Nashua South boys basketball beats Nashua North for 4th win in a row

NASHUA - The high school boys basketball teams from Nashua South and Nashua North are familiar enough with one another, they know what each wants to do when they face off.

It comes down to who executes better, and on Friday night, it was the Panthers.

South took control of the game in the first half, going up by double digits at halftime, and cruised through the second half for a 62-50 win over North in the Battle of the Bridge at South's Belanger Gymnasium.

When the teams met five weeks ago in the Nashua Holiday Tournament, the Titans were able to keep Panthers senior Josh Caruso in check in a low-scoring, three-point win.

Not this time around, as Caruso went for 37 points, including five 3-pointers, as South (9-3) was able to pick up the pace and play its style more frequently.

"We dictated tempo," South coach Nate Mazerolle said. "We got to run a little more than we did the first time, which was certainly the plan. We’ve changed some things, we’ve added some things, which, I think there was a little more variety."

One of those changes has been to move junior forward Josh Tripp to the point guard position on offense, a move that's helped spark the Panthers offensively on their four-game win streak.

"We made some switches because we thought that was best for our team," Caruso said. "(Tripp) does everything. He can score the ball, he distributes, he gets us all open looks and he creates for himself, too. He’s one of the most unselfish players I’ve ever played with."

Tripp finished with nine points on the night and also guarded North's Robinson Rodriguez, who finished with 14 points, but was held scoreless in the first quarter as South built a 20-14 lead after one.

"We’re playing our best basketball," Mazerolle said. "It’s not just Josh (Caruso). Josh Trip is also one of the best basketball players in the state and his defense on Robinson (Rodriguez) was key. Link Vanderhorst is putting pressure on the ball and keeping them out of the middle."

Shane Lemire came off the bench for the Panthers to added eight points, including two 3-pointers, one of which came in the first quarter to break a 12-12 tie and give South a lead it wouldn't let up.

"They didn’t miss a lot in the first half," North coach Steve Lane said. "I thought we did a much better job in the second half of not giving them open looks. But (Caruso) still wound up with 37. He’s a terrific player. We kind of hurt ourselves by turning it over a lot."

North (3-9) got 15 points from Alize Roig-Cortes and nine points from Josh Sullivan.

The Titans were able to cut the lead to four points in the third quarter thanks to a 12-2 run but Caruso ended the quarter scoring 11 points in a row for the Panthers to give South a 54-41 lead going into the fourth.

North got the lead back down to eight, 58-50, with under two minutes to play, but South made enough free throws to keep the Titans at a distance.

"We kept in it and then we took a terrible shot," Lane said. "We’d get to four or five (points) and then we’d take a jumper instead of getting to the rim. We’ve got a lot to learn."