The capital area faithful came out in droves to see the spectacle. After all, it’s not all that common that a player at this level reaches such a milestone. And considering it’s only happened 12 times since Concord High School opened its doors in 1927, Matt Giroux had every reason to soak up the moment during his standing ovation.
“It was a great feeling for me just because I know I’ve worked so hard these past four years to get 1,000 points. Just to have that last shot go in, it just felt so good,” Giroux said of the achievement shortly after a heartbreaking 71-68 overtime loss to Keene on Friday in Division I action.
Giroux entered the contest five points shy of the feat and drilled a 3-pointer in the first quarter before letting the moment build halfway into the second frame. With 3:55 to play before halftime, Giroux took a pass from Tyler Blodgett, drove into the paint toward the right block and pushed a floater up toward the basket and into the hoop.
Play was stopped momentarily as the crowd rose to its feet to give Concord’s newest member of the 1,000-point club a deserving applause. Giroux received a commemorative game ball and shared a special moment with his parents, who met him at halfcourt during the celebration.
He was the ninth male to reach the milestone in Crimson Tide history and joined the likes of recently retired NBA player Matt Bonner, who scored his 1,000th point for Concord in 1999.
“It was definitely special to have my family that’s been supporting me through it all,” Giroux said. “I’m glad they could share that moment with me.”
“He’s a good kid. No attitude and he wants to be a player,” Concord Coach Dave Chase added. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get that win to go with it which would have been nice. But it’s great to see him get the milestone here at home and join an elite group of past players.”
On a night where emotions were already high in the anticipation of Giroux’s key bucket, the level of excitement only heightened as the game progressed into the second half.
Concord led by six after two quarters, and extended its lead to as much as 12 in the third before Keene’s Logan Galanes caught fire from beyond the arc. Galanes (game-high 32 points) connected on back-to-back triples in the closing moments of the third, and struck again from deep in the early parts of the fourth to bring the Blackbirds within six at 53-47.
With the game hanging in the balance late in the fourth, the Crimson Tide began to fall apart with self-inflicted wounds. Tied at 57-all, Concord made the defensive stop it needed, but was called for a travel on the way up the court. Another key defensive stop on the next possession quickly turned into a jump ball with the arrow pointing toward Keene. Then a foul and a turnover from Concord set Keene up with a pair of free throws and an easy layup to pull ahead, 61-57.
“It’s the same story all season long,” Chase said. “We play really hard, we play with a lot of heart, we just can’t execute as a team yet. We missed a lot of easy layups and missed some opportunities where we could of extended the lead. … In the same breath, my heart bleeds for them because they want to win so bad.”
Concord would send the game to overtime on a pair of free throws from John Kalisz (11 points), but the Tide opened up the extra frame with three straight turnovers and couldn’t deliver on a 3-point prayer to tie the game at the buzzer.
“I think a lot of key players stepped up in the game so each player improved but we’re 1-7 right now,” Giroux said. “We just got to have that mentality that we got to win the next one, and the next one and take it one game at a time. We just have to win the next game.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3340, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
Pembroke 85, Plymouth 78, 2OT
Key players: Pembroke – Jake Sherman (38 points), Sean Menard (25 points), Noah Cummings (15 points)
Highlights/key moments: Menard and Sherman helped the Spartans pull away in the second overtime with game-changing baskets.
Coach’s quote: “This is a game that could have gone either way. We are happy with the win but we are going to stay humble and stay hungry.” – Pembroke’s Shannon Sciria
Records: Pembroke 4-4; Plymouth 1-7
Lebanon 56, Bow 43
Key players: Bow – Nate Alford (17 points, 8 rebounds), Ryan Andrews (10 points), Ben Guertin (9 points)
Highlights/key moments: After a bad second quarter, the Falcons bounced back and outscored Lebanon by 10 points in the second half. The re-emerging offense was not enough to catch Lebanon as Bow fell in its third straight game.
