Late surge helps Hollis Brookline boys basketball pull away for D2 playoff win over Souhegan (video)

NASHUA - For almost 30 minutes, the Souhegan High School boys basketball team was right there during Tuesday's playoff game, hanging with a Hollis Brookline team it lost to by 28 points just five weeks ago.

Even after a pair of dunks by the Cavaliers' Alton Williams electrified the home crowd, the Sabers trailed by six points with under two minutes to play. And in a blink of an eye, that changed.

A series of turnovers by No. 11 Souhegan led to a 6-0 run for No. 6 HB in just 26 seconds, and the Cavs put an exclamation point on their first playoff win in five years, as they pulled away from the Sabers for a 54-39 win in the Division II preliminary round at Nashua High School North.

"We had battles all season on how to keep ourselves under control," HB coach Ryan Kelley said of what led to the game-ending run. "Sometimes you have to let the energy out and let them let the energy out. We have the athletes, we have the depth, we have height, we have the generals, we have a lot that we can utilize on this team."

Williams finished with a game-high 22 points and was a force inside the paint on the defensive end in the second half. Y'Arie Ramas added 10 points and James Arthur finished with nine, as HB (15-4) led for all but a few moments in the second quarter.

Souhegan (8-11), which was without junior Wes Hickman, got 12 points from Sean Zerega and 10 points from Drew Reagan while Evan Bernasconi added seven points.

The Sabers struggled at times against the Cavs' defense, turning the ball over 17 times, including the critical moments at the end of the game.

"Turnovers have kind have been our Achilles heel all year," Souhegan coach Peter Pierce said. "They ramped up the defensive intensity and we didn’t match that. We played about as well as we could play with the players that we had dressed. It wasn’t bad for three quarters, but it wasn’t enough to win the game."

HB took the lead early and had a 10-6 advantage after one quarter, but a 3-pointer by Joe Mayo and a basket by Bernasconi to open the second put Souhegan up 11-10. A basket and a free throw by Williams put the Cavs back in front, but the Sabers went on a 6-1 run to go up 17-14 with just under a minute left in the half.

Two free throws apiece from Williams and Ramas in the final 24 seconds of the half put HB up one, 18-17, going into halftime.

"I felt like we gave away a couple of possessions right at the end of the half," Pierce said. "I was happy to be where I was, but it could have been better, because we gave a couple away at the end of the half."

Neither team could get anything going offensively to start the third quarter, as the Cavs had the game's lone field goal for almost seven minutes, but each side made free throws.

The Sabers finally broke their field goal drought with back-to-back baskets by Zerega and Reagan to tie the game at 27 with 1:50 left in the third. But like the first half, HB ended the third quarter with four straight points to lead 31-27.

HB went up 41-30 on a 3-pointer by Dylan Kelley with 4:44 remaining, but Max Hayes answered with a 3 for Souhegan. Pierce took a timeout with 2:55 remaining and the Sabers still trailing 41-33, and Souhegan got the ball back on a defensive rebound with a chance to cut into the lead.

Instead, the Cavs took possession back, and Williams threw down a two-handed dunk in transition. Reagan answered right away with a 3, but HB got down the floor quickly for another two-handed slam by Williams.

A three-point play by Bernasconi got Souhegan within six points, 45-39, with 1:47 remaining, but then the wheels came off for the Sabers and the Cavs pulled away.

HB moves on to face No. 3 Sanborn (15-4), which knocked off No. 14 ConVal, 67-48, in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday in Kingston.