Coe-Brown Northwood Academy went down 11-0 to start Saturday’s boys’ basketball game and they trailed or tied Merrimack Valley for 26 straight minutes. With six minutes to play, junior Hugh Hamilton drove through Merrimack Valley’s man defense and banked home a layup off the glass. That gave Coe-Brown a 45-44 lead, which they never gave back.
Coe-Brown head coach David Smith said it was a battle from start to finish to come away with the win.
“Every time that we would tie, they would make a run,” said Smith. “And then we’d tie it and they’d make a run and then we throw the ball away or miss an easy shot and they’d make a run. So that takes a lot of mental discipline to do that [come back].”
A furious final six minutes ensued following Hamilton’s go-ahead basket. The Bears pushed their lead to as many as seven with a clutch basket and a foul, as well as an ice-cold three from Hamilton who dropped 21 on the game and 11 in the fourth quarter. The Pride refused to go away and answered with a three of their own with 50 seconds to play that brought the score to 59-57. It looked as though momentum could swing back in the Pride’s favor but following a time out, the Bears clenched their teeth and locked down defensively. The three proved to be Merrimack Valley’s last points of the game.
Smith gushed about the fight his team brought to the fourth quarter where they out shot Merrimack Valley and brought the final score to 63-57.
“I mean, they were just awesome tonight. This particular team has come a long way and had a lot of growth since the beginning of the year, and I’m very proud of them.”
The game was a microcosm of the Bears season. Coe-Brown got off to a rocky start at 1-3. Just like one of their runs to tie things up versus the Pride on Saturday, the Bears had a run of three straight wins to get back over .500. But then they skidded with a 6-1 stretch. Sitting at 5-9 Coe Brown needed to dig deep. And they did. Saturday’s comeback victory was their fourth in a row and puts them at 9-9 heading into the postseason.
“It gets us ready for the playoff action. I mean, we’ve had five games in six days. So we’ve been pretty well tested. And so each game has been a battle. A good battle. And so I think we’ll be ready for Tuesday, whoever we play,” said Smith.
For Merrimack Valley, the loss is the end of the road. Despite a 20-point performance from junior Brandon Dukette and 16 from senior Eli Gove the Pride will finish with a record of 6-12 and miss the playoffs.
“That’s been the story of our season,” said Merrimack Valley head coach Tim Mucher. “We don’t keep the foot down on the pedal to get over the hump.”
For Mucher, the loss meant saying goodbye to three seniors – Gove, Ben Rose and Colby Jones.
“I mean, they’ve been loyal to the program. Their hard work, their commitment and trust in the program, it’s top-notch. Hopefully, the younger kids will follow suit,” said Mucher.