Fast start helps lift Bishop Guertin boys basketball over Nashua South in D1 playoffs (video)

NASHUA - Nate Kane went into Monday night's Division I playoff game feeling like he and the Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team had a lot of unfinished business.

After the Cardinals were upset in the preliminary round a year ago, and Kane, who was at Nashua North in 2020 and saw the postseason put to an abrupt halt, the start of a new tournament felt like a chance at redemption.

The senior and his teammates didn't hesitate in taking advantage of the opportunity, as Kane opened the game with two 3-pointers and Bishop Guertin turned Nashua South's turnovers into points in the first half on the way to a 63-48 win in a D1 Round One playoff game.

The Cardinals will now face Nashua North at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the preliminary round, in a rematch of last Friday's regular-season finale, won by the Titans in overtime.

Kane finished with 14 points and Dylan Santosousso led the way with 15 points, including 7 of 11 from the free throw line. Each player added two 3-pointers, as Bishop Guertin (14-5) had six on the night, and John Sullivan was also in double figures with 11 points.

"There was a ton of unfinished business," Kane said. "I think we would have made it to the championship last year (at Nashua North). We had a lot of momentum going in.

"I had unfinished business in the playoffs and Bishop Guertin kind of got robbed. Putting us together, we’re all just hungry to win. We all kind of got robbed during our high school careers and this is our last chance."

It was a feeling the Cardinals carried with them throughout the last year and Bishop Guertin coach John Fisher could tell he didn't need to say much to his team before the game.

"They talked about it all year," he said. "Everybody was ready. I could just tell from the atmosphere before, they were pretty excited for the game. They were up. I didn’t really need to say a lot. It’s South, it’s a rivalry."

The Panthers (4-9) got 16 points from senior Cody Rocheleau while Jeremiah Mitchell had 11 points and Alexander Hulfachor added 10.

South was able to recover after Bishop Guertin's fast start, outscoring the Cardinals 10-5 over the final 3:17 of the first quarter. A buzzer-beating 3 by Mitchell made it 15-12 Bishop Guertin at the end of one.

But turnovers hurt the Panthers, as they gave up the ball on their first three possessions, and finished the half with 14.

"We gave them a couple of clean looks early, and that gave them some confidence and momentum, not that they need any, because they are a very good basketball team," South coach Nate Mazerolle said. "We are not built offensively to climb uphill.

"We have to scratch and claw, and when you did yourself a hole with all the turnovers, that’s where, they never stopped fighting, we just don’t have more than one or two guys who can put up big numbers for us."

Bishop Guertin led by nine, 27-18, going into halftime, a 3 by Jordan Robichaud and a basket by Kane to open the third put the Cardinals up 14 points and the lead stayed at double digits the rest of the way.

After Bishop Guertin took a 49-32 lead into the fourth and stretched it to 20 points early in the fourth, South went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 54-42 with 4:25 remaining, but that was as close as the Panthers would get.

"I’m glad these kids got to experience it, as strange and different as it was, it was still a tournament game," Mazerolle said. "BG-Nashua is always something that I look forward to. I’m happy for the kids that they got to experience this. We got a season. As hard as it is for them to understand now, we did get to play basketball."