Keene boys basketball picks up key road win over Nashua North

NASHUA – There is a reason why its often said that free throws make the difference in the end.

During a pivotal Division I late-season showdown between the Keene and Nashua North high school boys basketball teams on Monday evening, that phrase came to fruition, as the Blackbirds shot 18 of 22 from the charity stripe and made 14 second-half free throws during a 56-48 road win.

The Blackbirds (9-5) and Titans (8-6) came into the game with the same record, and each team has four regular-season games remaining.

Keene junior guard Noah Timmer scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, finishing 9 of 10 from the foul line. Sophomore guard Tate Matte recorded a 13-point effort, including numerous big shots and a trio of 3-pointers, while senior center Alex Opsahl (12 points) played a solid game in the low post with some crafty finishes and two big blocks in the fourth.

“That was a great win for us,” Keene coach Kevin Ritter said. “We got three away games this week and to start the week off with a win against a very quality opponent is really big for us. That game really could have gone any way down the stretch. We were very fortunate to make enough plays to find a way to win it. There was no secret that there were potentially playoff-seeding implications on the line.”

Leading the way for the Titans were junior guard Brenden Choate (16 points) and sophomore guard Nathan Kane (15 points, three 3-pointers).

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with neither team building a lead larger than three points. With 2:10 left in the frame, Choate put his head down and attacked the rim down the left side, using the window for an impressive finish, which gave the hosts a 10-7 lead. A right-side three-ball by Blackbirds sophomore guard Liam Johnston with 1:30 on the clock knotted the game at 10-10 heading into the second quarter.

An impressive jump hook on the right block by Opsahl with 4:39 left in the half extended the visitors’ lead to 17-13, and then with 1:25 on the clock, Keene sophomore guard Jonathan Kelly converted a layup, putting the cushion up to 23-16. North only trailed 23-19 heading into halftime thanks to three straight points in the final 38 seconds by Choate.

Timmer set the tone early in the second half for the Blackbirds, nailing a left-elbow jumper 30 seconds into the third and converting a pair of foul shots 1:05 into the period, giving Keene a 27-19 lead.

North started coming to life late in the third, as sophomore guard Curtis Harris drained a top-of-the-arc 3 off a steal by junior Joshua Lentz, evening the score at 32-32 with 2:37 left. Fifteen seconds later, Choate registered a four-point play on a 3-point shot from the right baseline, giving North a 36-32 lead.

“I am pleased with the effort and the way we went about it,” Titans coach Steve Lane said. “Once again, if the ball went in here or there it might be a different game. We had one possession in the fourth quarter that epitomized the entire night where we had five offensive rebounds and six attempts but none of them went in. It was that kind of night, but I liked the way the kids played.”

Choate’s four-point play ended a 17-5 spurt for the Titans, but Keene did not tighten up facing a four-point deficit late in the third. Instead, the Blackbirds ended the frame on a crowd-silencing 8-0 surge, featuring four free throws by Matte, a turnaround with deep post position by Opsahl and a layup by Kelly. Keene led 40-36 heading into the final eight minutes.

“It could have been easy to fold up right there (after North scored seven points in 15 seconds),” Ritter said. “All the credit goes to the players because they really stuck with it. We took it one play at a time, got a stop and then followed it up with a quality offensive possession. We were able to eke it out.”

A left-wing trey by Titans junior guard Chukweuemeka Okorie trimmed Keene’s advantage down to 45-44 with 3:53 remaining in the fourth. Matte responded with a clutch left-wing 3-pointer 30 seconds later for the Blackbirds. Harris brought the Titans to within 48-46 with 1:30 remaining, but Kelly snuck by North’s defense for a layup off an inbounds pass with 52 seconds left, giving Keene a 50-46 lead. The Titans were not able to get closer than three points the rest of the night.

Keene will travel to Manchester Central for a 6:30 p.m. tilt on Tuesday and North will make the journey to Portsmouth for a 7 p.m. start Wednesday.