Two weeks ago, the Merrimack Valley boys’ basketball team sat at 3-10. The Pride was barely within shouting distance of the Division II tournament, but MV Coach Tim Mucher refused to stay quiet.
“We’ve been talking about making the playoffs for the last four games. Why can’t we run the table and make it? Who says we can’t?” Mucher said. “I challenged the kids and they’ve responded.”
After Friday’s 63-50 win at Pembroke Academy, the Pride has won four straight and the dreams of running the table and making the playoffs is alive and well. It looks like MV (7-10) will make it either way, but a win in its regular-season finale at Kingswood (5-10) on Tuesday should cement a postseason berth.
“They haven’t let their guard down, they haven’t stopped working,” Mucher said of his players. “They’re still practicing hard and I’m still on them. They’re starting to have confidence and they’re starting to figure things out. We’re not doing crazy things to lose games any more. We’re learning and understanding, and hopefully we can take the next step forward.”
A big part of MV’s improvement has come on the defensive end, where the Pride is now fully comfortable with Mucher’s matchup zone philosophy. During the last four wins, MV has allowed just 46.5 points per game, and on Friday night, the Pride held the Spartans (7-9) to just six first-quarter points on their home floor.
“MV came in on a mission and wanted it way more than we did tonight,” Pembroke Coach Shannon Sciria said. “I give them a ton of credit for their work ethic and energy.”
Thanks to that energy and defense, Merrimack Valley led 14-6 after one and 30-17 going into halftime. On the offensive end, James Shattuck led the way with 27 points.
“James has really been playing well,” Mucher said. “He’s been a good leader for us as a senior and his shooting has been spot on.”
Not only did Shattuck bury four 3-pointers, he was also a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line.
Pembroke found more offense in the second half, but it wasn’t nearly enough to catch the Pride. Sophomore guards Sean Menard (15 points) and Noah Cummings (13 points) paced the Spartans, who have now lost four of five and are fighting for a playoff spot themselves.
Caleb Laclair finished with 11 points for MV, Jake Hebert had eight and Ryan Defina and Ben Davis added five apiece.
Nashua North 72, Concord 52
Key players: Tyler Bruns (13 points, 7 rebounds), Matt Giroux (10 points), Tyler Blodgett (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide has been playing well recently, but Concord came out flat against North and paid the price. The Titans built a 43-22 halftime lead and never looked back.
Coach’s quote: “I’m happy with the process and we’re getting better, but my expectations were that we were going to be better than we were today.” – Concord’s Dave Chase
Records: Concord 4-12; Nashua North 9-7
Coe-Brown 83, Oyster River 70
Key players: Coe-Brown – Scott Spenard (27 points, 4 assists, 4 steals), Brody Ashley (21 points), Sam Lupinacci (12 points, 5 steals), Mike Mulligan (8 points), Dylan Andrews (6 points, 8 rebounds), Jacob Snow (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears were in high offensive gear all night long, building a 40-30 halftime lead in front of a packed house.
Coach’s quote: “This is a rivalry game, and you never know what’s going to happen in one of those.” – Coe-Brown’s Dave Smith
Records: Coe-Brown 14-2; Oyster River 1-15
Lebanon 50, John Stark 46
Key players: John Stark – Drew McQuarrie (16 points, 10 rebounds), Cooper Gorski (11 points), Troy Gamache (9 points), Chase Patterson (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: John Stark kept things close throughout against visiting Lebanon, one of the top teams in Division II. The Generals led by three at halftime before falling behind by six going into the fourth quarter, but they forced Lebanon into some late turnovers and the game stayed tight until the end.
