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DURHAM ­­— After his team’s semifinal win on Tuesday night, Pinkerton Academy coach Pete Rosinski wondered aloud what would happen in the finals if the Londonderry High shooters went cold.
The answer? A wild, defensive classic would evolve.
In the end, It was Londonderry overcoming that tough night from the floor to make history, edging the Astros, 47-46, before a full house of 3,500 here yesterday at UNH’s Lundholm Gymnasium.
The Lancers, playing in the first state boys hoop title game in the school’s 37-year history, finished the campaign perfect in New Hampshire Division 1 at 22-0 and 24-1 overall.
“We’ve talked so much about how resilient this team is,” said Lancers coach Nate Stanton. “We have so many guys who are willing to step up when it counts. I think we saw that tonight and all season. Tonight, this was awesome.”
Nothing came easy for either team. In a fourth quarter that saw six lead changes and a pair of ties, the winning hoop came from the least likely of sources, Lancer sophomore Brandon Radford, off a wild defensive scramble with 50 seconds to go.
The hoop, a semi-breakaway lay-in – left-handed – came on a heady outlet from fellow sophomore Jake Coleman, who had just picked up the steal.
“As soon as I got the ball, I looked up,” said Coleman. “We talk about getting out and running, and getting it up the floor all the time. He was there.”
Radford, who had missed his previous two shots from the field, sent it up with a lot of guts, from the left.
“I just ran downcourt. I’ve been struggling all year with my lay-ups, and all I could see is winning and this moment right now. It’s amazing,” said Radford, who calmly banked in the game-winner under pressure with his off hand. “It was instinct. I’m righty. I caught the ball on that left side, so I put it up.”
Pinkerton would have its chances late. The best was an off-the-dribble three-point try by Matt Rizzo which just rimmed out as the final buzzer sounded.
“I’m proud of the way we played defense tonight,” said Rosinski. “We were right there, and we had a shot at it. It just didn’t go in. Go back to 2010 when we won it. Sometimes, they go in. This time it didn’t.”
After a feeling-out first quarter, each team took its swings with Londonderry dominating the second (26-12) and Pinkerton owning the third (13-5).
In the fourth, Stanton brought his leader, Cody Ball, back with four fouls and the Lancers holding a 37-35 advantage.
“I know he’s smart. He’s very smart,” said Stanton. “That’s why he’s scholarship player (St. Anselm). I put him on the side of the zone, and he played very well when we needed him there.”
Ball stayed on the floor and it was huge as each team swung with nothing but haymakers in the final eight minutes.
Geo Baker-Occeus’ sidestep three gave the Astros their first lead of the fourth at 42-41. The incomparable Coleman’s steal and lay-in made it 43-42.
Drew Green had the Astro answer with a baseline 15-footer, and the teams swapped two free throws each, setting up the final minute at 46-45 Pinkerton.
Marc Corey (6 of 7 from the field) paced the Lancers on a night when Ball (2 of 12) struggled. The St. Joseph’s of Maine-bound senior tossed in 17 points before fouling out in the final minute. The sophomore Coleman added 16 points and grabbed 11 huge defensive rebounds.
Rizzo led the Astros with a dozen points. Thomas Romick came off the bench to chip in 11 points in 22 minutes. Baker-Occeus, who had 30 in the semifinal win, added 10 on 4 of 12 shooting.

Londonderry 47, Pinkerton 46
N.H. Division 1 Final
Londonderry (47): Cody Ball 2 0-0 5, Joseph Kwiatkowski 2 1-3 6, Marc Corey 6 3-5 17, Nate Gaw 0 0-0 0, Jake Coleman 6 2-3 16, Cole Britting 0 0-0 0, Brandon Radford 1 1-2 3, Totals 17 7-13 47
Pinkerton (46): Drew Green 3 0-0 7, Caleb Godin 1 0-0 2, David Faulks 1 0-0 2, Matt Rizzo 4 2-3 12, Geo Baker-Occeus 4 0-0 9, Thomas Romick 4 1-3 11, Brennan Morris 0 0-0 0, Ben Olson 0 0-0 0, Thomas Olson 1 0-1 2, Totals 18 3-7 46
3-pointers: Londonderry (6-20) — Ball 1-8, Kwiatkowski 1-2, Corey 2-3, Gaw 0-1, Coleman 2-6; Pinkerton (7-27) — Green 1-8, Godin 0-1, Rizzo 2-5, Baker 2-4, 2-5, Morris 0-4
Londonderry (24-1):      6 26  5 10 — 47
Pinkerton (20-4):     10 12 13 11 — 46

DURHAM, N.H. – The calm, poised, contented look on Pete Rosinski's face wasn't fooling anyone.

