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# Bishop Guertin boys basketball shocks Merrimack (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/bishop-guertin-boys-basketball-shocks-merrimack-video/
- Published: 2016-01-09T17:07:41.000Z
- Updated: 2016-01-09T17:07:41.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - Jim Migneault knew it was going to take his Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team time to grow into a competitor this season.
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bishop Guertin, boys basketball, Merrimack, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - Jim Migneault knew it was going to take his Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team time to grow into a competitor this season.

The Cardinals may have reached that point a lot earlier than expected, doing so in a game no one would have predicted.

![Merrimack's Zak Kerr defends as Bishop Guertin's Emile Hobeika dribbles the ball.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jmmerbgboysbball010816-m4b34-1.jpg)

Merrimack's Zak Kerr defends as Bishop Guertin's Emile Hobeika dribbles the ball.

A big run in the second quarter helped Bishop Guertin take a 16-point against Merrimack into halftime and the Cardinals kept up the pace in the second half to beat the Tomahawks 66-49 in Division I action.

It was the first time all season Bishop Guertin (2-2) had allowed fewer than 60 points in a game, and the first time the Cardinals committed less than 20 turnovers. And it was also the most points Merrimack (3-1) has allowed all year, as the Tomahawks came in giving up just 38.7 points per game.

"They're starting to get it," Migneault said of his players. "We'll be better later than early (in the season), and this is part of the maturation process. Once the light turns on, I have a lot of good athletes, and I think, as the season goes on, we're going to get better."

Ten players scored points for the Cardinals on Friday, with Chad Olivieri and Patrick Donovan leading the way with 13 points each. Michael Rinko was also in double figures with 12 while Emile Hobeika came off the bench to score nine, all of which came in the second quarter on back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers.

Hobeika's points were part of a 19-2 run for Bishop Guertin that saw the Cardinals turn a one-point deficit into a 35-19 lead. Two free throws by Merrimack's Jake Gianelli before halftime cut the lead to 16, but it was a gap the Tomahawks couldn't overcome.

"We played hard," Merrimack coach Tim Goodridge said. "I think BG was just the better team (Friday). They executed better, they hit shots, they played with more poise. I think the crowd rattled us a little bit and we missed a lot of layups. I think we got outhustled and outplayed.

"In games like this, that's what happens. Kids step up and you get a good feel for one, and then the next one flies and goes, and then the third one goes. I don't know who that kid (Hobeika) was, but he made probably the three biggest shots of the game. It was the difference in the first half and the difference in the whole game is that we missed a lot of layups."

![Bishop Guertin's Chad Olivieri tries to block a shot by Merrimack's Zak Kerr.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jmmerbgboysbball010816-m4b13-1.jpg)

Bishop Guertin's Chad Olivieri tries to block a shot by Merrimack's Zak Kerr.

Ian Cummings scored 16 points off the bench, including two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that helped Merrimack pull within 10 points with 3:04 to play. But the Cardinals made their free throws down the stretch, going 7 of 10 to end the game on a 9-2 run.

Zak Kerr chipped in with 10 points for the Tomahawks, but no one else scored more than four as Merrimack struggled with Bishop Guertin's full-court pressure.

"We pressed them full (court) and we got them out of their comfort zone," Migneault said. "We didn't want them to be able to walk the ball up the court. We were coming up and forcing them to run so they couldn't get into their offense and I think it threw them off. They were missing some shots that they would normally make."

Bishop Guertin stretched its lead to 19 points midway through the third quarter, going up 43-24 after a 3 by Olivieri. Every time Merrimack appeared it was going to close the gap, the Cardinals would get a basket at the other end.

"I think we pressed a little bit," Goodridge said. "We've got to get mentally tougher. Maybe we're getting a little bigger for our britches. Maybe this is good to tell our kids we have to come out every night and play. Certainly BG did that."