RallyNorth.net

DURHAM, N.H. — Time, and perhaps a little luck, ran out for the Salem boys basketball team last night.

As a result, the two-time defending champion and No. 2-seed Blue Devils couldn’t quite clear the final hurdle in the Class L semifinals before about 2,500 fans at Lundholm Gym on the University of New Hampshire campus.

DURHAM — Even with star guard Justin Hojlo playing at far less than 100 percent, Pelham didn’t give up its dream of a Class I championship without a fierce battle yesterday afternoon.
It took a red-hot shooting performance by Portsmouth in the second half to prevent the Pythons (21-4 overall, 20-2 in Class I) from winning their second state title in four years, suffering a 61-48 loss before more than 3,000 fans at Lundholm Gym at the University of New Hampshire.
With his right shooting hand and wrist heavily taped because of an injury suffered in the semifinals, the high-scoring Hojlo (state-leading 28.0 points per game) focused more on playmaking.
Through three quarters, Hojlo (10 points, eight assists) helped keep the No. 1-seed Pythons in the lead, 37-36, against a talented Portsmouth club that split with the Pythons during the regular season.
But sixth-seeded Portsmouth (16-6), which had struggled early in the game, turned into a shooting machine in the fourth quarter. Led by high scorer John Mulvey, who scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the final period, the Clippers were six of eight from the floor and 11 of 15 from the free throw line.
“They just made a lot of shots,” Pelham coach Todd Kress said. “We had a couple of defensive breakdowns, but give Portsmouth credit. It was tough to stop them.”
The loss ended a terrific four-year career for Hojlo. In those four years, he became Pelham’s all-time leading scorer with 1,810 points and led the Pythons to an overall record of 80-16 that included a state title (2006) and now a state runner-up.
Hojlo’s career point total is the second highest ever recorded in the region, trailing only Andover’s Chris Vetrano (2,090).
Losing Hojlo will be big, but the Pythons return a pair of tall and talented sophomores in 6-2 Stephen Spirou and 6-3 Michael Lombard, who combined for 25 points yesterday.

HUDSON NH — Cinderella’s slipper didn’t fit after all.

After a first round upset over no. 5 seed Manchester Central, the Londonderry boys basketball team fell in the Class L quarterfinals to another tourney surprise in Alvirne, 54-42. The loss marks the fifth straight season the Lancers have been ousted in the quarterfinals.

SALEM, N.H. - Salem High coach E.J. Perry lined the walls from the home locker-room to the the Davis Gym for his team with signs, highlighting the road to the 2009 state championship.

Once his Blue Devils found their home floor, they certainly took care of business.

DURHAM, N.H. - His team's double-digit lead melting away, his Player of the Year candidate playing one-handed (able to use only his weaker hand), Pelham High coach Todd Kress wondered aloud what Justin Hojlo would be able to give him in the final eight minutes.

DERRY, N.H. — Pinkerton had no answers for Brennan Donnelly.

Alvirne’s 6-5 senior center provided a winning skill set in Class L first round play against the Astros, commanding the low post and defensive paint using his football lineman physique while showing soft hands and a keen awareness of where his teammates were on the court. Owning both ends of the court with 16 points, 18 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 blocked shots and 2 steals, Donnelly helped deliver a convincing 72-46 upset of Pinkerton at Hackler Gym.

DERRY, N.H. — Pinkerton had no answers for Brennan Donnelly.

Alvirne’s 6-5 senior center provided a winning skill set in Class L first round play against the Astros, commanding the low post and defensive paint using his football lineman physique while showing soft hands and a keen awareness of where his teammates were on the court. Owning both ends of the court with 16 points, 18 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 blocked shots and 2 steals, Donnelly helped deliver a convincing 72-46 upset of Pinkerton at Hackler Gym.

SALEM, N.H. — As far as making a statement, Salem couldn’t have made a louder one than it did in the first quarter of last night’s 77-50 blowout of Timberlane in their Class L first-round matchup.
Josh Jones drilled a 3-pointer to start an eight-minute pasting that ended with No. 2-seed Salem ahead by a stunning 31-6. For one quarter, they looked more like the Blue Devils from Duke than the Blue Devils from Salem.
In that first quarter:
— With Mike Kimball nailing three 3-pointers, Salem finished with five trifectas and was 10 of 15 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
— In addition to shooting long balls, Mark Adamson got loose underneath and drove at will for nine points.
— Salem’s defense forced seven Timberlane turnovers and blocked seven shots.
“We wanted to make a statement,” said Jones, who led Salem with 19 points. “They said in the paper that they could play with us, and we wanted to show that we’re the defending champions and we can be the best team in the state again.”
Added Kimball: “People were shooting us down a little. We wanted to let everyone know that we’re coming on strong.”
It didn’t help Timberlane that it was playing its first tournament game, against a two-time defending champion, in five years.
“They’re a very, very good team and we hadn’t been in this situation in a long time,” said Cardone. “We were nervous and it showed. And it seemed like they couldn’t miss.”
Timberlane settled down a little in the second quarter, but its deficit was even larger at halftime, 54-23. By that time, Salem (16-3) already had three players (Kimball with 15 of his 17 points, Jones with 14 and Alex LaRosa with 10 of his 15) in double figures.
As the teams got ready for the second half, the Salem student section started yelling “it’s all over, it’s all over,” and it was hard to dispute the chant, even with 16 minutes left to play.
When head coach E.J. Perry cleared the bench with six minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, Salem was ahead by 40 points, 72-32.
Salem will now host No. 7-seed Bishop Guertin in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday. Guertin, which fell at home to Salem by only five points back in January, whipped Dover last night, 81-67.
If there was one bright light for the Owls (6-13), it was the play of senior Erik Hatton. Despite often seeing double teams, he ended his career in style, scoring 17 points in the first half and finishing with a game-high 25 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.
“If he doesn’t make all-state, it’ll be a travesty,” said Cardone. “Erik has had a great year.”
Taylor Vondrasek came on strong against the Salem reserves to finish with 10 points.

