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Salem's Meisser shoots down North

 SALEM — "The shooter," a philosophy by Jeff Meisser.

"I think that someone has got to to put the ball in the hoop. It might as well be me."

Last night, the Salem High senior guard authored an on-floor masterpiece with that motto, knocking down 7 of 12 three-point attempts on his way to a career-high 26 points. The eruption, mixed with some gritty, timely defense from backcourt mate Jonny Klecan powered Salem to a 53-42 win over Nashua North last night.

Now 6-1 in Division 1, Salem handed North only its second loss.

"People underestimated us losing (Eagle-Tribune Super Teamer) Alex LaRosa," said Meisser. But we have four of five starters returning with a lot of depth back. It's pretty much the same team, and we're playing well."

Meisser found ample area to operate early, shooting Salem to a quick 8-0 lead.

"A lot of that has to do with our big men (Joe Gallant and Mike Lorenz), especially on those high-low sets," said Meisser. "They're a big presence. The defense paid a lot of attention to them, and I got plenty of good looks."

Deliberate and precise, Salem built a lead of as many as 18 midway through the third before the passive approach began to work against the Blue Devils.

North trapped, sliced and carved at the lead, hacking away until a Salem margin that had been 39-21 in the third dwindled to 41-38 with 5:11 left.

Enter Klecan. The blazing 5-foot-5 junior stripped North's Javon Wright on one baseline and raced past everyone else to the other, scooping home a layin that provided some breathing room.

About 30 seconds later, Meisser went for the kill, his seventh triple of the night to extend it to 36-38. Salem wouldn't be stressed again.

Klecan and Gallant each added eight points for Salem, which looks to continue its four-game Tuesday night on the Seacoast at Winnacunnet.