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# Kipka's buzzer-beating 3 gives ConVal boys basketball win over Souhegan
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/kipkas-buzzer-beating-3-gives-conval-boys-basketball-win-over-souhegan/
- Published: 2019-03-02T11:45:14.000Z
- Updated: 2019-03-02T11:45:14.000Z
- Description: AMHERST – Mather Kipka possessed the clutch gene on Friday evening. The junior forward on the ConVal High School boys basketball team drilled the game-winning, left-baseline 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in a thrilling 44-41 regular-season finale victory at Souhegan, as the Cougars closed out the
- Author: Trevor Wenners
- Tags: Division II, boys basketball, ConVal, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

AMHERST – Mather Kipka possessed the clutch gene on Friday evening.

The junior forward on the ConVal High School boys basketball team drilled the game-winning, left-baseline 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in a thrilling 44-41 regular-season finale victory at Souhegan, as the Cougars closed out the regular season on a 16-game winning streak.

Down the stretch, the Cougars (17-1) and Sabers (11-7) hit a series of big-time shots, as ConVal sophomore guard Wyatt Davis made a strong drive to the hoop with 1:10 left, putting the visitors up 41-38.

With 19 seconds left, Sabers senior Jeffrey Kiesewetter buried a contested right-wing 3, evening the game at 41, and then on the game-deciding possession, the ball found its way to Kipka, who stepped confidently into a contested 3-point shot.

“Every time we play Souhegan, it is always a battle,” Cougars coach Leonid Gershgorin said. “It always comes down to the last couple of possessions, and who can get the stops and finish. Everybody on our team is ready to shoot, and we always talk about positioning. As long as you are in the right position, you get the ball and you shoot. Everybody has a hundred percent the (green light) to shoot the basketball. Kipka was the one open and he was the one that shot it.”

ConVal and Souhegan now focus in on the Division II tournament, as the preliminary round will start on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Cougars only loss of the regular season came at Milford, 62-54, all the way back on Dec. 20.

The Cougars were well balanced on the offensive end Friday, receiving double-figure efforts by Kipka (game-high 13 points), junior guard Connor Buffum (11 points, three 3-pointers) and senior guard Ben Henry (10 points). The visitors drilled five first-half treys, and then Kipka poured in 11 second-half points.

On Senior Day for the Sabers, senior Jeffrey Boehm led the way by scoring 10 of his team-high 12 points in the first half, including a pair of treys. Sophomore Matthew McCool chipped in with nine for the hosts.

“Another good game with ConVal, and we had another chance to win but it was another loss,” Souhegan coach Peter Pierce said. “I thought my guys did a great job hanging in there. They gave themselves an opportunity to win, but we do not value the basketball. Until we learn how to value the basketball, we are not going to win really close games.”

Buffum sparked the Cougars early, hitting a left-wing 3 2:36 into the first, and then burying a left-baseline, 3-point shot with 3:28 left in the quarter, giving ConVal a 9-5 edge. With 1:42 left, the junior standout make an elite play on the left baseline, eluding the defender closing out to the 3-point line, before drilling a smooth step-in jumper, which pushed the advantage up to 13-7.

A layup by junior forward Del Bonsu-Anane gave ConVal a 26-16 lead with 3:55 left in the half, prompting Pierce to call a timeout. Boehm scored the final five points of the half, drilling a right-baseline three-ball with 1:29 left, and then finishing off a transition layup with 55 seconds on the clock, as Souhegan was within 26-21 heading into halftime.

Neither team was able to get into any sort of rhythm in the first half of the third quarter, but then ConVal came alive with a 7-0 run to end the frame. Kipka converted a layup with 1:53 left, Buffum buried a left-wing 3 with 53 seconds on the board, and with three seconds left, Henry converted a difficult driving layup through contact, giving the visitors a 37-26 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Junior Trey Johnson was not about to throw in the towel for Souhegan, as he buried a right-wing 3 34 seconds into the fourth, and then finished a layup 33 seconds later. A layup by McCool with 5:49 left ended a 7-0 spurt and brought the Sabers to within 37-33\. Souhegan trimmed the deficit down to 39-38 with 1:32 remaining on a layup by Boehm, setting the stage for the dramatic final possessions.

“The team has fought all year; we have been down big a lot,” Pierce said. “We always comeback so it is never a (problem) with giving up or not being able to comeback. That is not what this is. This is a function of not being able to close things out and not valuing possessions. That is absolutely a key for good basketball teams to understand.”