LOWELL - Lynn English accomplished what no other Bay State team could this year. The Bulldogs flustered Central Catholic to the point of bewilderment.

Forcing 30 Raider turnovers, including 16 on steals, English ended Central's bid for a state championship repeat with a gate-to-wire 71-60 victory before about 4,000 fans in the Division 1 North title game at Tsongas Arena.

PELHAM, N.H. - Long before this playoff ever started, the NHIAA granted Pelham High and the rest of the power programs around the state a gift, with higher seeds earning two home games not just one.

Salem topped Manchester Central 65-47 behind a solid performance from Sean Bergeron. Bergeron was dominant in the post, tying his career high in points with 18 and adding 12 boards to complete the double-double. Josh Jones chipped in 13 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Alex LaRosa added 13 points (all in the first half).

Seniors David Feinstein (10), Chris Crutcher (7) and T.J. Martinez (6) combined for 23 much-needed points in Londonderry's 40-35 win over Merrimack. Junior Matt Sanborn led the team in scoring with 11 points.

READING — Down 1 with 5.9 seconds left and the opposition's top player on the foul line?

You're just not supposed to win.

Tell that to Billy Marsden. The Central Catholic senior hauled in Jerome Cohen's miss, turned to head up court and was fouled.

For a guy who's made the acrobatic to near-impossible look easy with tourney games on the line, foul shots are a snap, even with 2,500 screaming fans peering down on you.

"At the line, it's the same shot no matter how often you take it," said Marsden, who calmly swished a pair with :04.1 on the clock and made two more a second later after an Everett turnover, lifting Central to a wild 47-44 Division 1 North semifinal win.

"It's not like there's someone in your face, no defense, no leaning, just a regular shot. And I practice those all the time."

The victory sent the defending state champs to a fourth straight North title appearance, sixth in the last seven years. Sunday night (7 p.m.) at Tsongas Arena, the top-seeded Raiders will tangle with No. 3 Lynn English for a ticket to the Garden.

"I feel a little bit guilty, I feel like we stole one," said a relieved coach Rick Nault after his team survived 25 turnovers in an absolute meat-grinder of a game. "We're not a great offensive team. We win because we play pretty good defense. There was no doubt in our guys that they were going to pull this one out."

Central had plenty of opportunity to second-guess itself, what with plodding Everett dictating the pace and carrying the lead from the opening tip deep into the fourth.

A Luis Puello free throw gave Central its first lead of the night, 41-40, with 3:48 left to play. When Marsden plucked a steal and found Carson Desrosiers ahead of the pack for a ferocious two-handed slam, it appeared Central might finally hit its stride.

But deliberate and dangerous Everett wasn't done.

The Tide answered with a pair of hoops to grab the lead back at 44-43 with 1:48 to go.

From there, neither team could find the hoop.

Central turned it over twice and missed a pair of jumpers. Meanwhile, Everett answered with a violation, a Desrosiers-altered miss and back-to-back missed front ends of the one-and-one, the second of which was terminal when the basketball finally found Big Shot Billy.

Trailing by as many as seven in a 24-20 first half, Central truly was fortunate to be hanging around.

The Tide surrounded Desrosiers and face-guarded Marsden, leaving the scoring in everyone else's hands for the most part.

With points at a premium, Nault got three huge hoops from senior Tim Wheeler, a fearless seven from the frosh Puello and four of five free throws out of Michael Garcia.

The contributions were just enough to keep Central involved until Desrosiers cranked up the shot-swatter and Marsden willed his way to 17 second-half points, a game-high 20 overall.

Desrosiers, who filled out his triple-double with 13 rebounds and 12 blocks, made just five of 12 shots for 11 points. With six fourth-quarter blocks, he simply shut Everett down.

"Defensively, he just takes everything away," said Nault. "Not just the blocks, but every rebound and he changes so many shots."

Now 23-1, Central gets two days to prepare of Lynn English, which knocked off No. 2 Lexington, 74-69, last night.

Robby Ficker went off for 27 points (tying the game-high) in Sanborn's 75-70 loss to Campbell. The Indians had a 44-41 lead at the half but were the victims of a poorly-timed 8-point third quarter. Joe Eudenbach chipped in 14 points.

PELHAM, N.H. — Scoring has never been an issue for Pelham but defense has, especially where Souhegan has been concerned.

Despite just sneaking into the Class I postseason as a 16th and last seed, the 6-12 Sabers have given teams fits. They scored more points than they allowed this season, rare for a sub-.500 squad, and lost seven games by two possessions or less. Souhegan even challenged the top-ranked Pythons in two close defeats, ringing up 75 points just a week ago.