BEDFORD – Chris Stanchfield closed his eyes, exhaled and spun the ball in his left hand as he toed the free-throw line.
After he sank the first of the one-and-one opportunity, he made the second free throw and quickly back pedaled for the biggest defensive stand Kearsarge needed in the game.
The third-seeded Cougars held a three-point lead and there was still enough time for seventh-ranked Mascoma to get a shot off after a timeout. The play call was to have Ben Seiler shoot off a screen on the wing and – for a split second – it looked open.
Then Stanchfield fought through the screen, forced the contested shot and, with baited breath, watched it rim out as Kearsarge defeated Mascoma 45-42, in the Division III semifinal on Tuesday night at Bedford High School.
On a team littered with stars in the division, Stanchfield shined the brightest on the Cougars’ biggest stage to date. The senior forward had an impact up and down the court. With his team down by four points midway through the final quarter, he scored six straight points, with fellow senior forward George Jallah converting a breakaway opportunity to put Kearsarge back on top.
Down four and the clock shrinking, Mascoma guard Cole Moulton knocked down a clutch three-pointer, bringing the Royals within one, flipping the momentum their way.
A loose ball created a mess of bodies at the top of the key. That’s when Stanchfield came away with the ball and was fouled with his team already in the bonus.
“Every possession mattered, and whenever we were in a huddle, all we talked about was defense, not scoring,” Stanchfield said afterward. “We needed to stop them.”
All season long, Kearsarge has prided itself on its defensive abilities and, with a trip to the program’s first Division III final since 2017 on the line, that identity showed itself in the closing seconds. Clogging the lane, cutting the front court to eliminate a go-ahead two-pointer, hands in the face.
It’s what the Cougars do.
That’s not to say, however, it was textbook throughout the game. The Royals, who defeated Kearsarge on Jan. 31, found an offensive rhythm in the third quarter, led by Michael Loynds and Zach Thompson. The two guards scored back-to-back corner three-pointers, and Thompson had a three-point play by converting his foul shot after a successful layup.
Eventually, the Cougars found their way back to their program’s roots with their senior star leading the effort.
“In games like this, your all-state kids kind of have to take over, and he certainly did,” Kearsarge coach Nate Camp said.
Kearsarge avenged one loss from last season’s playoff run by actually winning Tuesday’s semifinal game. Now it has the chance to beat the team that ended its season one game early a year ago as top-ranked Gilford – a 54-36 winner over No. 5 White Mountains in the night’s other semi – returns to its third consecutive championship game. Gilford edged Hopkinton, 41-40, for last year’s D-III crown and was awarded a share of 2020 honors with Mascenic at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The programs haven’t played each other since that tournament game, but the matchup never mattered to Kearsarge. What mattered was making it to that game and, now, winning that game.
“We’ve got to be at our best in late February (to) be playing on that last Saturday,” Camp said. “The goal now is to finish it.”