Kearsarge’s fairytale run to the final four was cut short. Division III junior phenom Eli Whipple and the ninth-seeded Cougars pushed until the end, but couldn’t pull off another upset.
Kearsarge (12-7) lost to a powerful and efficient No. 4 Gilford team, 49-45, in the D-III semifinal at Bedford High on Tuesday night.
The team was an underdog the whole way through. The Cougars upset Derryfield in the prelims and got their biggest win over No. 1 Belmont over the weekend. They nearly came back to pull off one more.
“I think just life lessons of grit and never giving up,” Coach Nate Camp said on what he hopes his team takes away.
The Gilford Eagles scored the first ten points unanswered and used their size to rebound and block the Cougars’ attempts. Kearsarge clawed back slowly but couldn’t find a rhythm offensively in the first half.
Gilford’s guard combo of senior Henry Sleeper, Mark Ulcher and sophomore Owen Hawkins dictated the pace and went into the half ahead, 31-19. In the paint, senior center Ryan Folan dominated with putbacks from the low post.
The game shifted in Kearsarge’s favor in the third quarter. Senior guard Blake Grieco hit three unanswered three-pointers, complemented by senior guard Carter Wheeler’s toughness inside, and suddenly the Cougars were within four points.
“We’ve been playing throughout the years. We’ve created this brotherhood, we have it [on] the back of our warm-ups,” Grieco said after the loss. “We just stayed connected throughout.”
The last quarter, however, was slow. Both teams scored just six points each, and Gilford shut down every jump shot Kearsarge attempted.
Kearsarge never lost its cool, but it struggled to find a way through.
Camp said he hoped a few of those shots down the stretch had fallen to tie the game. It was as close as 47-45 after a bucket by Whipple.
“You’ve proven that you guys are great teammates and great, great leaders and that’s why we’re here,” Camp said about his seniors. “They’re always a part of our brotherhood.”