Nashua North boys basketball pulls away in fourth quarter to beat Windham (video)

WINDHAM - After dropping two games in a row, the Nashua High School North boys basketball team needed a shot in the arm.

Sam McElliott gave it to the Titans, twice.

The North junior hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to give the Titans the final push they needed to put Windham away, as they bounced back with a 68-56 win Friday night over the Jaguars in a Division I game.

Nathan Kane led North (9-3) with 18 points, including a 6-of-7 performance at the free throw line, while McElliott hit three 3s and had 16 points as he stepped into the starting lineup for the Titans.

"I can’t say enough about Sam McElliott," North coach Steve Lane said. "Good to get a road win anywhere. Windham is a tough club and they’ve won some really good games. I knew it was going to be difficult coming in and we took care of the ball enough, made enough shots, got some contributions from some complimentary guys."

North also got 13 points from Brenden Choate while Curtis Harris had nine points and Chukweuemeka Okorie had all eight of his points in the first quarter. Coming off back-to-back losses against Nashua South and Exeter, getting the road win was big for the Titans as they tried to stay near the top of the D1 standings.

"I think they needed it for their confidence," Lane said. "We’re still a pretty good team. We can compete with everybody else, but we need to learn how to play in stretches of a game to not let things get away from us."

North saw that happen in the first and third quarter, but each time, the Titans were able to right the ship.

Joey DaSilva had 13 of his team-high 16 points in the first half for Windham (6-7) and Rocky Heres was also in double figures with 12 points. Luke Schramm and Riley Desmarais added nine points apiece, but the Jaguars are still trying to find the right combination of players to get on the floor.

"At times, we're trying to find a lineup that can sustain both offense and defense," Windham coach E.J. Perry said. "Right now, we have certain guys who can lift us on offense. Joey and Rocky in the first half. Then you have guys like Luke and Wes (Lippold) who can ignite us on defense. We need to find that group who can do both."

The teams traded baskets over the first five-plus minutes of the game until Windham went on a 10-2 run to take a 19-14 lead late in the first quarter. Two free throws by Lippold early in the second gave the Jaguars a 23-20 lead, but the Titans went on a 14-4 run to take a 34-27 lead before Windham closed the gap to three points at halftime.

North surged back ahead in the third quarter, opening the second half with an 11-2 run to lead 45-33 with 2:51 left in the frame. But in less than a minute, that comfortable lead disappeared.

The Titans couldn't get the ball over halfcourt on four straight possessions, and the Jaguars scored off all of those turnovers, cutting the lead to 45-41 on a basket by Schramm with 2:02 left in the third. North got the lead back to eight points going into the fourth, but another layup by Schramm made it a six-point game nine seconds into the final quarter.

Harris and Desmarais traded 3-pointers and McElliott answered with a 3 to make it 55-46 North. Schramm scored on a putback at the other end, but McElliott hit another 3 to put the Titans up 10 points, 58-48.

"McElliott hit two of the biggest shots we’ve had thus far this season," Lane said. "There’s a kid who just keeps working at it. He’s biding his time just to get some minutes and he earned them (Friday). He earned a start and got some big minutes."

Windham was unable to answer the second 3.

"If someone does that to you, you have to go down and run good offense," Perry said. "We did that one time, we got it to Riley (Desmarais) and he hit that open 3. You’ve got to respond."

North went 8 of 10 from the free throw line down the stretch, going up by as many as 15 points, to close out the win.