Nashua South knocks off Thornton, returns to Chick-fil-A Holiday Basketball title game

NASHUA - Yordy Tavarez scored 27 points to help the Nashua High School South boys basketball defeat Thornton Academy 68-65 on Friday and get back to the championship game of the Chick-fil-A Holiday Basketball Tournament.

Tavarez had 15 points in a back-and-forth second half that saw four ties and seven lead changes. South went up by as many as five in the third quarter, forcing Thornton into seven turnovers, but the Trojans closed the frame on a 10-4 run to take a 49-48 lead.

The Panthers took the lead for good on a basket by Tavarez that made it 56-55 South with 3:50 to play. Trevor Knight then made four straight free throws to give the Panthers a five-point lead; Knight finished 9 of 10 from the line for all of his points.

As a team, South was 22 of 26 from the line for the game, including 10 of 12 in the fourth quarter.

Quinn Richardson-Newton led Thornton with 28 points while Kyle Barrett added 16 points and Ben Lambert had nine.

South will try for its third title in a row at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against Alvirne, while Thornton will go for third place against Souhegan at 3 p.m.