MILFORD – One thing seems certain about this year’s Milford High School boys basketball team.
Milford's Mike O'Loughlin attempts a dunk during the Spartans' quarterfinal game on Friday. For more photos, see the Photo Album.
The Spartans never panic.
For example, during the third quarter of Friday night’s 66-59 win over John Stark in the Class I quarterfinals, Milford saw a lead that had been 14 points in the first quarter, and as many as eight early in the second half evaporate almost single-handedly by the Generals’ Ethan O’Neill.
When O’Neill hit a 3-pointer – giving him 11 points in the quarter – with 1:50 left before the fourth quarter, the Spartans trailed for the only time of the night, 43-42.
Milford’s response? On the next trip down the floor, Mike O’Loughlin grabbed a rebound and laid the ball back in to give the Spartans the lead for good. Mike Mitchell and Jamie Holder than added two free throws each, and once again, Milford was ahead by a couple of baskets.
That was the case whenever No. 9 John Stark tried to make a run. No. 1 Milford would make a few free throws or add some second-chance points or score on a fast break, like on O’Loughlin’s steal and dunk with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter. The slam gave the Spartans a 56-48 and served as the final nail in the Generals’ hopes at an upset.
“We just kept our composure and kept with it,” Milford point guard Mike Mitchell said. “We try not to show (panic) even if it does get to that point.”
O’Loughlin finished with a game-high 31 points, 17 of which came in the second half, while Holder scored 16 of his 18 points after halftime. Kyle Nelson added nine points for the Spartans (19-1), who led 17-3 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
But that lead was just five when the teams went in at halftime, and when the Generals went on a 10-2 in the middle of the third quarter, it tied the game at 36.
Milford's Mike Mitchell tries to drive around the John Stark defense.
“In the first half, they panicked a lot and we got up on them,” Milford coach Dan Murray said. “In the second half, it was pretty even. We couldn’t break away from them.”
For stretches of the second half, Milford was getting away from its half-court offense.
“We were playing a lot of one-pass (offense),” O’Loughlin said. “We needed to set up a couple more passes to move them around. With one pass and a shot, they were able to just stand around in their zone.”
Once the Generals took the lead, the Spartans did a better job of running their offense.
“I think what we did after they took that lead is went down and execute,” Murray said. “They know. They really settle down and do things right.”
John Stark got within two points twice early in the fourth quarter, on a three-point play by O’Neill and a basket by Alan Chapman. But then O’Loughlin hit a 3, forced a turnover, made a free throw, forced another turnover and sent home his fast-break dunk.
After coming close to the semifinals a year ago, the Spartans are among the final four teams left alive in Class I and will get a chance to play at the University of New Hampshire.
“It’s huge,” Murray said. “For all the work we’ve put in, we should be up at that stage. We really had to earn it and it wasn’t given to us tonight by any means. Those guys kept battling back.”
Milford's Jamie Holder goes in for a layup.
The Spartans will get to face defending-champion Portsmouth in the semifinals. The Clippers are the only team to beat Milford in Class I this season. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at UNH in Durham.