Merrimack boys basketball advances in D1 playoffs with win over Goffstown (video)

MERRIMACK - It wasn't pretty, but the Merrimack High School boys basketball team has gotten used to that this season.

The Tomahawks shot 29 percent from the free throw line, went almost four minutes in the fourth quarter without scoring, and struggled with turnovers late in Wednesday night's Division I preliminary-round game against Goffstown.

Despite that, Merrimack found a way to win, as Patrick Yudkin made two free throws with a minute left to break a tie game and a last-second 3-pointer by Goffstown's Myles Green was off the mark, giving the No. 6 Tomahawks a 41-39 win over the No. 11 Grizzlies.

Merrimack moves on to the quarterfinals, where it will play at No. 3 Nashua North at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Tomahawks (13-6) led by 11 points twice in the second half, including a 35-24 lead with 6:33 to play, but the Grizzlies (9-10) were able to climb back into it both times. Goffstown went on a 10-0 run to pull within one point before tying the game twice, but the Grizzlies were never able to pull ahead.

"Give Goffstown credit," Merrimack coach Tim Goodridge said. "I thought down the stretch, they were more disciplined than us and they were getting better looks than us. Give our kids credit, too. They battled back and were able to pull it out at the end. A couple of years ago, we probably lose that game because we get flustered."

Yudkin finished with 12 points for the Tomahawks, and his 4-of-8 performance at the line accounted for all of Merrimack's made free throws. Jack Tarleton added eight points and Jared Dyer had six, including a putback with 1:29 left that gave the Tomahawks a 39-37 lead.

Goffstown got a big game from freshman Aiden O'Connell, who finished with a game-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Green finished with six points, which came on back-to-back 3s in the fourth quarter that helped the Grizzlies rally, and Jack Kelly also had six points.

"I’m just so proud of all of the them. It’s been like that all year," Goffstown coach Ryan Cowette said. "They never stop playing as hard as they can and that’s the reason we were as good as we were this year."

Merrimack led 17-10 at halftime and the Tomahawks slowly stretched the lead to 11 points in the third quarter, going up 26-15 on a putback by Tarleton. Goffstown answered with a 7-0 run to get back within four, but a 3 by Mason Creager and a basket by Tarleton to open the fourth gave Merrimack a 35-24 lead.

And that's when the scoring stopped for the Tomahawks.

"We just have an inability to score the ball sometimes," Goodridge said. "We were patient on offense (in building the lead), we didn’t turn the ball over, we got the ball inside. They extended that zone a little bit and we made two or three good passes. We got layups. It wasn’t anything spectacular. We knew what was coming. We’re just not fluid at times."

Goffstown started pressing and that extended zone gave Merrimack trouble, giving the Grizzlies some momentum, as they went on a 10-0 run, with a 3-pointer by Green cutting the Tomahawks' lead to 35-34 with 3:02 left.

"We just tried to ratchet up the intensity," Cowette said. "We wanted to trap them in the short corner, right around halfcourt. They turned it over a little bit, but there was nothing really special. We had to up the tempo and try to make them make mistakes. We got a few of them."

A basket by Yudkin finally broke the run and gave Merrimack a 37-34 lead, but O'Connell answered at the other end. After a Tomahawks turnover, the Grizzlies had a chance to take the lead, but Kelly missed the second of two free throws, leaving it a 37-37 game.

Dyer's basket put Merrimack back on top, but two free throws by Robenson Baguidy tied it back up. Yudkin made a pair of free throws to make it 41-39 with a minute to play and Merrimack got the rebound after a shot by Goffstown was off the mark.

The Tomahawks tried to run out the clock, but a foul by Kelly sent Dyer to the line with 18.3 seconds remaining. He missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Grizzlies got the rebound, taking a timeout with 10.3 seconds left.

"We were looking for a dribble handoff to get something in the paint," Cowette said of the final possession. "We knew they would help off the wing, so if that didn’t work, we had all our shooters on the floor and we would get an open look."

Green got the open look, but the shot just didn't go down.

"We thought (Baguidy) or (O’Connell) were going to try to get it," Goodridge said. "We tried to take that away. That kid had hit two big 3s and when it went up, I was like ‘oh boy.’ It was good defensively, but that shot sure looked good."