MANCHESTER, NH – If Manchester West High School was already considered a contender for this year’s Division-II title, the Blue Knights put an exclamation point on that reality Tuesday night.
Competing in front of a capacity crowd inside the raucous confines of Charles J. Quinn Gymnasium on the Queen City’s West Side, the 8-2 hosts proved inhospitable to the visiting 10-1 Spartans of Pembroke Academy.
Following a back-and-forth first half that saw the two championship challengers deadlocked at 24, the shorthanded Blue Knights – competing with only seven players – came out of the locker room with renewed resolve and energy, taking control of the contest behind a 23-point third quarter and then besting that effort with a 29-point fourth to secure the 76-59 statement triumph.
“Manchester West really played well. You know, we did not rebound properly. We had no defense, and West took advantage of it,” said Pembroke head coach Mike Donnell. “They’re a very well coached team. they shot the ball really well, I don’t know if they missed a foul shot in the second half.”
The Blue Knights did, in fact, miss one free throw, but they made their other 14 over the last two frames of play. Those points were pivotal, especially combined with West’s defense and rebounding acumen on this particular night, said Manchester West head coach John Langlois.
“And then we just attacked them and we finished the ball well,” he said, “and then once (the gap) started to widen we just kept going.”
Max Shosa set the tone in the opening seconds of the third quarter draining a 3 that sparked a 19-9 run, and then Aiden Scott-Beulac netted 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to pace the hosts to the triumph.
With 16 points, Angel Castro was third on the team in scoring behind Beulac and Shosa (20), while Tevin Edmunds contributed 7 points, Eliel Chavez had 5 and Nathias Obando had 2.
Though West was able to celebrate Tuesday, both coaches agreed, Division II is still very much up for grabs as the top 5 or so teams jockey for playoff positioning.
“Oh, were a contender, we’re both contenders, but we got it done (tonight) though,” said Langlois of his 502nd career “W”, which came exactly a week after celebrating win number 500 with a home win over Merrimack Valley last Tuesday.
“They’ve got two losses, we’ve got two losses, and then you’ve got a couple other teams that only have one loss,” said Donnell. “West plays Souhegan and Pelham the last two games of the year, so a lot of things can happen between now and then, so we’ve just got to stay focused and move forward.”
While the Spartans look to get back on track quickly when they host 6-5 Bow Thursday at 7, the Blue Knights travel to Durham to begin a three-game road trip at 4-7 Oyster River. They’ll follow that contest with games at 6-5 Kingswood and 5-6 Milford next Tuesday and Friday, respectively, before returning home for a back-to-back with Bow and Kingswood on Feb. 14 and 15.
Pembroke notes: Junior guard Joe Fitzgerald led the Spartans with 20 points, while senior counterparts Mike Strazzeri and Josh Pilotte each produced 12 markers. Shondell Hadley, Evan Berkeley, and Adam Heldman had 7, 6 and 2 points, respectively.
But make no mistake, this was not the Spartans best effort, said Donnell.
“I think the game got into our guys’ heads,” he said, “and once it gets into your head, now you’ve got five other players you’re playing against but you’re playing against yourself, so now we just need to regroup and get ready for Thursday.”
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