Pelham boys basketball extends win streak to 11 games with victory over Laconia

PELHAM - Does the Pelham High School Boys Basketball team have what it takes to win back-to-back state championships?

Much like their football counterparts, the Pythons have been the class of Division II. They have hovered around first place all season and are dominating their opponents. Outside of a one point loss to Pembroke early in the year, Pelham has beaten every other opponent by seven or more points throughout the season.

Also like the football team, the basketball team loves to run as much as possible. Its motion offense keeps all five guys involved and puts pressure on the defense. On defense, their own pressure forces turnovers that lead to plenty of transition points.

And at the center of that success is the team's seven seniors who are hungry for another title. Against Laconica on Tuesday night, Pelham's seniors accounted for 50 points in the team’s 56-42 win on senior night for the team’s last home game before the playoffs.

“They put the work in,” Pelham coach John Morin said of his seniors, who helped improve the team to 15-1. “There are no shortcuts with them. They always came out to compete. They always found a way when we needed it most to get there.”

The Sachems were neck-and-neck with the Pythons for three quarters, outscoring them 42-39 in the game excluding the second quarter.

Unfortunately, you have to score in every quarter if you want to have a chance to win.

After a tight first quarter, Laconia led Pelham 13-11 going into the second frame. The Sachems would not score their next basket until two-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter.

The Pythons ramped up their pressure and forced turnover after turnover during the second quarter, preventing Laconia from getting into any rhythm. Center Keaton Beck only had four points in the half and added just two more after halftime. Laconia had racked up 14 turnovers in the first half alone.

“We feel we do better when we ‘heat them up’ as we call it,” said Morin. “I felt we were playing too slow early in the game. We start to do better when we get moving and do energy generating behaviors like moving the ball around and moving up-and-down the court.”

Logan Dumont scored eight points in the first half and finished with a team-high 15 points. Zach James hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for the Pythons, who extend their win streak to 11 games.

Despite being shutout for an entire quarter, coach Stephen McDonough’s team kept things interesting in the second half.

Down 40-18 halfway through the third, the Sachems managed to slowly cut into the lead to bring themselves within 12 points with a few minutes remaining in the game. Though they couldn’t break through to get the win, McDonough felt for three quarters his players showed they could compete with a top team on the road.

“I’m happy we were able to battle back,” McDonough said. “I thought in the second we started to fold a little bit. We dug deep and we didn’t want to come here and get run over. We went into the mindset during the timeouts to win the next minute.”

Laconia’s Logan Sanchez led his team with 12 points and was the only Sachem to finish in double figures.

With the playoffs nearing, the Sachems fall to 10-6 with a two-game lead for seventh place, which would mean a home game in the first round of the playoffs. The Pythons remained tied for first with Hanover at 15-1 with a road game at Manchester West on Friday.