RallyNorth.net

Londonderry rolls in Battle of Lancers

Monday, December, 28 By Michael Muldoon

NORTH ANDOVER — It was a sight to behold.
Londonderry junior Jake Coleman drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. He drained a trey from the left wing. Then his top-of-the-key 3-pointer bounced high off the rim and in.
It was nine points in the final 75 seconds (actually it only took him 66 seconds) and Lawrence was all but done. That made it 41-17 at halftime and shellshocked Lawrence never recovered in the interstate Battle of the Lancers.
The MVC Lancers did scrap to the end, cutting the margin to 11 in the fourth, but the defending New Hampshire state champions were brilliant from the line to cruise to the 77-62 win.
The second quarter was a stunning 24-3 punch in the face delivered by the Granite Staters, who are in the Christmas Tourney for the first time.
Seeded 7th by the tourney committee, Londonderry beat No. 2 Andover in the opener and No. 3 Lawrence last night. Next up, No. 1 Central Catholic Wednesday (8 p.m.) for the 41st annual Commonwealth Classic title.
Coleman, after a subpar outing with six points against Andover, poured in a game-high 23 (4 of 7 on 3’s). Impressive 6-4 sophomore Matt Corey added 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Underrated 5-8 sophomore guard Cole Britting chipped in with 16 points including 12 for 12 from the line (10 for 10 in the fourth).
Cam MacDonald added 11 (3 of 4 on 3’s, one from Steph Curry-land) and 240-pound football star Cam Reddy hit for nine for the balanced winners.
Of his torrid stretch, Coleman explained, “It’s a game of runs. I just let it fly. The third one was shooter’s touch. Obviously, I want to be a scorer. That’s my role.”
“This is a  big accomplishment,” said third-year Londonderry coach Nate Stanton. “I’m excited for this group. They earned it.”
Nobody in the tourney passes like Londonderry, which beautifully whipped the ball around the perimeter time after time to get open shots.
“Be unselfish, that’s the key to our offense,” said Stanton. “We instill in them make the extra pass. It’s an unselfish group.”
Lawrence fought to the end behind slashing 6-3 lefty Benammi Rodriguez (18 points) and a couple little known underclassmen. Christopher Ruiz, a 6-2 freshman, had all six of his points in the fourth and junior 6-2 lefty William Bierd had all nine of his points in an eye-opening third-quarter effort.
Stanton knows all too well getting to the final is a lot different than winning it. In the 39 years it has been a one-division tourney, New Hampshire teams have played a combined 57 times (Salem, Pinkerton and Winnacunnet).
Yet, the Granite State has never brought home the coveted title.
The last to make the final was Salem in 2003. They had a terrific guard on that team by the name of Nate Stanton. The opponent they had on the ropes that night? Central Catholic.
“Central Catholic, we wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Stanton, a mild-mannered type on the sidelines.
Coleman, a returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star, is fired up for the finale.
“This is huge. We can’t stop here. We want to go 1 for 58!

Londonderry 77, Lawrence 62
Commonwealth Classic Semifinal
Lawrence (62): Jayson DeSoto 2 0-0 4, Felix Juan Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Ronny Pena 0 1-2 1, Christopher Ruiz 3 0-2 6, Kevin Vanderhorst 0 2-2 2, William Bierd 4 0-0 9, Alvaro Gudiel 0 0-0 0, Ricardo Tejada 5 1-3 11, Marcos Germosen 1 1-3 3, Benammi Rodriguez 8 2-2 18, Mikey Caban 3 1-2 8. Totals 26 8-16 62.
Londonderry (77): Cam Reddy 4 1-2 9, Nate Gaw 0 0-0 0, Cole Britting 2 12-12 16, Cam MacDonald 4 0-0 11, Matt Corey 7 4-5 18, Jake Coleman 7 5-6 23, Ethan May 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 22-25 77
3-pointers: Law — Bierd, Caban; Lond — Coleman 4, MacDonald 3
Londonderry (3-1):     17 24 14 22 — 77
Lawrence (2-3):     14  3 21 24 — 62