Pelham boys basketball controls OT to hand Merrimack Valley first loss

PELHAM – After graduating seven seniors from a program that won the past two Division II championships, the new-look Pelham High School boys basketball team got off to a tough start with a pair of losses to begin this winter.

There may be different faces taking on leadership but the championship pride is still very alive, and the Pythons have figured out how to turn things in an escalating direction heading into Thursday night showdown with Merrimack Valley.

Pelham used an 11-0 fourth-quarter run to take a lead before the Pride battled back to force an overtime that was dominated by the Pythons in a 77-67 victory. Pelham handed Merrimack Valley (7-1) its first loss of the season by outscoring the Pride 10-0 in overtime.

“After we were 0-2, we talked as a team and told ourselves (the title reign) is not going to end like this,” Pelham junior Brady Hegan said. “We got the shots up in practice, the energy was there. We got our first win and we took off from there.”

Hegan scored 19 points and was the leading returnee in terms of major minutes from last year’s squad, and Justin Bowlan (15 points) also got some time.

Pelham most notably graduated Division II first-team all-state selections Dom Herrling and Zach James. Pelham coach Joe Morin, Sr., knew he still had a number of talented kids coming back to continue the next chapter of the program that is hitting its stride midseason.

“It’s simple when I look at it, the guys that are doing it now were the guys covering Zach James and Dom everyday in practice," Morin said. “You don’t play against those guys every single day and not figure out a few things and that’s what I give them a lot of credit for.”

With Pelham up 67-64 in the final seconds, Hegan admittingly made a mistake when he fouled Merrimack Valley’s Ethan Dukette from behind the 3-point line with 0.9 seconds left in regulation. Dukette calmly sank the ensuing three free throws to force overtime. Pelham’s Brady O’Connor nearly banked in a halfcourt shot to end the game before that.

Hegan immediately made up for it when drained a corner 3-pointer to begin overtime and then found Shawn Bodenrader for a transition hoop. Bodenradar scored again off a dish from Bowlan to give Pelham a 74-67 lead.

“That was a mistake on my part on that foul,” Hegan said. “We talked on the bench and said that if we come out weak we’re not going to win the game. We came out strong and went on a run from there.

“(The 3-pointer) just brought the energy up and it set the tone for overtime and we got the job done.”

Merrimack Valley held a 47-44 lead entering the fourth quarter before Pelham’s 11-0 run put the Pride into a 62-54 deficit that they overcame in the final two minutes. Aiden Gray (22 points) drained a 3-pointer to close the gap to 66-64.

“We ran out of gas in overtime for sure and we had opportunities but we just didn’t finish out the game,” Merrimack Valley coach Kelly O'Brien said. “D2 is tough and we knew we weren’t going undefeated. (Thursday) was a tough one because I thought we could've won it but we’ll move on.”

Morin is thrilled with how his group is carving its own niche through this year’s title defense.

“We talked about how you have to embrace adversity and that’s what they did,” the coach said. “The kids were all over (Thursday). They knew what they needed to do and found a way.”