Nashua South boys basketball comes back to beat Merrimack for 5th win in a row (video)

NASHUA - Part of the pregame preparation for the Nashua High School South boys basketball team is for Panthers coach Nate Mazerolle is to go over five things the players need to do each time out.

One of those five things is always to make free throws.

After falling behind in the third quarter, South was able to go on a run in the fourth and pull away thanks to its shooting performance at the line, going 16 of 23 in the final eight minutes to grab a 57-51 win over Merrimack in a Division I game on Wednesday.

Zach Castonguay led the Panthers (10-7) with 21 points, including a 9-for-10 performance at the line, while Josh Caruso added nine points and Rhett Medling had seven. Medling, Karsten Lemire and Alize Roig-Cortes also hit free throws in the fourth to help South come back from a six-point deficit midway through the third.

"We know that’s an issue," Mazerolle said of the free throw shooting. "I adjusted the lineup at the end, and some nights, you know there are certain guys who are going to make them. That’s important. It’s amazing how with all the game planning and the scouting, just make your free throws. It really is a simple game."

A flurry of fouls called on Merrimack (5-12) late in the third quarter and into the fourth helped South get into the double bonus with just under six minutes remaining, giving the Panthers a pair of foul shots the rest of the game.

"They shot about 25 foul shots," Merrimack coach Austin Denton said. "We didn’t shoot as many, but we also didn’t make our foul shots when we got the opportunity, either. That’s the difference in the game. We were fouling down at the end, but in the fourth quarter, I felt like all of a sudden, they’re in the bonus. The kids fought hard and I give them all the credit."

Jack Tarleton led the Tomahawks with 17 points and David Roy was in double figures with 14, including two 3-pointers.

South jumped out to a 15-8 lead late in the first quarter, but Merrimack hung around and was down by just two points, 28-26, going into halftime. A 3-pointer by Roy to open the third put the Tomahawks in front and started a 10-2 run that saw Merrimack take a 36-30 lead with 4:45 left in the quarter.

Four different players scored points for the Tomahawks in the quarter and they were able to take a 39-35 lead into the fourth.

"We have different guys who can do different things, so when we’re subbing in and out, we know this guy gives us this, this guy gives us that," Denton said. "We know we have eight or nine guys who can contribute. We played hard, we just couldn’t find those buckets at the end of the game."

The Tomahawks still head a 44-43 lead with 4:28 to play, but a transition basket by Roig-Cortes gave the Panthers the lead and moments later, the freshman picked up an assist on a nice feed to Caruso for another basket and a 47-44 lead. That started South on a 10-1 run that put the Panthers in control for good.

"Any Nashua-Merrimack game, you know it’s going to be a physical, but well-played game," Mazerolle said. "They played tough all the time. They were much more physical than we were in the first half. That doesn’t mean fouling, they just outplayed us. They were pushing us around and we talked about that at halftime."

The win was the fifth straight for South and puts the Panthers in position to grab a top eight playoff spot depending on Friday's regular-season finale against Pinkerton (14-3).