Bishop Guertin boys basketball rolls to win over Hollis Brookline

NASHUA - When putting together this year's schedule for the Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team, coach John Fisher wanted to get Hollis Brookline on it.

But after the Cardinals found themselves without any games this week, opportunity knocked and the Cavaliers traveled to Nashua on Friday.

Bishop Guertin turned a close game into a runaway in the third quarter, as 13 players scored for the Cardinals in a 78-56 win over HB. Tyler Mackey led the way with 12 points while Gianni Ungaro added 11 points and Matt Santosuosso was also in double figures with 10.

The Cardinals (4-2) closed the first half on a 17-7 run to take a 43-32 lead into the break and outscored the Cavs 26-7 in the third quarter to pull away.

"I think it’s the intensity we’ve been looking for," Fisher said. "Some of the younger guys can absolutely play and it was great that they got the opportunity. That’s a quality opponent. Hollis Brookline is good and I wanted to play them before the season even started. They’re well-coached."

Matthew Dias led HB (2-1) with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Kaleb Popham had 12 points and Adam Razzaboni added 11 points. HB went more than 10 minutes without making a field goal, scoring all its points during that stretch at the free throw line; the Cavs were 22 of 41 at the line for the game.

Over the last week, Fisher has been trying out specific combinations of players to see how they work together, and Friday, the Cardinals' third group helped swing the momentum in their favor.

Bishop Guertin led 18-11 after one quarter, but HB outscored the Cardinals 14-8 over the first three-plus minutes of the second, cutting the lead to 26-25 on a pair of free throws by Popham. The Cavs had a chance to tie or take the lead, but couldn't, and a basket and a 3-pointer by Mackey started the Cardinals on a 17-7 run to end the half.

"We tried to bunch some of the underclassmen together and I saw good things with them," Fisher said. "What we started doing a week ago in practice was putting guys together who were going to play together in the future, as well as this year. We have those 10 seniors, so what do we have for the future? I was very pleased with the confidence that they played with against a quality opponent."

The Cardinals sat their starters for the entire second quarter, and that group enjoyed watching their younger teammates take control of the game.

"Everyone was happy, including everyone who usually plays," senior Dylan Santosuosso said. "We were happy to see everyone play because everyone is putting in the same amount of work in practice. Everyone is pushing each other. We’re just glad everyone got a chance on the court."

The starters picked right up for Bishop Guertin to start the second half, going on a 9-2 run to take an 18-point lead just 2:40 into the third. Fisher made a lineup change, and right away, Mackey and Luke Anderson went on a scoring spree.

Mackey hit a layup and made a 3 and Anderson added a three-point play to make it 60-34. Another layup by Mackey led to an HB timeout, and out of the break, the Cavs got their first field goal since early in the second quarter.

But Anderson answered with a 3 and Ungaro scored the final four points of the quarter for the Cardinals, to give them a 69-39 lead after three.

"That was huge to be able to come out like that and do what we wanted to do, which was run our basic stuff, get the moves we wanted, get the points, and then get those guys out," Fisher said. "Next week, we have several games."

Bishop Guertin is scheduled to play Windham twice, along with games against Bedford and Concord next week.

"We just want to get as many games in as possible," Santosuosso said. "Other teams are getting shut down. We don’t know if it could be our last game or not, so we just really want to play."