SOUHEGAN
Sabers go from 0-7 to the playoffs • B3
By Roger Brown
SOUHEGAN High School boys basketball coach Peter Pierce has seen some strange things during his lengthy coaching career, but perhaps nothing as odd as how his team’s current season has unfolded.
Souhegan opened the Division II season with seven straight losses, but then did an about-face and won eight in a row. Not only will the Sabers qualify for the Division II tournament, they have a chance to earn a home game.
“The injury bug bit us hard early,” Pierce explained. “We were a new team that hadn’t played together. A lot of JV guys, so it took us a while to get traction. It took us a while to mature. The kids … they’ve been great. It’s a tribute to them.
“You have to be a student of the game to play for me. I throw a lot at them. This group has responded really well.”
Pierce said Souhegan graduated about 75% of the team’s scoring and minutes from last year’s team, which was seeded third for the Division II tournament and was upset by Oyster River in the first round. In addition to being young, the Sabers had to deal with the injury bug.
Before Christmas, senior Nick Nowak was lost for the season with a torn ACL; senior Nolan Colby missed the first seven games with a hamstring injury he sustained during a scrimmage against Manchester West; and Sean McCool had tendinitis in his left knee that caused him to miss three weeks.
“We had one starter returning and then we had a couple of kids who had played some (varsity) minutes,” Pierce said. “Only four seniors on this team, so we were going into games with kids who weren’t quite ready to be there.
“It might have paid dividends. They had no choice but to go out there and fight. They just kept their head in the right place and it’s paying off for them. “
A change in defensive philosophy midway through the season contributed to the turnaround as well. Souhegan allowed at least 60 points in five of its seven losses, but hasn’t given up more than 46 points during its eight-game winning streak. Four of the teams Souhegan beat failed to score more than 33 points.
“We still don’t score a lot of points,” Pierce said. “We need to live in the 40s, and maybe 50. We’re not a big transition team and we’re not a big 3-point-shooting team, but I think we can grind it out with most people. Good defense can keep you in a lot of games.
“Early on, when we started to win a couple games, some of that was schedule-related. We weren’t playing the meat of the division like we had previously. I think that helped matters.
“You can just see when a team is confident and feel like they’re in control, or at least they’re able to compete. I think we’re far more confident than we were.”
Souhegan will play Merrimack Valley (7-9) at home Friday night, and will wrap up the regular season next week with a road game against Manchester West (11-4) and a home game against ConVal (1-13). Two wins in those three games should allow Souhegan to finish in the top eight. Regardless, Pierce said he’s coaching a team that’s already battle-tested.
“We’ve been playing playoff games for a month,” he said. “When you’re 0-7 in an 18-game season, every game has meaning, that’s for sure.
“I think we can compete with everybody, regardless of what we’ve done to date. I’d be shocked if we were healthy and we went in and got blown out by anybody. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think the kids are far enough along now that they can play possession by possession and can compete.”
Marshall plan
Among Friday night’s interesting Division I games is the boys matchup between Trinity and Pinkerton that will be played in Manchester. Pinkerton (14-1) will earn the No. 1 seed for the Division I tournament if it wins its three remaining regular-season games. Trinity (11-4) is 8-1 since a 3-3 start.
Defending 6-foot-8 center/forward Jackson Marshall is the No. 1 challenge for any Pinkerton opponent, but that will be especially true for Trinity, one of the smallest teams in Division I.
Result oriented
Based on the regular season scores, top-seeded Conant (17-1) may have its hands full with ninth-seeded Gilford (11-8) in Friday night’s Division III boys quarterfinals. Conant beat Gilford twice during the regular season, but both games were close. The Orioles prevailed 45-44 on the road, and 51-43 at home.
Gilford, which eliminated eighth-seeded Campbell in the preliminary round, has won the last four Division III championships.
Four figures
• Goffstown guard Maggie Sasso surpassed 1,000 points for her high school career when she tossed in 17 points during Wednesday’s victory over Merrimack. Sasso, a senior, entered the game 15 points shy of 1,000 and reached the milestone in the first half.
• Pembroke’s Joe Fitzgerald reached the 1,000-point mark during last Friday’s 77-45 triumph over Kennett. Fitzgerald entered the game needing 34 points to reach 1,000 and finished with 35.
• Raymond junior Drezell Duffaut scored the 1,000th point of his career during the fourth quarter of a 63-45 victory over Hillsboro-Deering last Friday. Raymond lost to White Mountains in the first round of the Division III tournament.