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Bow guard Brendan O’Keeffe (12), looks to pass the ball while guarded by Coe-Brown’s Grant Hayes (1). Both led their teams in scoring and were scorching hot from the 3-point line -
Coe-Brown sophomore guard Grant Hayes (1) hits a 3 over Bow’s Connor Eno. Hayes had 24 points, including five 3-pointers in the game. -
Bow coach Eric Saucier, in his well-known stance on the right, directs his players while junior guard Connor Eno (23) has possession. -
Coe-Brown coach David Smith (left) and the Bears’ bench watch as Bow junior forward Jake Reardon elevates for a long shot over Coe-Brown center Jack Matson (23). -
Bow forward Peyton Larrabee (21) had three blocks for the Falcons on Friday night. -
Bow forward Jake Reardon (34) hits the dagger to seal the game with 40 seconds left in Bow’s 50-42 win over Coe-Brown.
BOW – The Friday night match-up between the Bow Falcons (1-1) and the Coe-Brown Bears (2-1) was a coaching duel that brought out the best of both teams early in the season. Individual players on both ends stepped up in crucial moments, but the Falcons got hot in the fourth and won, 50-42.
Bow’s boys’ basketball team is under the new leadership of Eric Saucier, and he was in his iconic squat-stance for most of this game. His mission with the team is to turn the high-flying offensive Falcons into an equally fierce defensive squad. The Falcons held Souhegan to 43 points in their season opener and lost by one. On Friday night, that defensive feat was accomplished, while the offense was also able to shine.
“We’re supposed to get in the press breaker or get into our spots against the zone like you saw in the second half. We hit the short corner, we hit the dive guy, we get the proper spots. We’re good,” said Saucier. “It’s when we get in the bad habits of just going where we want to, and not doing what we’re supposed to, is where we run into trouble. And we had 10 turnovers in the first half, only four in the second half.”
Those turnovers were forced by disciplined and tough contests all over the court by the Bears. The Bears, led by the winningest coach in NHIAA basketball, David Smith, in his own iconic bright red sweater, are similarly characterized by their defensive impenetrability and grit. Smith even coached against Saucier as a player when he played in the 90s.
“Everything was back and forth the whole night, but those last couple of possessions they switched our defense, what we’re trying to do defensively, and they have a pretty good sized team,” Smith said. “So a tough, tough matchup, but we’re tough matchups for them too, because we’re quick and small and devilish.”
On Friday, Saucier’s philosophy seemed to hold an edge with the size advantage that Bow had. Offensively, Bow’s big three of forwards, Peyton Larrabee (10 points), Jake Reardon (10 points) and Keenan Hubbard (five points) made tough shots in the paint and were all over the paint defensively.
The Bears’ zone defense gave them trouble at times, but that allowed the Falcons to kick it out to junior guard Brendan O’Keeffe who hit five 3s and led them with 17 points. Meanwhile, Reardon sealed it with two big mid-range jumpers in the fourth.
“I think we’re playing a lot more defense, I think we’re really working on a defensive end, obviously we could have slowed down (guard Grant Hayes) a little bit more today,” said Reardon. “So you know, taking certain players out of the game, and then offensively finding some more ways to score, but I think right now I think we’re looking pretty good.
The Bears kept it close, and in the third quarter, it seemed like they might win it. Sophomore guard Hayes went on a scorching hot nine-point run with two 3s and an and-one layup that saw the Bears go ahead by two to start the second half.
He said that in the end, they were not able to stop the Falcons as they were trying to run a new defense against them, but that offensively they were not hitting shots that could have won them the game. His 24 points carried the Bears, but he did not score in the fourth, and Hayes believes that they will improve in time for the next time they face the Falcons again.
“I believe the guys are buying and they’re working really hard in practice, and they know it’s a new system, and we’re just taking it one step at a time. And I know it’s cliche, but our goal every day is just to get better each time,” said Saucier.
Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com