RallyNorth.net

PELHAM — Running uphill all night, No. 8 Pelham High ran out of time and energy, falling to No. 9 Lebanon, 47-42, last night in the New Hampshire Division 2 playoff opener.
"We just kept digging holes for ourselves, and we never quite recovered," said Pelham coach Matt Regan, whose club actually led twice, 1-0 and 19-18.
Most of the night, though, belonged to Lebanon, which built advantages of 16-8 after
one quarter and 28-19 at the half.
"They killed us inside, on the offensive glass," said Regan. "It was 1-2-3 shots every possession. We did a better job in the second half."

Strong defense from Alex Newton (career-high 11 points) and Brian Finney helped Pelham subdue Windham's offense in a 53-42 victory. Sophomore Jeff Peterson kept the Jaguars competitive in defeat with a fierce effort on the boards and a game-high 18 points.

All 13 players scored at least one point in Pelham's 65-21 boys basketball victory over Sanborn. The visiting Indians were shut out in both the first and third quarters.

Pelham shot 11 of 14 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to hold off host Hollis-Brookline and win, 65-58. Derek Defranzo led the Pythons with a game-high 21 points.

Brett Bailey (10) and Jake Vaiknoras (6) combined for 16 of Pelham's 18 fourth-quarter points as the Pythons held off hard-charding Portsmouth 48-45. Vaiknoras finished with a game-high 19 points while Bailey finished with 13.

With 8.8 seconds left in regulation, Pelham's Derek Defranzo knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game. But Oyster River responded to down the Pythons 59-58. Defranzo finished the night with 22 points.

Erik Nystrom's rebounding and Derek DeFranzo's free throw shooting combined to earn Pelham a 50-44 victory over Windham. Nystrom pulled down seven clutch offensive boards in the final four minutes to give the Pythons extra opportunities. DeFranzo — a "beast with the ball" according to Python head coach Matt Regan — hit on 14 of 16 free throws in an 18-point night. Windham used strong team defense and a couple of key charges drawn by Connor Redmond to stay close.

Derek Defranzo had nine steals and 19 points and Brett Bailey chipped in with 14 points as Pelham clipped Dracut 55-40 in the first round of the Lowell Christmas Tournament. The Pythons will play the winner of Lowell-Westford Wednesday at 6 p.m.