Down 11 at half after absorbing a vicious 18-0 North barrage into halftime, Pinkerton sophomore point guard Geo Baker-Occeus summed his feelings up succinctly, “Of course, I was worried … But we came in here, coach just said we had to keep fighting. Keep shooting and the shots will keep falling.”

DERRY — After trading baskets during the first three quarters, which featured 11 lead changes, Pinkerton took control in the final period last night to earn the program's first semifinal berth since winning the 2010 Division 1 state title.

The third-seeded Astros picked up the pace on defense and nailed their free throws down the stretch, running away with a 57-50 victory over sixth-seeded Pembroke. Pinkerton (19-3) will take a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday's 6 p.m. semifinal against 15th-seeded Nashua North at the University of New Hampshire.

Pembroke (11-7) committed just five first-half turnovers, but a more concerted defensive effort after intermission forced the Spartans into coughing up the ball 10 times.

"That's what we wanted to do against them," said Geo Baker-Occeus, who had three of Pinkerton's six fourth-quarter steals. "We knew they didn't have a real point guard, so we wanted to get out and pressure them a lot more."

With the defense setting the pace, Pinkerton took the 34-30 advantage it took into the fourth and quickly opened it a game-best nine with 5:03 left when Baker-Occeus' two free throws provided a 44-37 lead.

"We were a lot more aggressive on the ball," said Pinkerton assistant coach Glenn Neagle, who subbed for head coach Peter Rosinski in the post-game interviews. "We started trapping, and forced them to give up the ball quicker so we could get some deflections and steals."

Pembroke, however, didn't go quietly as Dominic Timbas scored 14 of his game-high 31 in the fourth to keep the Spartans within shouting distance.

But the Astros salted away the victory by making 11 of 12 free throws in one stretch and 13 of 17 overall in the fourth.

"You work on it all year, and you tell the kids that 60 percent is not going to do it for you," Neagle said. "And we shoot and shoot free throw in practice and it really paid off tonight."

Baker-Occeus, who finished with 18, was the only Astro in double digits.

Both Pinkerton and Pembroke struggled the first half from the floor — especially from distance. The teams combined to make only 13 of 48 shots, including six of 27 from three-point range.

"We like to drive to the hoop," said Neagle, whose squad finished eight of 27 from three. "We like to go inside-out basketball. We were settling in the first half and not shooting the ball very well, but defensively we held our own because we held them to 18 points at halftime."

Last night marked the 13th time this season, the Astros held an opponent to 50 or fewer. One of those was their semifinal opponent.

In a Jan. 30 game against Nashua North, Pinkerton held the Titans to 25 points while scoring 74, one of six games in which the Astros tallied 70 or more. Nashua North, however, knocked off second-seeded and defending champion Manchester Central 74-71 before eking out a one-point quarterfinal win over 10th-seeded Trinity last night.

"Our confidence is great," Baker-Occeus said. "I think we're playing real well right now. We're playing as a team, and everyone in the locker room is great picking each other up. We can go as high as we want."

Matt Rizzo had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Pinkerton past Merrimack 58-48 in its final regular season game. The Astros enter the tournament next week with a 17-3 record, 15-3 in New Hampshire.

Trailing 28-18 at halftime, Pinkerton's boys outscored Exeter 48-19 in the second half to roll to a 66-47 victory. David Faulks led the way with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks while Matt Rizzo scored all 16 of his points in the second half.

Matt Rizzo (13 points, 10 assists, 6 steals) led Pinkerton boys to a 78-45 victory over Concord. 

Londonderry drained 10 3-pointers and pulled away from Pinkerton in the second half for a 67-61 victory. Jack Coleman led all scorers with 25 points, which included three trifectas, while Cody Ball chipped in with five 3-pointers among his 22 points.

Balanced Pinkerton had four players in double figures in a 74-25 shellacking of North. Drew Green had a strong game with 11 points while Geo Baker-Occeus scored a game-high 19, Matt Rizzo added 13 points and Brennan Morris 11.

Brennan Morris sank six 3-pointers for 18 points as Pinkerton hammered Winnacunnet 64-33. Tom Olson added nine points.

NORTH ANDOVER — Junior guard Matt Rizzo and the Pinkerton boys basketball team continue to prove the doubters wrong.

When you’re coming off an 8-13 campaign, and lose your best player (Eagle-Tribune All-Star Luke Rosinski), there doesn’t seem to be much reason for optimism.