Mike Donnell wasn’t sure which Franklin team would show up to Tuesday’s boys’ basketball game at Winnisquam. Would it be the group that won four straight in the first two weeks of February to push itself into playoff contention? Or would it be the one that dropped a disappointing decision at White Mountains on Friday and followed that up with a lousy practice on Monday?
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Donnell, who is in his first year as the Golden Tornadoes head coach. “But the kids came to play tonight, and I am so proud of them.”
The Tornadoes (8-9) trailed by 11 in the first quarter, but they got a career night from Matt Hennessy (14 points, nine steals, six blocks) and non-scoring contributions from leading scorer Jayden Torres (eight points, four steals) on their way to a 48-42 win over the Bears (8-9) in front of a full gym in Tilton.
“The crowd was crazy,” Donnell said. “The place was packed and the fans were loud for both sides. They were positive, but the place was real loud.”
Winnisquam’s Kyle Mann (17 points) and Thomas Marchese (eight points) helped the Bears to a quick offensive start and a 14-5 lead after the first quarter. But things got sloppy after that for the home team.
“We missed a lot of bunnies and we didn’t take care of the ball,” Winnisquam Coach Kevin Dame said. “I think those were the keys for us.”
The Bears stayed in the game with their defense, which was led by Logan Morrison (12 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks) and Isaiah Singleton (five points, 10 rebounds, four steals). They kept Torres in check, but Hennessy and Corey Nelson, who celebrated his 18th birthday with 10 points, picked up the slack and the game was knotted, 20-20, going into halftime.
“That was the Matt Hennessy I’ve been waiting to see all year,” Donnell said. “He showed up tonight and played his heart out. He may have only had 14 points, but I think that was the best game of his career.”
Franklin played zone defense for the first half, in part to protect Torres, who was slowed down by illness. But the Tornadoes switched to a man defense in the third quarter and held Winnisquam to just eight points in the frame. Franklin also got a third-quarter boost from Ray Girtman, who came off the bench to score nine points and grab 10 rebounds, all in the second half.
Still, the Tornadoes had just a two-point lead, 30-28, going into the fourth quarter. That’s when Torres asserted himself, handling the ball against Winnisquam’s full-court trap, distributing to his teammates and applying defensive ball pressure.
“We usually don’t do well when (Torres) doesn’t score, but it was a different element he brought to the floor tonight,” Donnell said. “He’s only a junior, but I thought he showed true leadership.”
Both teams are fighting for Division III’s No. 15 playoff seed – and to avoid the No. 16 or 17 seed to stay away from the play-in game (scheduled for Tuesday) – with one game left in the regular season. Winnisquam travels to Berlin (13-4) on Friday while Franklin hosts Hillsboro-Deering (0-17).
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or at tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)
Concord 80, Manchester Memorial 60
Key players: Concord – Matt Giroux (28 points, 12-for-18 shooting, 10 assists, 5 rebounds), Tyler Bruns (career-high 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), Colin Malloney (6 points, 6 rebounds), Tyler Blodgett (9 points), Jacob Knowles (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide shared and protected the ball well, finishing with 21 assists and just eight turnovers as Concord won for the third time in its last four games.
Coach’s quote: “The best all around game we’ve played all year. We shared the ball. They pressed us, but we protected the ball. It was unbelievable to watch. Everything we wanted be earlier in the season came together tonight. It was good to get a win against a quality team. Matt Giroux played like a college player tonight.” – Concord’s Dave Chase
Records: Concord 4-11; Memorial 7-8
Bow 55, Kingswood 50
Key players: Bow – Ryan Andrews (22 points), Nate Alford (10 points), Matt Scanlon (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: Alford found Scanlon for a go-ahead lay-up with 58 seconds remaining to give the Falcons a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Ben Guertin and Scanlon went 4-for-4 from line in the final minute to ice the game and give Bow Coach Chris Gaudreau his 100th career varsity win.
