Above the Rim: Souhegan, Milford basketball renew acquaintances

Dan Murray stood outside the Belanger Gymnasium at Nashua High School South last week, talking about the win his Milford boys basketball team had just picked up over Goffstown.

Inside the gym, Souhegan and Thornton Academy had just tipped off during the Chick-Fil-A Holiday Tournament. A win by the Sabers would have meant a meeting with Milford in the tournament's third day.

That would have meant the teams playing twice in less than a week, as Souhegan is scheduled to head to Milford on Tuesday as both resume the Division II season.

The tournament matchup didn't happen, as the Sabers fell to Thornton, but neither Murray nor Souhegan coach Peter Pierce seemed to mind the prospect of two games against each other in a short period of time.

"It's always one of the best games of the year," Pierce said of playing Milford. "We saw Milford in the summer and we saw them in the fall. We're familiar with their roster, up and down. I think it's going to be a battle and it's going to be a lot of fun."

It's one of a half-dozen games Monday and Tuesday involving Division II boys basketball teams that could end up influencing how the tournament looks.

It starts Monday when Manchester West makes the short drive to Goffstown for a 6:30 p.m. start. Then, on Tuesday, Souhegan heads to Milford, while St. Thomas visits Bishop Brady, Timberlane travels to Hollis Brookline and Coe-Brown goes to Oyster River. Plus, Windham heads to Pelham in a non-division game.

In need of consistency

The biggest take away from the Chick-Fil-A tournament for Pierce involved his team's effort, not just from day to day, but within games.

"With the exception of the first game, we were lacking consistency quarter to quarter," the Souhegan coach said. "Maybe it's early in the season, maybe it's some of the younger players, but we need to have consistency of effort to be successful."

A big part of that was scoring. There was no question who the Sabers' go-to guy was during the three-day tournament, as senior Jerrell Webster averaged 21 points per game and was named to the all-tournament team.

While Souhegan got scoring at times from seniors Raju Gandhi and Gabe Cruz, along with junior Ryan Boehm, it wasn't enough.

"We were a little one-dimensional for my liking with (Webster), but he's a heck of a player," Pierce said. "We need three 10-point scorers. I think they're there, but a couple of them are young and they haven't quite realized it yet. They're going to be fine. I'm pleased with the team and the effort."

Emerging scorer

Milford has a handful of seniors on its roster, some of whom are in their third year on the varsity.

But it was junior Ryan Banuskevich was filled the role of leading scorer for the Spartans' during the tournament. The younger brother of former Milford football standout Mitch Banuskevich, Ryan has shown to be a different type of athlete on the basketball court than his older sibling.

"He brings the same kind of hustle," Murray said. "His motor goes just all game long. His demeanor doesn't go up or down. It's steady.

"With him it's athleticism. He goes up with that lefty (shot) and he can move it all over, wherever the defense is not."

Ryan Banuskevich attributed the difference in the fact that he and his brother took interest in different sports growing up.

"He grew up playing football and I grew up playing basketball, so he was more of a football guy," Ryan Banuskevich said. "Sometimes I want to play like that, but I just play (the way I play). I played against him, so he would push me around and force me to get better."

Doubleheader

Before the Souhegan-Milford boys basketball game Tuesday night, the girls teams from each school will also play, with the varsity doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. at Milford.

Other big games in Division II girls basketball Tuesday include Coe-Brown heading to Oyster River, while Hanover travels to Pembroke.