Nashua South boys basketball outlasts Exeter behind Caruso's big night (video)

NASHUA - The biggest decision made for the Nashua High School South boys basketball team came before Monday night's game even started.

Josh Caruso was dealing with a nagging injury to the point the Panthers weren't sure he was going to play until right before warmups.

The junior guard did more than just play, as he scored 40 points, including 10 straight late in the third quarter, to help South win a shootout with Exeter, 82-74, in a Division I game.

Caruso hit eight 3-pointers, and as a team, the Panthers (7-3) hit 14 shots from behind the arc, and they needed every one of them. Exeter (5-4) made eight 3-pointers and had five players score in double figures, and the Blue Hawks trailed by just six points with 5:34 remaining.

"He’s pretty darn good," South coach Nate Mazerolle said. "He’s coming back from an injury. It was a game-time decision. I liked that decision.

"He’s the best scorer we’ve ever had, and it’s all from hard work. He’s the hardest working kid we’ve had in our program. I’ve been doing this a year or two, so I guess that’s saying something."

Zac Castonguay added 25 points for the Panthers, including three 3-pointers, while Samson Akotey also had three 3s for his nine points off the bench.

Exeter got 17 points (three 3s) from Brady Rogers while Nate McNeff added 16 points and Dylan Whelan scored 14 points. Nikolas Greco (12 points) and Jack Thibodeau (10) were also in double figures.

"Offensively, I thought we did well," Exeter coach Jeff Holmes said. "We had to score on them. They converted our mistakes into easy hoops. They’re a really good fast-break team. If you leave Castonguay or Caruso open, it’s put it in the books. They’re a good team.

"Defensively we had a few too many lapses. They also shot really, really well. We were concentrating on stopping them, so it’s not like they weren’t being guarded. We just didn’t quite have the personnel to stop them."

Caruso opened the game by scoring South's first eight points, including two 3s that were well behind the line. The Panthers led 16-13 after one, and a 3 by Akotey to open the second quarter made it a six-point game, but the Blue Hawks responded.

An 11-2 run put Exeter on top 24-21 midway through the quarter, and from there, the lead changed hands five times over the next 3 1/2 minutes. A 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Castonguay gave South a 38-34 lead going into the break.

The Panthers were able to maintain the lead in the third quarter, but couldn't get ahead by more than two possessions until the final three minutes. A second-chance basket by Castonguay and two free throws from Caruso made it 50-45 South.

After a basket by Whelan got it back to three points, Caruso scored eight straight, including a 3-pointer and a three-point play in transition, to give the Panthers their largest lead, 58-47.

"We figured there are maybe one or two teams in the state who can run with us, especially on our floor," Mazerolle said. "We want to fly. The stretches where we were good in the first half, we made everything it seemed in the first five minutes and it was a close game because the defense was non-existent."

Exeter was able to get within five points early in the fourth quarter, and a 3 by Thibodeau with 5:34 to play cut South's lead to 69-63. But Caruso answered it with another 3 of his own, and with the Blue Hawks forced to pressure the Panthers, South was able to pull away late.

Another 3 by Caruso and a three-point play by Castonguay made it 80-68 with 2:27 to go.

"They’re a tough team for us to press because if you press, you’re leaving shooters open," Holmes said. "They’re a really good match together, they know how to play together. That’s a really good high school guard tandem."