Coach’s quote: “I’m really, really, really proud of these guys for hanging in all season and continuing to play hard. We have three games left and hopefully we can build off this win and try to make a push for the playoffs.” – Bow’s Chris Gaudreau
Records: Bow 4-11; Kingswood 5-10
Merrimack Valley 53, Kennett 46
Key players: MV – James Shattuck (18 points), Caleb Laclair (18 points), Ryan Defina (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride didn’t play its best, but came away with its third-straight win.
Coach’s quote: “It was an ugly game, but a win is a win. We’ll take it.” – MV’s Tim Mucher
Records: MV 6-10; Kennett 3-12
Kearsarge 69, Mascoma 32
Key players: Kearsarge – Tayler Mattos (16 points, 11 rebounds), Tom Johnson (13 points, 5 assists), Joe Storozuk (13 points, 5 assists), Noah Tremblay (12 points), Kyle Hernon (10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars jumped out to a 44-23 halftime lead in their final home game of the regular season.
Coach’s quote: “It was a well-balanved team effort. It was nice to see every start in double digits. That’s going to be the key to our success going forward.” – Kearsarge’s Nate Camp
Records: Kearsarge 15-2; Mascoma 9-8
Somersworth 60, Belmont 55
Key players: Belmont – Trevor Hunt (22 points, 11 rebounds), Dylan Gansert (4 points, 7 rebounds), Matt Pluskis (6 points), Derek Stevens (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Raiders trailed early in both halves but battled back to take a four-point lead with three minutes to go. Cold shooting and costly turnovers combined with great shooting night from the Hilltoppers sealed the win.
Coach’s quote: “This one is on me. Up four with around three minutes to go, we have to win that game. I had two time outs in my pocket and I let the guys down tonight. I have to coach better and get us refocused before the tournament starts next week.” – Belmont’s Jim Cilley
Records: Somersworth 13-3; Belmont 14-3
Stevens 60, Hopkinton 56
Key players: Hopkinton – Henry Yianakopolos (23 points), Cam Cyr (14 points), Kevin McGrath (10 points), Tucker Windhurst (5 points); Stevens – Parker Smith (16 points), Nicholas O’Brien (16 points)
Highlights/key moments: On Monday, Stevens opened up a seven-point halftime lead at home and rode that momentum to a win on Senior Night over the Hawks.
Coach’s quote: “We needed more even distribution of scoring as we can’t rely on only a few guys to score.” – Hopkinton’s Stephen Signor
Records: Hopkinton 15-2; Stevens 14-3
Fall Mountain 53, H-D 30
Key players: Hillsboro-Deering – Kyle Merrill (8 points), William Dubuque (8 points), Zach Rowell (7 points, defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats trailed by one point at halftime, but the Wildcats pulled away in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “We were down 15-14 at halftime, but we just couldn’t keep up the defensive intensity in the second half.” – H-D’s Kevin Fowler
Records: Fall Mountain 6-11; H-D 0-17
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Manchester Memorial 55, Concord 31
Key players: Concord – Kasie Maloney (5 points), Ashley Kelley (5 points), Brighid Weeden (7 rebounds), Caitlyn Kelley (3 assists), Marissa Payne (4 points, 3 blocks off the bench)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide shot 2-for-25 in the first half and Memorial forced 17 turnovers to take a 30-5 halftime lead. Concord outscored the Crusaders, 26-25, in the second half, but couldn’t close the gap much.
Coach’s quote: “We dug ourselves too deep a hole in the first half. We played more like we are capable of in the second half, but you can’t start a game like we did tonight and be competitive.” – Concord’s Mike Achilles
Records: Memorial 8-9; Concord 3-14
Merrimack Valley 58, Kennett 32
Key players: MV – Abby Grandmaison (17 points, 9 rebounds), Megan Johnston (13 points), Carly Huckins (12 points, 5 assists), Camryn Burr (8 points, 8 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride stepped up the defense in the secondnd half, allowing only 11 points.
Coach’s quote: “We played well and as a team.” – MV’s David Huckins
Records: MV 11-6; Kennett 5-12
Souhegan 53, Pembroke 43
Key players: Pembroke – Brooklyn Zanis (14 points), Olivia Langevin (13 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans lost a key game in their playoff race.
Records: Souhegan 8-9; Pembroke 7-10