Big fourth quarter lifts Bishop Guertin boys basketball past Goffstown (video)

GOFFSTOWN - Forget what anything said on paper or online, every member of the Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team remembered what happened the last time they stepped into Goffstown's gym.

The Cardinals saw their 2021-22 season come to an end at the hands of the Grizzlies, the third time in the last two years they'd fallen to Goffstown. That, plus some first-game nerves, got to Bishop Guertin at times, but in crunch time, the Cardinals were able to fight it off.

Bishop Guertin outscored Goffstown by 24 points over the final eight-plus minutes Tuesday night, holding the Grizzlies without a field goal in the fourth quarter, as the Cardinals came back for a 60-42 win in the Division I season opener for both teams.

"They were a little nervous coming out because this is Goffstown, they’re a very good basketball team," Bishop Guertin coach John Fisher said. "They’re very well-coached. This was our last game last year because they knocked us out of the playoffs."

Luke Anderson scored 14 of his game-high 19 points, and four of his five 3-pointers, in the fourth quarter, while Matt Santosuosso added 16 points, including a 3 to open the fourth that tied the game after Bishop Guertin had trailed by as many as 14 points. Tyler Mackey was also in double figures with 10 points and the Cardinals (1-0) made nine 3-pointers as a team.

"Our first eight can all hit 3s," Fisher said. "If they don’t go, it’s problematic, but you have to keep shooting. We talked about staying with the open shots. Thankfully, they started going down.

"I think the best statistic is that we kept them from scoring a field goal in the fourth quarter. We consider ourselves a defensive team. We can score, but I like to think we play pretty good defense. We got back to it in the second half and we took too many chances in the first half."

That in part allowed Goffstown (0-1) to go on a 19-4 run in the second quarter to turn a game that was back-and-forth in the first quarter into a 28-14 lead with 1:53 remaining until halftime.

But Bishop Guertin hit three 3-pointers in a minute - on shots by Anderson, Eli Youssef and Hudson Nichols - to close the game to 28-23. The Cardinals almost got within two before halftime, but another 3 before the buzzer wouldn't go down.

The Grizzlies, who lost their top three leading scorers from a year ago to graduation or transfers, got 13 points from Ryan Strand, but no one else was in double figures. Tommy Patterson added nine points. and Noah Durham came off the bench to chip in eight points.

"I thought the energy was great from the start and awesome for three quarters," Goffstown coach Ryan Cowette said. "I’m really proud of the way they competed. Now with this new group, a lot of new faces and changes, it’s our responsibility to try to help them figure out how to close games and stay there in the fourth quarter."

The momentum carried into the early second half for the Cardinals, as they stretched the run to 17-1 to take a 31-29 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the third. But Bishop Guertin struggled to hit shots inside and Goffstown went on a quick 8-0 run, with Strand scoring six points, to retake the lead 37-31.

A layup by Mackey just before the buzzer made it 37-34 to end the third and Santosuosso's 3 just 11 seconds into the fourth tied the game. The two teamed up to give Bishop Guertin the lead moments later, as Santosuosso stole the ball and found Mackey in transition for a basket.

Patterson made two free throws for Goffstown to tie the game at 39, but Anderson answered with a 3 to put the Cardinals up for good.

"They’ve gotten the better of us," Fisher said of previous games with Goffstown. "It’s our first real game. We had three scrimmages, but it’s the first real game. I’m happy with where we are at the end, but I was nervous at halftime."