Coach’s quote: “I challenged them at halftime and they responded. … Lebanon had one loss, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean you back down.” – Bow’s Chris Gaudreau
Records: Bow 3-5; Lebanon 6-1
Coe-Brown 60, John Stark 56
Key players: Coe-Brown – Scott Spenard (17 points, 4 steals), Brody Ashley (16 points, 4 rebounds), Sam Lupinacci (15 points, 6 rebounds), Dylan Andrews (4 points, 9 rebounds), Shawn Spenard (6 points, 6 assists); Stark – Cooper Gorski (15 points), Isaiah Lovering (15 points, 3 assists), Drew McQuarrie (13 points, 16 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears and Generals were tied 12-12 after one quarter, but Coe-Brown pulled ahead for a 33-26 lead at halftime and were able to hold on.
Coach’s quote: “This was a solid win on the road against a solid team. Both teams played hard defensively.” – Coe-Brown’s David Smith
“It was a hard-fought game both ways. It was tight the whole way. I am proud of how we handled ourselves tonight. I think it was probably one of, if not our best, games of the year.” – Stark’s Mike Smith
Records: Coe-Brown 9-1; John Stark 5-4
Hopkinton 67, Campbell 58
Key players: Hopkinton – Henry Yianakopolos (season-high 25 points), Cam Cyr (16 points), Zachary Signor (9 points), Dustin Rose (6 points), Tucker Windhurst (4 points), Kevin Newton-Delgado (4 points)
Highlights/key moments: Hopkinton got out to an early lead but Campbell battled back to lead at halftime, 26-23. A strong third quarter by Hopkinton led to a 42-40 lead, one that the Hawks never relinquished by scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Coach’s quote: “Excellent total team effort tonight, especially on the defensive side led by Tucker Windhurst and Kevin McGrath. On offense, Henry, Cam and Zachary contributed the bulk of our scoring. I am proud of the guys for continuing to play hard from start to finish.” – Hopkinton’s Stephen Signor
Records: Hopkinton 10-0; Campbell 6-3
Winnisquam 41, Mascoma 38
Key players: Winnisquam – Logan Morrison (16 points), Thomas Marchese (11 points), Kyle Mann (10 points), Isaiah Singleton (4 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists)
Highlights/key moments: Winnisquam led for most of the game, but never found enough seperation to cruise to an finish. Instead, Mascoma hit some key shots in the final quarter, but the Bears were able to respond and hang on for their third win in the last four games.
Records: Winnisquam 7-4; Mascoma 5-5
Bow first, Gilford second, Belmont third, Bishop Brady fourth, Laconia fifth, Newfound seventh
Key players: Bow – Ben Wachsmuth (eighth slalom, fifth giant slalom), Alex Magini (third slalom, eighth GS), Tony Sampo (10th slalom); Gilford – Tyler Hanf (third GS), Christian Workman (fourth slalom, sixth GS); Belmont – Nolan Gagnon (second slalom), Lars Major (sixth slalom, fourth GS), Jake Deware (seventh slalom, ninth GS), Nick Galambos (10th GS); Brady – Danny Bryck (fifth slalom, second GS), Matteo Ticli (ninth slalom, seventh GS); Laconia – Thomas Turpin (first GS)
Concord 6-0-1, Bow 4-3, Bishop Brady 3-4, Kearsarge 2-5, Merrimack Valley 1-6, Hopkinton 0-7
Key players: Concord – Max Case (won 200 IM and 100 free), Kevin Quinn (won 200 and 500 free), Jay Blasko (second 200 freestyle, third 100 back), Ethan Case (second 500 free); Bow – Ethan Rychwalski (second 50 free), Kyle Mason (fifth 50 free),
Highlights/key moments: Cross was joined by Blasko, Jace Castellano and Aaron Saffian for a Concord win the 200 free relay, and Quinn, Blasko and Case for a win the 400 free relay.
Coach’s quote: “The boys are looking well placed for the upcoming state championships with four individual qualifiers: Case, Quinn, Blasko and Case.” – Concord’s Bill Quinn