Bedford boys basketball gets big win over Merrimack (video)

MERRIMACK - Everything anyone needed to know about Wednesday night's boys basketball game between Bedford and Merrimack high schools could be learned from looking at Max Chartier.

The Bedford senior co-captain left Merrimack High School with a cut near the top of his nose and a bloodshot right eye after taking an arrant hand to the face late in the game.

But in the end, it was the Bulldogs who did enough clawing to pick up their first Division I win of the season, beating the Tomahawks 40-34.

"They’re very tough," Chartier said of Merrimack. "Last year we had a big win over them and I think they wanted revenge. We had to come out mentally prepared and we pulled it out."

Chartier led the way with 14 points, nine of which came in the second half, as Bedford (1-2) had to hold off a late run by Merrimack that cut an eight-point lead down to four in the final minute of the game. Nolan Anderson added 10 points before fouling out late and Nicholas Mokas had five.

After a slow start offensively, it was Bedford's defense that did the trick, holding Merrimack to just eight points over a stretch of almost 14 minutes while turning a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

Ian Cummings finished with 15 points, including 6 of 9 at the free throw line, for the Tomahawks (0-2) but no one else came close to double figures, as Jared Dyer added six points and Owen Ploss had five, all in the first half.

"They really defended (Ploss) well, they didn’t let him get the ball," Merrimack coach Tim Goodridge said. "Cummings is struggling a little bit, but I’m confident that he’ll come around and be fine for us. I thought our young kids really stepped up and played good. We’ll build on this. They’re a tough team to play and we’re not happy we lost, but we competed and that’s all you can ask for."

Merrimack took the lead early and held it for most of a first half dominated by defense. The Tomahawks went up 15-12 on a 3-pointer by Ploss, but Christopher Chartier answered with a 3 at the other end to tie the game.

A basket by Max Chartier in the final minute of the half gave Bedford a 17-15 lead at the break and they pushed the lead to four to open the third quarter. Merrimack tied the game at 21 on a 3-pointer by Cummings with 4:07 left in the third, but the Tomahawks wouldn't score again in the quarter, as Bedford went on a 6-0 run to lead 27-21 going into the fourth.

"We were running a screen offense and they just kept switching on those screens and we couldn’t figure it out," Max Chartier said. "We got a lot of defensive stops, especially in that third quarter, and as well as some smart shots on offense. In the first two quarters, we were rushing shots, putting up some not-so-ideal shots. Into the third and fourth quarter, we started picking and choosing and we hit the big ones."

Bedford led by eight with under a minute to play, but a pair of free throws by Cummings, followed by a turnover by the Bulldogs that led to another basket by Cummings made it a four-point game with 36.7 seconds to go.

But in the final minute, the Bulldogs went 5 of 6 from the line, with the lone miss coming after Chartier was knocked down with 24 seconds remaining.

"Both teams played really hard, both teams overall were pretty solid defensively," Goodridge said. "I think the difference in the game was (that) the Chartier kid was a premier player. He made some big plays for them and that’s what you get from seniors."