Alvirne boys basketball takes advantage of opportunity, improves playoff positioning with win over Keene

HUDSON – The playoff race in the Division I bracket is certainly in flight and seeding is on the line with teams jockeying for position.

The Alvirne High School boys basketball team received the message and took advantage of its opportunity.

The Broncos were one game behind Keene in the standings heading into Tuesday night’s matchup, but Alvirne put three players in double figures during a 56-42 home win against the Blackbirds.

The Broncos (10-7) and Blackbirds (10-7) sit in a four-way tie for seventh in the standings, as a top-eight finish will secure a home preliminary-round matchup when the tournament opens up on March 5. Both teams close out the regular season with games against non-playoff teams on Friday at 6:30 p.m., as Alvirne hosts Manchester Memorial and Keene will entertain Windham.

Broncos junior forward Paul Manzi finished with a game-high 15 points and senior guard Ryan Weston (12 points) buried four 3-pointers, as the duo worked well together in the two-man, pick-and-roll game. Junior forward Davonte Mckoy-Sophos also excelled, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the first half.

Leading the way for the Blackbirds was junior guard Noah Timmer (14 points), while senior center Alex Opsahl scored all 10 of his points in the opening 16 minutes.

“We came out slow and they totally won the physicality battle, competed harder and never looked back,” Keene coach Kevin Ritter said. “We had a poor shooting night, which did not help. We just got to get back to work in practice, refocus on the next game and be ready to play.”

Alvirne certainly delivered the first punch, going up 17-7 on a left-wing 3 by Weston with 3:19 remaining in the first quarter. The hosts led 22-11 at the end of one on a layup with 54 seconds left by Mckoy-Sophos.

A layup by Opsahl with four minutes left in the half off an outstanding dish in the lane by junior guard Logan Patnode brought the visitors to within 28-20. The Broncos swung right back with a 6-0 spurt, featuring a free throw by Mckoy-Sophos, a right-baseline trey by Weston and a turnaround jumper in the post by Manzi, which gave the Broncos a 34-20 lead with 2:41 on the scoreboard.

“When we would get to about that eight-point threshold, it was a combination of us making a mistake and them capitalizing and making a play,” Ritter said.

An impressive floater down the right attacking side by sophomore guard Tate Matte brought the visitors to within 36-27 with 37 seconds left in the half, but the hosts took a 37-27 lead into intermission.

The third quarter consisted of some standout plays, as Manzi finished off a lob through contact from Weston with 4:37 left, and then Broncos senior guard Jamie Bertrand sacrificed his body with 2:56 left, taking a charge on a drive by Timmer.

Blackbirds sophomore guard Liam Johnston rifled a pass during a drive through the lane to a wide-open Patnode for a left-wing three-ball. Each team scored six points in the third, and a turnaround jumper by Manzi with 1:06 left gave the Broncos a 43-33 edge heading into the final eight minutes.

Keene was not able to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth, as Alvirne built its largest lead of the night at 50-34 on a shot from inside the paint by Manzi with 4:15 on the clock.

“I thought in the second half that we really defended well,” Ritter said. “I thought we limited their opportunities, but we started turning the ball over offensively. In the first half, we played all right offensively and poorly defensively. In the second half, it was just the opposite, and that is just not going to get it done.”