Nashua South boys basketball clinches D1 playoff spot with win over Keene

NASHUA - For all the postseason scenarios still possible entering the final night of the Division I regular season, the path to the playoffs was a simple one to understand for the Nashua High School South boys basketball team.

Beat Keene and the Panthers would be in the tournament. Lose and the season was over.

After a shaky start to each half, South got on track, did what it does best and pulled away in the second half for a 65-52 win over the Blackbirds to clinch the final postseason spot in the division. The Panthers will be seeded 13th going into the D1 playoffs on Wendesday, most likely taking on Manchester Memorial on the road.

Going into the day, not only did South know it needed to win, but it needed either Concord or Dover to lose, too. With the Crimson Tide getting an early start at Spaulding, and losing, the Panthers (7-11) knew that a win would do it.

"We knew the situation, we knew that Spaulding beat Concord," South coach Nate Mazerolle said. "We knew that a win gets us in. With senior night, and the immensity of it all, we weren’t ready for the start, but we did enough to win.

"I love this senior class, all nine of them. They are a great group of kids. I wanted, as much as any of the previous 18 years, this group to play in the tournament. Over those 19 years, we’ve only missed the tournament once and I didn’t want this group of kids to have that mark on their history. They worked their tails off and I’m pleased and proud of them."

Richie Mercado led the Panthers with 21 points, including two 3-pointers and a 5 of 7 performance at the free throw line, while Tyler Bernard came off the bench to add 11 points and Tony Agor had seven.

"It was hard not to focus on it because it was such a big thing," Mercado said. "Coach told us that there were two teams we needed to lose, and when he told us that one of them lost, that kind of boosted our confidence a little bit. That helped us a lot."

Keene (4-14) got 25 points from sophomore Noah Timmer, including 10 in the second quarter when the Blackbirds were able to keep pace with South.

"He did a really good job of getting himself loose, he really helped close the gap in the first half and kept that game tight," Keene coach Kevin Ritter said.

The Blackbirds led early, taking a 13-10 lead after one quarter, and going up 17-14 on a basket by Timmer 1:25 into the second. But South's transition game started to get in gear, as the Panthers went on an 11-0 run to take a 25-17 lead.

Timmer hit back-to-back jump shots to make it a four-point game and that's where it stood at halftime. Keene then opened the second half with 3s from Tate Matte and Timmer to go ahead 31-29.

South answered with a run again, going on an 8-0 run to take a 37-31 lead, but the Blackbirds continued to hang around, trailing by four until a 3 by Ivan Nyantenji started the Panthers on another run. South closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 48-36 lead into the fourth, and the Panthers stretched that lead to as many as 14 points in the final quarter.

"In the second half, we went cold and we weren’t able to get into our press because we were not able to score," Ritter said. "I think it just snowballed on us when we went cold there. We turned the ball over a couple of times and they were able to get easy looks in transition. "

The Blackbirds turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter and the Panthers capitalized by scoring eight points off those miscues.

"When we run, we’re effective," Mazerolle said. "When we defend, we’re effective. It really is that simple. High school kids, you can tell them all you want that if we play that way, we win and we’re in the tournament. But sometimes, that’s a lot. They’ve known for about a week and a half what scenario was, so I think that’s a lot of pressure on them."