jump, 6th high jump)
Highlights: The Pride finished second in a 16-team meet at Plymouth State against some of the favorites for the D-II title, picking up a big victory in the 4×800 (10:30) from Reynolds, Sophia Rebenciuc, York and Samantha Kimball. Milford (51 points), the first team to beat the Pride all season, topped MV (49), Souhegan (44), Sanborn (38) and Gilford (36) rounding out the top five. Salem (26) and Bow (23) finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Pizzi, Emma Van Ham, Emily Kiah and Kelly Harris formed the runner-up 4×400 for Bow. Shagena scored all three of Bishop Brady’s points to tie with Winnisquam in 11th.