> ## 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.

# Salem boys basketball holds on late to upset Bishop Guertin in D1 playoffs (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/salem-boys-basketball-holds-on-late-to-upset-bishop-guertin-in-d1-playoffs-video/
- Published: 2020-03-12T13:00:58.000Z
- Updated: 2020-03-12T13:00:58.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - Rob McLaughlin liked the way his Salem High School boys basketball team had played down the stretch of the regular season. The Blue Devils were bringing a lot of energy to every game, and if they kept that up into the postseason, maybe they could pull off an upset. In Wednesday's Division I
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bishop Guertin, boys basketball, playoffs, Salem, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - Rob McLaughlin liked the way his Salem High School boys basketball team had played down the stretch of the regular season.

The Blue Devils were bringing a lot of energy to every game, and if they kept that up into the postseason, maybe they could pull off an upset.

In Wednesday's Division I preliminary-round game against No. 4 Bishop Guertin, the 13th-seeded Blue Devils came out with enough energy to lead by as many as 12 points in the second half, and Salem did enough down the stretch to hold off the Cardinals for a 46-44 win.

The win sends the Blue Devils (10-9) to the quarterfinals, where they will play at No. 5 Keene at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

"We’ve been saying all year that if we play with energy and if we play like a team, I believe we can play with anybody," McLaughlin said. "At the end of the year, we were playing really strong, we played with a ton of energy. I think we really developed and learned all year long and I think it paid dividends (Wednesday)."

Alex Devir scored 18 points to lead Salem while Adan Ayala was also in double figures with 10 points and Michael Ference had nine. As a team, the Blue Devils were 11 of 16 from the free throw line, but after getting into the bonus late in the third quarter, Salem made 9 of 11 to help offset six turnovers in the final five minutes.

Bishop Guertin (14-5) got 11 points from Dylan Santosuosso while John Sullivan and Kyle Baker each added seven points. The Cardinals struggled all game from the field, including the fourth quarter, when Salem went to a 3-2 zone on defense and Bishop Guertin shot 2 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.

"We picked a bad night to go cold shooting and miss everything from layups to shots we always make," Bishop Guertin coach John Fisher said. "Salem is an excellent program. They’re well-coached, they’re disciplined kids, they play well. They came in a visiting gym, shot the ball well, and I can’t take anything away from the Salem basketball program and how those guys played.

"We just didn’t hit our shots. I felt a little like, we do this to ourselves, and quite a bit, we’ve come back in the fourth quarter. You can’t get down that far and always expect to come back."

Salem got out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter, but Bishop Guertin went on a 14-6 run to take its only lead of the game, 16-15, with 3:26 left before halftime. The Blue Devils responded with a 6-0 run to go into the break up 21-16.

After back-to-back baskets by Ayala and Devir, Salem led 25-18, but Bishop Guertin cut the lead to two points on a basket by Baker with 2:05 left in the third. But a free throw and then a three-point play by Ference put Salem back up six and two more free throws by Timothy Spampinato gave the Blue Devils an eight-point lead.

A 3-pointer by Santosuosso just before the buzzer cut Salem's lead to 31-26 going into the fourth, but the Cardinals started to struggle to get to the basket against the Blue Devils' zone and began settling for outside shots.

"It was more to take their penetration away," McLaughlin said. "I didn’t think they were shooting it real well. They hadn’t attempted a ton of shots from the outside. We felt if we could keep them on the outside, make it tougher, they’re taking time off the clock. I think it slowed things down and confused them a little bit."

Salem opened the fourth with a 10-3 run to take its largest lead of the game, 41-29, with 5:24 remaining in the game. A 3-pointer by Mason Carroll seemed to wake the Cardinals up, starting them on a 13-2 run to make it a one-point game with 1:30 left.

A pair of free throws by Devir put Salem back up by three, but Bishop Guertin got it back to one on a basket by Samuel Mullett. The Blue Devils turned the ball over, with Carroll coming up with a steal, and the Cardinals took a timeout out, down 45-44, with 31.6 seconds left.

Bishop Guertin tried to get a shot in close, but couldn't penetrate Salem's zone, and Santosuosso's 3-point attempt was off the mark and Ference was fouled on the rebound with 6.2 seconds to go.

The Salem senior made the first free throw but missed the second and Bishop Guertin got the rebound. The Cardinals got the ball down the court in enough time for Sullivan to get an open look from 3, but his shot was just off the mark at the buzzer.

"You get up and they make a run, and I think early in the year, we might give that one away," McLaughlin said. "That’s the resiliency that we’ve developed. Our older guys have been doing it now for a couple of years. Alex (Devir) was really good on the boards. Trevor (DeMinico) does a great job controlling the game. We’ve been talking about that all year. It goes from guy to guy every night."