Nashua South boys basketball beats Nashua North for 5th win in 6 games

NASHUA – The Nashua High School South boys basketball team stuck to its game plan on Friday evening.

The Panthers knew in order to keep up with explosive Nashua North, they needed to slow the game down, maximize possessions and try to make life difficult for the Titans with strong on-ball defense.

South built an 11-point halftime lead by holding the Titans’ high-octane offense to 14 points in the opening 16 minutes, and then the Panthers withstood a second-half push by making just enough plays in the fourth quarter to chalk up a 42-35 victory.

It was not a pretty win by any stretch of the imagination, as South only scored five points in the third and shot 12 of 26 from the free throw line. In the same breath, it still counts as a mark in the win column, and the Panthers showcased a great deal of mental toughness in the fourth, making a series of big-time plays to clinch the Battle of the Bridge win.

“We are going to shoot some free throws in practice (Saturday),” Panthers coach Nate Mazerolle said with a smile. “We made it very clear to the guys that this was the type of low-scoring contest that we needed to make it a game. North is a fantastic team, especially in transition. If this was the 60s, 70s or 80s I do not like our chances, but 42-35 ugly basketball we will take it every night.”

The Panthers (5-5) opened their season with four straight losses, but have established a rhythm, winning five of their last six, with Friday’s win coming against a North squad that only had two previous losses on its resume. Freshman guard Alexander Hulfachor scored nine points with five in the fourth during his first-ever start, while senior forward Andrew Moody also recorded nine points.

Leading the way for the Titans (7-3) were sophomore guard Curtis Harris (game-high 11 points) and junior guard Brenden Choate (10 points).

A layup by Harris gave the Titans an early 7-4 lead, but the hosts ended the first quarter on a fierce 13-0 run. The spurt included a nifty pass by junior Stav Alkalay on a backdoor cut by Hulfachor, a falling-down 3-point shot by sophomore Cody Rocheleau and ended on a layup with five seconds left by senior Casey McNally, giving the Panthers a 17-7 advantage at the end of one.

A left-of-the-arc three-ball by Rocheleau, who was making his season debut, gave South a 25-12 lead with 2:36 left in the half, as the hosts took a 25-14 edge into halftime.

“I think it was a combination of they missed some shots and we played very good defensively,” Mazerolle said. “We like to think that we are a fast team and we are smart. They are faster than we are and they fly. Normally, we play full-court, man-to-man defense. (Friday) it was half-court man, which I am happy about because for 20 years that has been our bread and butter. (Friday) it worked.”

It was difficult to imagine going into the second half that North would not make a run, and the Titans ended up winning the third, 12-5, trimming the deficit down to 30-26 on two made free throws with 37.1 seconds left by junior Chukweuemeka Okorie.

“I am pleased with the effort in the second half but to beat good teams you have to play 32 minutes,” Titans coach Steve Lane said. “The first half was subpar at best for us (Friday). South played extremely well. They made shots, played really well as a group and deserved to win.”

North kept coming and cut the deficit down to 31-29 on a free throw by Harris with 5:42 left, but on the next play went a long way to helping South win the game.

Hulfachor had a mismatch on the perimeter, and the detailed-oriented Mazerolle screamed from the sideline for an isolation play, and the moment was not too big for the rookie, as he exploded down the lane and converted an up-and-under layup during an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Panthers a 34-29 advantage with 3:48 left.

Moody made a couple clutch plays late as well in the victory, as he gave his squad a seven-point lead with 1:54 left on a layup off an inbounds pass, and then recorded a highlight-reel block in the opening floor on Titans junior Samuel Nicholls with 1:12 left. South did not allow North to get closer than four points the rest of the night.

North and South will be back in action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., as the Titans will host Exeter and the Panthers will travel to Trinity.