Pelham boys basketball returns to D2 title game with win over Manchester West

ROCHESTER — Brady Hegan only knew seasons that ended with championships during his first two years on the Pelham High School basketball team, so there was a void when his team didn’t win any hardware last winter.

The now-senior and the rest of his teammates have their chance to put Pelham back on top of the mountain.

Second-seeded Pelham broke open a close game in the second quarter that it was able to maintain the rest of the way toward Monday night’s 54-49 victory in the Division II semifinals over No. 3 West inside the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center in Rochester.

Pelham won back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024 before it fell to eventual Division II-champion Pembroke in last year’s semifinals.

“To have been there the first two years I know exactly what it takes and it feels like what it feels like right now,” Hegan said. “It’s an amazing feeling. We’ve worked for it all season and it’s here now.”

Pelham (16-4) takes aim at winning three titles in four years on Sunday when the Pythons battle top-seeded Hollis-Brookline (20-0) in the Division II championship game inside the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium.

The Cavaliers advanced with a 42-38 win over No. 4 Hanover (16-5) in Monday’s nightcap.

“I’m not taking away from any of the other guys that have played for me, but these guys have put in the work when it comes to the summer league and all the other stuff,” Pelham coach Joe Morin said. “They work hard and they deserve to be there because they earned it.”

Luke Estelle and Brady O’Connor led Pelham with 13 points apiece and they jump started an 8-0 run in the second quarter with a three-point play by Estelle and a 3-pointer by O’Connor. Pelham carried a 19-14 lead into the second quarter and led 32-26 at halftime following a hoop by Hegan.

After West (16-5) sliced the deficit to 36-30 following a hoop by Jayden Guzman, Pelham junior point guard Gavin Hastie took over the game to finish off the third quarter when he converted a pair of midcourt steals.

He capped off the third with an assist on a backdoor cut to Quinn Blanchette to give Pelham a 45-37 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“I felt like I came out a little slow at the defensive end, so at halftime time I sat down and I made a promise to myself that I’m going to do whatever it takes to win,” Hastie said. “Once I came out, the defense translated to our offense. Once I started bringing the energy, you could see the energy come from the other guys too.”

Morin still laments the fact that he didn’t play Hastie during the first half of last year’s semifinal loss to Pembroke, but he’s been thrilled to see the progression he’s made this year and he’s given the Pythons exactly what they’ve needed.

Hastie opened up the fourth quarter with a drive before Hegan found Nachi Nwabueze for a hoop to give Pelham a 51-39 lead midway through the quarter.

“It’s kind of ironic and it’s a mistake I made back then, and we had joked around about it through the year,” Morin said. “With a team full of seniors and for him to be a junior, point guard is a leadership role. They’ve trusted him and they know he can ball when he needs to ball.”