Langdon's late 3 lifts Coe-Brown boys basketball past Souhegan

AMHERST - David Smith told his Coe-Brown Academy boys basketball team it needed to go to the basket and get good looks.

The Black Bears did both on their final possession and it saved a 49-48 win over Souhegan High School in the teams' season opener on Friday.

Nick Rosler drove down the left side of the lane, drawing the defense and leaving Sam Langdon alone in the corner. Rosler found Langdon and the later dripped the go-ahead 3-pointer, and on the other end, Souhegan's Brian Dworkin's last-second 3 was off the mark.

Langdon finished with a game-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers.

"Coach was telling us to attack the hoop and be aggressive," Langdon said. "I saw Nick (Rolser) taking it to the hoop on the left side, so I popped out to the corner and he found me and I hit it."

For Coe-Brown, it was the right player in the right place.

"I just wanted a good look and get a shot," Smith said. "Sam had been shooting really well, so for him to get it was ideal. We had missed a couple easy shots during that stretch and we missed four free throws in a row that set the tone and allowed the crowd to get in it."

Luke Zollman and Spencer Nowland also had eight points each for Coe-Brown, while Souhegan got 11 points from Dworkin and eight from Matt Segul. A.J. Hayes, Jerrell Duguay Webster and Charlie Driscoll added seven points apiece.

Coe-Brown (1-0) led 45-33 with over six minutes left in the game when Souhegan (0-1) went on a 14-0 run to take its first lead since the end of the first quarter. But on the Sabers' final possession, they again struggled to score against the Bears' zone defense.

After Langdon's basket, the Sabers got the ball over halfcourt with about 20 seconds left. Hayes held the ball, and with about 10 seconds left, he moved toward the top of the key before passing to Dworkin on the wing. Dworkin's shot was too strong and time ran out before anyone could grab the rebound.

"We could have called a timeout, but we hadn't executed anything all night," Souhegan coach Peter Pierce said. "At that point, I was deciding (either) call a timeout and draw something up maybe or live with somebody's athleticism and hope that we get a decent shot. I'm not unhappy with the shot, to be honest. Eventually, we'll knock that down and we’ll walk off the court happy."

The Sabers were anything but happy going into halftime. After taking a 10-9 lead into the second quarter, Souhegan was outscored 16-4 and didn't make a field goal.

"Our offense was bogged down," Pierce said. "For us to be successful, we need to be in transition, and when we get into transition, we’re pretty good. We’ll be able to compete with people, but at this point in the season, our set zone offense isn't close to where it needs to be. We'll get better at it."

Smith felt Coe-Brown's defense was solid throughout, even when the Sabers were making their run.

"We played a pretty solid game throughout, especially defensively," he said. "Offensively, I think we were a little blessed to have a lead and we became too cautious with the ball and weren't aggressive enough trying to attack the rim. We were settling and trying to force things. It’s big, especially for a young team."