Belmont boys basketball holds off Kearsarge in D3 final to win 1st title in school history (video)

KEENE – From the beginning of the season, the Belmont High School boys basketball team had one goal in mind and that was to become the first group of Red Raiders to win a state championship.

That strive for history helped drive Belmont towards the top seed in the Division III tournament and finish with an ultimate culmination in Saturday’s championship game against No. 3 Kearsarge.

After taking a 30-19 lead into halftime, Belmont held off a gritty second-half effort by the Cougars to claim that elusive championship via a 49-43 decision inside Keene State College’s Spaulding Gymnasium.

Belmont’s only other championship appearances were losses to Ashland in the 1949-50 and 1970 Class S title games. Belmont (20-1) finished off the season with a 13-game winning streak following its lone loss to Campbell.

“This feels really good, no other Belmont team has done this,” Belmont senior Keegan Martinez said. “We’ve been saying it since the start that we were going to be here.”

Martinez, a Plymouth State commit, finished his stellar career with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Classmate and point guard Treshawn Ray added 15 points and five assists, as both finished the season averaging 18.3 points a game.

“We all wanted a championship and we worked together and now we’re here,” Ray said. “It’s about how good this culture is and putting it all together. It’s amazing and I’m so happy right now to be around these guys.”

Martinez drained a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to give Belmont a 17-11 lead that would expand when Anakin Underhill (12 points, 10 rebounds) opened up the second with a putback. A 3-pointer from Brody Ennis and a drive from Ray gave Belmont its 11-point halftime cushion.

“We had a couple of bunnies that didn’t fall, especially early, and a few late, but I think defensively we kind of had a let down in that second quarter,” Kearsarge coach Nathan Camp said. “We knew we were going to be outrebounded but we at least wanted it to be close and limit they’re easy buckets.”

Belmont outrebounded Kearsarge 35-22, including a 13-3 advantage on the offensive glass.

“They got a lot of easy putbacks that helped keep us at bay,” Camp said. “Those easy scores we could’ve tried to minimize more and maybe it’s still a one-score game in those final possessions.”

Kearsarge (19-3) started to chip away by outscoring Belmont 14-10 a third quarter that was closed out by a hoop by Eli Whipple (15 points) and he then began the fourth with a converted steal to bring the Cougars to within 40-35.

After Ray and Ajay Tremble traded buckets, Underhill followed with a hoop to give Belmont a 44-39 lead.

“Kearsarge played tough and that’s what we needed because a lot of teams gave up and let us blow them out,” Ray said. “I couldn’t ask for anything else in a championship game like this and we just handled it. That’s what good teams do.”

With Belmont ahead 47-43, Ray effectively sealed the championship when he came up with a steal at Belmont's end of the court.

“I was hyped, I was really hyped,” Ray said. “I kind of knew it was there and it was over. It was emotional, real emotional, because I knew we were going to celebrate.”

Belmont coach Tony Martinez was proud with how his team battled down the stretch to finish off for what will ever be title No. 1 for the program.

“We made some mistakes, but we stayed composed enough to execute down the stretch,” Tony Martinez said. “They wanted to go all out and end it in the best possible way.”