Bedford boys basketball takes care of business against Alvirne to return to D1 semis (video)

BEDFORD - Only 11 days had passed since the last time the Bedford High School boys basketball team saw Alvirne on the other side of its home court.

With that familiarity in hand, the Bulldogs knew what they wanted to do against the Broncos, and they were going to stick to it.

No. 2 Bedford used its press to force No. 10 Alvirne to speed up its offense just enough and successfully tried to get the Broncos top players into foul trouble early. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Bulldogs were in control and pulled away for a 69-51 win in Saturday's Division I quarterfinal.

The win sends the defending-champions back to the semifinals, where Bedford will face No. 3 Nashua North, which defeated No. 6 Windham 70-60 in the quarterfinals. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a site to be determined.

"I’m really happy with the way we played," Bedford coach Frank Moreno said. "The offense was balanced (Saturday) which was good. We had just played them a week and a half ago, so we knew what we were in for. We knew we had to speed them up, turn them over a little bit, so I was happy with that.

"I knew once we got a couple of them in foul trouble, there was going to be an easier time getting to the rim. Those last four minutes, that really helped us. We knew they weren’t going to be as grabby with our guards."

Bedford (19-1) led by 10 points going into the fourth and outscored Alvirne 11-6 over the first four minutes to go up 15 and put the game away.

"I was just looking for two stops," Alvirne interim coach Christian Patnaude said of the start of the fourth. "We made a little run and got it down to (10 points). If we could get that one more stop, we’re right back in it and putting pressure on them. If you don’t take advantage of those opportunities, you’re now down 13 or 14."

Luke Soden led Bedford with 23 points, including 6 of 7 at the free throw line, while Niko Badoian added 16 points and Brady O'Connell had 14, including two 3-pointers. Austin Kasyjanski was also in double figures with 11 points.

Alvirne (10-10) got 16 points from Garrett Hall while Evan Bettencourt added 13 points and Sam DeWitt chipped in with eight.

The Broncos got the early lead and traded baskets with the Bulldogs through the first quarter. Bedford took its first lead on a jump shot by Badoian with 2:01 left in the quarter, but after an Alvirne timeout, DeWitt hit a 3 to put the Broncos back in front.

A 3 by O'Connell and a basket by Soden just before the buzzer gave the Bulldogs a 19-16 lead going into the second.

"I didn’t want to trade punches with Bedford," Patnaude said. "We wanted to be poised and patient. Usually, our defense has been our calling card. Bedford was prepared from the last time we saw them (a week and a half ago). We were worried about the pressure we were going to see."

That pressure started to get to the Broncos to start the second, as they turned the ball over three times in the first two-plus minutes. The Bulldogs took advantage, outscoring Alvirne 7-2 over the first half of the quarter to take a 26-18 lead.

"We knew we couldn’t sit back and give them three or four feet," Moreno said. "They like to work the clock every possession. They’re very good, very disciplined.

"We wanted to speed them up. We know we’re going to make shots eventually. Fortunately, my guys are experienced. They’ve been in a lot of different scenarios."

Alvirne was able to get within six points late in the first half, but Bedford closed with a 7-0 run to take a 35-22 lead at halftime. The lead stayed around 10 points for most of the third quarter before the Bulldogs put the game away.