Pinkerton boys basketball pulls away in 3rd quarter to beat Londonderry (video)

LONDONDERRY - There were no big halftime adjustments to the game plan for the Pinkerton Academy boys basketball team.

All Mike Dunham wanted to see was improved effort from the Astros, and in the third quarter, they got it.

Pinkerton went on a 12-2 run in the first two minutes of the second half and held Londonderry at a comfortable distance the rest of the way Friday night for an 86-69 win in a matchup of Division I rivals.

Jackson Marshall led the Astros (9-0), as the senior had all but nine of his game-high 34 points in the second half. Charles Ludden added 20 points for Pinkerton while Andrew Bender was also in double figures with 11 points.

"They hung around," Dunham said of Londonderry in the first half. "I think our effort in the third quarter was different. I think when we came out (to start the game), we were flat. We weren’t hitting shots.

"When we make shots, we’re tough to beat. It’s funny but it really is that. I don’t think we got Jackson the ball enough in the beginning. We started going to him more in the second half to create the offense."

After Pinkerton's initial run to start the third, Londonderry responded by trading baskets to keep the Astros from pulling further away, but the Lancers couldn't get any closer.

"We’ve been scoring 50 a night, and then we score (almost) 70 and still lose by 20," Londonderry coach Jaryd Piecuch said. "It doesn’t really benefit us to play that style, but at the same time, I know you don’t want to run with them, but you can’t back down.

"We shot it pretty well, we were confident driving. If we were turning it over every time we went to the rim, we’d probably slow it down, but I thought we did a good job matching them for three quarters."

Mason Paquette led Londonderry (4-5) with 22 points, as he hit five of the team's nine 3-pointers. Ty Miles and Ryan Williams (three 3s) each added nine points while Matt Luongo and Kiet Totten each had eight markers.

The Lancers jumped out tot a 7-2 lead to start the game, but the Astros responded with a 10-0 run and took a 17-15 lead into the second quarter. Pinkerton went up 24-17 on a putback by Marshall, but six straight points by Londonderry got it back within one.

Back-to-back 3s from Parker Bienvenue-Cernuda and Ludden gave Pinkerton a 30-23 lead and the Astros took a nine-point advantage, 36-27, into halftime.

"The way we were playing defense, we were in position to make good close outs and put them in position to make tough shots," Piecuch said. "That was what we’re looking for, and we held them to one shot most of the time."

The Astros knew they needed to step things up to start the second half and they were able to right from the start.

"We came out a little slow, but it’s Pinkerton-Londonderry," Dunham said. "We said we’ve really got to push this pace on them. We really came out and blitzed them in the third. Credit to Londonderry, they played really well and they’re playing really well."

Marshall scored the first three points of the half for Pinkerton and Ludden followed with a 3. A basket by Bender made it 44-29 and forced Piecuch to take a timeout, but out of the break, Marshall and Ludden added back-to-back baskets to push the lead to 19 points.

From there, Paquette helped the Lancers keep it from getting worse, as he scored nine straight points for Londonderry. But with the Astros continuing to score at the other end, it was still a 14-point game.

"That was big for Mason and big for us as a team," Piecuch said. "Mason was an all-state player last year. He got his ankle sprained in tryouts, so he missed the first couple of weeks. Then he had some sickness and he has not been himself. He’s been averaging about seven points per game. He took over that third quarter for us to keep us hanging around."

Marshall, who ended up with 19 points in the third quarter, scored the final six of the frame for Pinkerton, including a last-second dunk on an alley oop from Bender that made it 69-50 Astros going into the fourth.

"It was a great game and it’s such a rivalry," Dunham said. "These kids, they really responded. There was adversity in the first half, we made some changes, and they came out and executed."