RallyNorth.net

DURHAM, N.H. — Frustrate, fluster and find a way to generate enough offense.

Pelham High, seeded fourth, got two-thirds of the job done against unbeaten No. 1 Milford High in the New Hampshire Division 2 semifinals here at Lundholm Gym.

PELHAM — A killer instinct is a great thing to have at this stage of the season. And the Pelham boys showed off that commodity in the first round of the Division II state tournament.

Unable to put away visiting Kingswood Regional through three quarters despite outstanding shooting, the fourth-seeded Pythons needed less than 4 minutes to turn a 10-point advantage into a 22-point lead. When the onslaught was over, Pelham advanced to the semifinals with a 74-58 victory over the ninth-seeded Knights.

Brett Bailey 11 of 12 from the line on his way to a game-high 25 points as Pelham outlasted Windham, 58-39. Joe Lorenz paced Windham with 13 points.

Derek DeFranzo, who broke his nose during the game, came back and was tremendous on the defensive end to lead Pelham past interstate rival Whittier, 51-42. "The kid's a warrior," said coach Matt Regan. Brett Bailey pumped in 15 points, picking up the slack for Stephen Spirou (ankle), who is probably out until early next week.

With top scorer Stephen Spirou out of the game with an ankle injury, Brett Bailey stepped up with 13 of his 15 points in the second half as Pelhem topped Bedford 57-51.

Dean Joyce sank a baseline 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime. From there, Pelham earned a 73-70 win at Pembroke. Joyce finished with 22 points which included five 3-pointers.

Pelham could do no wrong in its 87-31 defeat of Sanborn. Brian Finney created lots of Indian turnovers to jump-start the Python offense.

Steve Spirou exploded for a career-high 41 points as Pelham downed Hollis-Brookline 75-66. That point total matched the 41 former Pythons superstar Justin Hojlo posted against Souhegan during the 2008-09 season. Spirou sunk 16 shots and added nine free throws.

Brian Finney knocked down a jumper, and Dean Joyce sunk a pair of free throws in the final minute to clinch Pelham's 66-62 win over Oyster River.

PELHAM — As far as Division 2 measuring sticks go, there is none truer than defending champion Milford.

Pelham High, now completely understanding the task at hand, has two months to make up the difference.