> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Pinkerton boys basketball finds rhythm, comes back to beat Salem (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/pinkerton-boys-basketball-finds-rhythm-comes-back-to-beat-salem-video/
- Published: 2025-12-28T16:30:29.000Z
- Updated: 2025-12-28T16:30:29.000Z
- Description: DERRY - The Pinkerton Academy boys basketball team was looking Saturday for an answer to its shooting woes. It turned out all the Astros needed to do was keep shooting. After struggling to make shots in the first half against Salem, Pinkerton hit two 3-pointers to open the third quarter, starting
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, boys basketball, Pinkerton, Rivalry Week, Salem, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

DERRY - The Pinkerton Academy boys basketball team was looking Saturday for an answer to its shooting woes.

It turned out all the Astros needed to do was keep shooting.

After struggling to make shots in the first half against Salem, Pinkerton hit two 3-pointers to open the third quarter, starting a run that gave the Astros their first lead, and they held on down the stretch for a 70-64 win over the Blue Devils in a Division I contest at the Hackler Gymnasium.

The game was the final one of four games in the first Southern New Hampshire Rivalry Week, a two-day event that also featured games with Windham and Londonderry, all at Pinkerton.

Down four points at halftime, Pinkerton (5-0) outscored Salem 21-9 in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead into the fourth. Although the Blue Devils (2-3) got the lead down to two midway through the quarter, the Astros were able to pull away late for the win.

“We came out flat,” Pinkerton coach Mike Dunham said. “I think we shot 13 percent from 3 in the first half. And then I said ‘get to the rim’ and the kids came out and hit two straight 3s. I love that about my guys, they keep shooting. They play with confidence and I am ultra confident in my guys shooting the basketball. They turned it around in the second half and really defended a little bit more, too.”

Brady Sullivan had 20 points to lead Pinkerton, with 12 of those coming in the first half. Josh Phanor added 16 points and Wilson Youssef had 13 points, as the pair combined to score 23 points in the second half.

Malik Solomon, Brady Spellman and Ryan Bonilla also played well defensively in the second half to help the Astros get the win.

Salem got 15 points each from Omar Ali and Zach Sangermano, as Ali had all of his points in the first half and Sangermano had 11 in the fourth quarter after sitting most of the game in foul trouble.

“We knew that it was going to be a tough matchup,” Salem coach Sam Langdon said. “They’re a good squad, they’re well-coached. We came out ready to go. They made some adjustments at halftime.

“You could tell that they picked up their transition offense and they were looking to get out and run, which we weren’t prepared for right off the rip.”

Salem opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers on the way to a 7-0 lead. Pinkerton finally scored almost three minutes into the game and countered with a 6-0 run, and it was a one-point Salem lead, 16-15, after one.

The Blue Devils got the lead up to as many as eight points in the second quarter, including a 31-23 lead with 2:15 to play. But the Astros were able to cut it down to four, 33-29, going into the break.

Three-pointers by Phanor and Sullivan to open the third helped Pinkerton tie the game at 35, and after a 3 by Salem's Kyle O'Loughlin, Sullivan and Phanor each scored to give the Astros their first lead, 39-38, of the game.

The Blue Devils kept it close for most of the quarter, but the Astros were able to get the lead up to eight, 50-42, going into the fourth. Dunham credited his team's defense for getting Pinkerton into that spot as much as the offense.

“(Solomon) was just kind of a mismatch for them, a little bigger, a little more athletic,” the coach said. “He’s getting better and better every day. A lot of our game plan was set to stop (Sangermano) and I think he still had 15 points because he’s a great player. I thought Brady Spellman and Ryan Bonilla did a great job on him.”

Salem started to chip away at the lead early in the fourth quarter, with a 3 by Sangermano making it a two-point game, 54-52, with 4:45 remaining.

Two free throws by Salem's Cooper Keenan with 3:28 left made it 58-56 Pinkerton, but the Astros went on a 7-1 run to get the lead back up to eight points. The Blue Devils cut it back down to four in the final 90 seconds, but couldn't get any closer.

“Props to our guys for not rolling over at that point,” Langdon said. “They came out, battled back, made it a game, and then you get into the situation where you have to foul to get the ball back. Room to grow, things to work on as always, but I’m definitely proud of the way that they played.”