Nashua South boys basketball gets much-needed win over Bishop Guertin

NASHUA – Ever since Nashua has split into two public high schools, some might say that the rivalry with Bishop Guertin has subsided in comparison to the Battle of the Bridge between South and North.

Do not tell that to Nashua South coach Nate Mazerolle, as he will take a win over Bishop Guertin any day of the week. On Friday evening, Mazerolle watched his scrappy Panthers stick to the game plan and gut out a 53-48 home win over the Cardinals in front of a raucous crowd.

“I told the players (Thursday) that I am an old man,” Mazerolle said. “I played in this rivalry, and in my mind this is still the rivalry. North and South, I get it because it is a huge rivalry, but this one against Bishop Guertin in my mind will always be the rivalry.”

The Panthers (7-7), who have won seven of 10 games since an 0-4 start, shared the wealth on offense, putting nine players on the score sheet. Junior Andres Hulfachor led the way with 11 points, while sophomore Jaden Murphy finished with 10.

Senior guard Andrew Arika led the Cardinals (5-10) by scoring seven of his 15 points in the fourth, while senior guard Joseph Noon showcased his deadly 3-point shot, finishing with four treys and 15 points.

In the first half, it appeared like South was going to run away with the game, racing out to an 8-1 lead 3:15 into game on a transition layup by freshman Alex Hulfachor off an outstanding outlet pass by junior Stav Alkalay. A layup by senior Miles Rios extended the lead to 15-3 with 1:25 left.

The Panthers kept coming, opening the second quarter on a 15-4 spurt, concluding with a layup by junior Ivan Nyantenji with 1:50 on the clock, giving South a 32-11 edge. Guertin closed the first half on a crucial 8-0 spurt, featuring a pair of 3s by Noon and a layup on an offensive rebound by Arika, as South led 32-19 at the break.

Noon came out with the hot hand in the third quarter, burying a left-wing trey 11 seconds into the period, and then rising up for an impressive pull-up jumper on the left side 34 seconds later, trimming the deficit down to 32-24. A layup by Arika with 5:56 left pulled the Cardinals to within 32-28 and capped a ferocious 17-0 spurt over three minutes, 34 seconds of game action, going back to the end of the first half.

“Sometimes it is a little bit of fool’s gold when we make 3s early and we made a few 3s early (Friday),” Mazerolle said. “We got away from that and their pressure hurt us. That 8-0 run at the end of the half was crucial for them. We had a 20-point lead and all of a sudden it is down to 13.

"We tried to dribble through pressure a couple times. In the second half, they caught fire and we did not defend the 3-point line as well as we would have liked. When a kid catches fire even when you do defend it right, it somehow goes in.”

Instead of panicking, the Panthers took it one possession at a time and moved the ball effectively in half-court sets. Guertin got to within 36-34 with 4:23 left in the third on back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore guard Nicholas Tedesco, but two made foul shots by Murphy with 39.3 seconds left sent the hosts into the fourth with a 43-35 advantage.

The feisty Cardinals were not about to throw in the towel, as they pulled to within three on two occasions in the final 1:23. Panthers senior Andrew Moody made two crucial free throws with 45.3 seconds on the board, and then sophomore Cody Rocheleau and Nyantenji made 1 of 2 each in the final 25.1 seconds to seal the win.

South is right in the thick of things in the Division I standings, as it pulled even at .500 with four regular-season games remaining.

“In a lot of ways (Friday's) game was a must-win, which is tough to say because we still have four games to go,” Mazerolle said. “But if we would have lost, then they would have basically had the same record as us. Now, we clearly have the advantage so it was a big win.”

The Panthers and Cardinals will be back in action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., as South will host Spaulding and Guertin will make the journey to Winnacunnet.