Merrimack boys basketball grinds out win against Dover

DOVER — More often than not nowadays, you see coaches trying to mold a style of play based on the players they have. That is not and never has been the case for Tim Goodridge-led Merrimack High School boys basketball team.

Goodridge coaches his Tomahawks to be patient on offense and stingy on defense year in and year out. The formula is no different this season for Merrimack, which is off to a 4-2 start to its season following Friday’s 58-49 win over Dover.

“I was very disappointed after the Windham game (on Tuesday),” Goodridge said. Merrimack fell by eight points on Tuesday after starting the game with nine turnovers and a 14-2 deficit. “I think we were solid for the most part (Friday). But if we took care of the basketball more and made some free throws then it might not look as close as it did.”

The Tomahawks led for all but one minute in the first quarter, using a 13-2 spurt that spanned six minutes between the first and second quarter to entrench themselves ahead of the Green Wave (4-2) the rest of the way. Jack Tarleton scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to ensure the Merrimack’s lead did not fade.

Tempo was a big factor for the Tomahawks’ success, as their grind-it-out offense generated looks inside and from the perimeter with decisive ball movement and extra passes. Second-chance points from the likes of Tarleton, Jared Dyer (nine points, 13 rebounds) and Michael Johnson (eight points) also boosted Merrimack.

“We’ve been working on getting the ball in and kicking it out, and it happened to work for us,” Goodridge said. “Hopefully we can build on this. It seems we take three steps forward and then two back.”

Tarleton epitomized Merrimack’s inside-out game plan throughout the night. The sophomore dropped a handful of jumpers, including two 3-pointers, while being equally effective in the post. He generated two putbacks through a mob under the basket in the third quarter that helped stabilize the Tomahawks through a Dover surge.

“He’s got an ugly looking shot I think, but he’s got plenty of ability there for us,” Goodridge said. “He took lumps last year as a freshman and now he’s starting to learn the pace of this game a little better. He did a really nice job for us.”

Tarleton’s second-half outburst helped fend off some brief momentum for Dover, which got 11 points from Kingsley Breen and 10 from Sam Krick. The Green Wave spit off a 10-2 run in the middle of the third quarter to cut their deficit to four points, but they were never able to get closer.

Spotty offense on short possessions did not help Dover’s cause, but Green Wave coach Matt Fennessy believed a lack of energy was the reason for any shortcomings.

“We came out flat,” Fennessy said. “We made runs, but there was never any traction there for us. We wanted to get them into a game where they were going up and down, but we just couldn’t find a rhythm offensively that allowed that to happen.”

Another part of the offensive woes for Dover was the quiet night from Breen. The Green Wave’s top scorer seemed passive at times and got very few looks that he wanted thanks to a combined effort from Merrimack guards Adam Ellis and Tim Eckert.

“They’re both three-year players that have defense as their strong points,” Goodridge said of Ellis and Eckert. “If we don’t defend then we’re not going to beat anyone, so we preach it a lot. Those two exemplify that and then Dyer also makes up for mistakes we have out back, too.”