Coach’s quote: “I thought we played a lot tougher than we did on Monday (a 46-37 loss to Bishop Brady). We got back to basics and it showed. We played a lot smarter and a lot of guys really stepped up.” – John Stark’s Mike Smith
Records: John Stark 9-7; Lebanon 14-1
Souhegan 56, Bow 42
Key players: Bow – Brendan Winch (8 points, 5 rebounds), Ben Guertin (7 points, 2 steals), Matt Scanlon (6 points, 6 rebounds), Colin Plumb (4 points, 3 steals)
Highlights/key moments:
Coach’s quote: “Give Souhegan credit, their pressure defense really got us out of what we were trying to do on offense. They took us out of our rhythm and we really never recovered. They just outplayed us.” – Bow’s Chris Gaudreau
Records: Bow 4-12; Souhegan 5-11
Hopkinton 69, Mascenic 61
Key players: Hopkinton – Henry Yianakopolos (21 points), Cam Cyr (14 points), Kevin McGrath (10 points), Kevin Newton-Delgado (9 points), Dustin Rose (8 points), Zachary Signor (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: After trailing for the entire first half, Hopkinton outscored Mascenic 20-10 in the third quarter to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Coach’s quote: “It was a very physical game on an emotional night for our seniors. They played their last regular-season home game, Senior Night, at another gym (NHTI, due to a leak in the roof at the Hopkinton gym).” – Hopkinton’s Stephen Signor
Records: Hopkinton 16-2; Mascenic 13-5
Berlin 50, Winnisquam 49
Key players: Winnisquam – Isaiah Singleton (13 points), Kyle Mann (10 points), Thomas Marchese (9 points), Blaise Ross (9 points), Logan Morrison (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears held a 46-26 lead after three quarters in Berlin, but the wheels fell off the bus in the fourth. Winnisquam got a little tight while the Mountaineers played physical, and the home team banked in a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to go up, 50-49. The loss means the Bears will most likely play in the No. 16-17 first-round Division III playoff game.
Coach’s quote: “The first three quarters were our best three of the year, and the fourth quarter was our worst. We just didn’t execute. I wish I had the right words to say or play to call, but I didn’t.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
Records: Winnisquam 8-10; Berlin 14-4
Bishop Brady 67, Hollis-Brookline 57
Key players: Bishop Brady – Riley Bennett (20 points, 8 rebounds), Sam Will (16 points, 10 rebounds), Sarah Doherty (14 points, 6 assists), Cait Mallahan (9 points, 13 rebounds) Sofia Riccio (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: Riccio, a freshman, hit a key 3-pointer in the third quarter that propelled Brady to the win at home against a tough Hollis-Brookline team.
Coach’s quote: “It was an all-around good team effort from start to finish. I was pleased with the way the team fought in our last game of the regular season, which felt like a playoff atmosphere. Now we have to prepare for the playoffs and come ready to play.” – Bishop Brady’s Annie Alosa
Records: Bishop Brady 16-2; Hollis-Brookline 13-5
Bow 41, Souhegan 24
Key players: Bow – Taylor Darrell (13 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds), Lauren Goyette (15 points, 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, 3 steals, 8 rebounds), Sarah Martin (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: It was the fifth win in the last six games for the Falcons, who end their regular season on a high note.
Records: Bow 12-6; Souhegan 8-10
Lebanon 50, John Stark 33
Key players: John Stark – Emily Patten (10 points), Laura Martin (8 points), Autumn Nelson (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: Lebanon wrapped up an undefeated regular season with the win at home. The Generals stayed close in the first quarter, but the Raiders outscored them 13-4 in the second to take control.
Coach’s quote: “The Generals competed for 32 minutes, enabling them to stay, at times, within striking distance. We look forward to playing in the state tournament versus the number two seed.” John Stark’s Don Poitras
Records: John Stark 6-12; Lebanon 18-0
Coe-Brown 39, Oyster River 31
Key players: Coe-Brown – Ahna McCusker (11 points, 7 rebounds), Kerry Riley (9 points, 4 rebounds), Shannon Riley (8 points, 8 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears used a 10-2 run in the final four minutes to earn the win on Senior Night against their rivals from Oyster River.
Coach’s quote: “I hope that our team will fight as hard in the playoffs as Oyster River did tonight. They left it all out there in their final game of the season.” – Coe-Brown’s Joe Vachon
Records: Coe-Brown 10-8; Oyster River 4-14