Big second quarter helps Pelham boys basketball to win over Plymouth

PELHAM – The Pelham High School boys basketball team likes to get out and run.

But before the Pythons could do that Thursday night against Plymouth, they had to be patient.

Pelham took its time against the Bobcats’ zone defense in the first quarter and eventually got going in the transition game in the second quarter. The Pythons used a 14-0 run to take control of the game and knocked off Plymouth 56-22.

Kevin Brown and Jake Vaiknoras each had 20 points for Pelham (9-7 in Division II), as the Pythons held Plymouth (9-7) to just seven points in the second half, two in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t know if we could have played better,” Pelham coach Matt Regan said. “We did everything right. We executed on offense, we played unbelievable defense and we ran. That’s always been an MO of Pelham, getting out and going, and I think we got a little bit away from that. We want to try to get back to that.”

Pelham did that in the second quarter, taking advantage of every turnover and missed shot the Bobcats had by turning it into fast-break points.

“To their credit, they forced us into tough shots and we didn’t make anything,” Plymouth coach Mike Sullivan said. “They were able to transition and we knew that was their strength coming into it. Because they were able to transition, they were able to get easy baskets.

“We kept getting down. We were coming up empty, either with a turnover, a missed shot, or some missed free throws. They just kept running and before you know it you’re down 20.”

Kyle Reisert led Plymouth with 11 points, the same total as the rest of his teammates combined.

The Bobcats took the lead early, getting back-to-back layups in the first quarter to lead 6-2 and force Pelham to take a timeout. Plymouth led 9-5 when Pelham began taking its time against the zone. The Pythons tied the game at 9 going into the second and a 3 by Brown early in the second put Pelham up for good.

“We were keeping them on the perimeter, which was our plan,” Sullivan said. “It didn’t work obviously. The 3s that they hit, they were able to set up their defense and slow us down and get us to panic a little bit. That was the story of it. I thought they won every 50-50 ball. Every chance they had to box out, they did. They pretty much beat us in every aspect of the game.”

The win by Pelham did nothing to clarify a murky situation in the middle of the Division II standings. Only two games in the win column separate the team that’s in sixth and the team that’s 13th.

And if the playoff started Friday, Plymouth would be the ninth seed, and would have to return to face Pelham.

“We could play these guys again,” Sullivan said. “We try to look one at a time, but it’s hard to not look at where we’re going to be.”

The Bobcats will have to make another long trip on Tuesday, when they play at Souhegan (9-5), while Pelham will host Milford (5-11), a team it lost to earlier this season.

“Obviously we want to get a little revenge,” Regan said. “There’s nothing we could do about (seven losses), but we can control what we do from here on out. Let’s control what we do moving on from this point. We dug that hole, but it’s about moving on.”