Pinkerton boys basketball knocks off Trinity to return to D1 final (video)

EXETER - The Pinkerton Academy boys basketball team started strong in Wednesday's Division I semifinal against Trinity.

But by halftime, the Astros found themselves clinging to a two-point lead, thanks to a last-second basket by Andrew Brander.

During the break, No. 1 Pinkerton refocused its efforts on defense and turned stops into offense, opening the second half with an 11-0 run on the way to an 82-71 win over the No. 5 Pioneers at Exeter High School.

The win sends the Astros back to the D1 final for the second year in a row, where they will face No. 3 Nashua North, which defeated No. 2 Bedford 84-68 in the other semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at the University of New Hampshire's Lundholm Gymnasium.

Jackson Marshall led the way for Pinkerton (19-1) with 39 points, as he went 14 of 16 at the free throw line, and Brander added 22 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Charles Ludden added 15 points, including three 3s, as the Astros hit 10 shots from behind the arc as a team.

But at the half, it was what Pinkerton was doing on the other end of the floor that coach Mike Dunham felt needed to improve.

"We needed to compete a little bit more defensively," he said. "I thought we made it a little more hard on them defensively coming out in the third quarter. Just having Drew (Brander) and Jackson compete a little harder than they did in the first half."

After the Astros took a 16-9 lead late in the first quarter, Trinity (15-6) tied the game at 16 early in the second on a 3-pointer by Shawn O'Neil and hung around for the rest of the half. Pinkerton went up by as many as eight points in the quarter, but the Pioneers kept coming back, tying the game twice in the final minute.

Trinity had opportunities to go ahead in the quarter, but struggled at times to make layups in the halfcourt.

"If we had made some layups, we’d have been better off," Trinity coach Ray Farmer said. "That was not in our favor. It’s our way. If you make a few of those layups, instead of seeking contact and fouls, it’s a whole different ball game.

"Even though we didn’t play well in that first half, we would have been up, and that third quarter, that would have helped us with their momentum. We knew they were going to make a run, we just had to brace for that and make one ourselves. We just couldn’t."

O'Neil led Trinity with 22 points, including three 3s, and DeVohn Ellis added 17 points. Connor Bishop, Jordan Torres and Evan Dunker each had nine points.

The Pinkerton run came at the start of the second half, as Brander and Ludden scored five points a piece and a free throw by Marshall made it a 43-30 game. But on the foul that sent Marshall to the line, the senior was called for a technical foul, and O'Neil made one of two at the other end and Ellis scored on the ensuing possession.

The teams went back and forth at each other for the rest of the quarter, with the Astros taking a 57-47 lead into the fourth. It looked like Pinkerton was starting to pull away early in the quarter, as a 3 by Ludden made it 65-52 with 5:31 remaining.

But Trinity quickly answered with a basket by Ellis, and two more quick scores in transition gave the Pioneers a 6-0 run to make it a seven-point game. Trinity had a chance to cut the lead to five, but missed in close, and a three-point play by Marshall at the other end got the lead back up to 10.

"We had some empty possessions where we didn’t really run any sets," Farmer said. "I let my players play free, but those hurt us. I told them in the timeout (in the fourth quarter), I want a great look every single time we come down the court. It helped make our run. We had it to seven and I thought it would catapult us."

Instead, Pinkerton was able to maintain the lead and went 8 for 8 at the free throw line in the final two minutes to put the win away.