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# Souhegan boys basketball overcomes setbacks to move on to tourney semifinal
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/souhegan-boys-basketball-overcomes-setbacks-move-tourney-semifinal/
- Published: 2017-12-28T14:04:38.000Z
- Updated: 2017-12-28T14:04:38.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - There were a few chances for the Souhegan High School boys basketball team to lose control of Wednesday's Chick-Fil-A Holiday Tournament game against Nashua South. When the Sabers watched the Panthers go on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to erase a seven-point deficit could have been one,
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, boys basketball, Chick-Fil-A Holiday Tournament, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - There were a few chances for the Souhegan High School boys basketball team to lose control of Wednesday's Chick-Fil-A Holiday Tournament game against Nashua South.

When the Sabers watched the Panthers go on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to erase a seven-point deficit could have been one, but Souhegan kept it close and trailed by just one at halftime.

South went on another 9-0 run in the third quarter to turn a one-point game into a 42-34 lead going into the fourth, and in the middle of it, senior Max Leonard picked up his fourth foul and then a technical, removing a starter from the game with over a quarter to play for Souhegan.

Add to that that senior Jordan Lau Quan spent part of the second half going through concussion protocol after getting knocked down, and the Sabers were down two starters for a long stretch. But despite those setbacks, Souhegan rallied from seven points down with under four minutes to play to beat South 54-53 on Quan's basket with 5.3 seconds left in the game.

"I thought they played inspired basketball," Souhegan coach Peter Pierce said. "They had a couple of chances to check out and not compete and they wouldn’t do it, down eight at the beginning of the fourth.

"The defense broke down a couple of times in transition and (South's Tyler Bernard) went to the glass three or four times without anybody checking him. We had a momentary lapse there in intensity and it cost us. Tournament game, opening night, home team, it doesn’t take much to lose the edge."

While Quan and fellow seniors Ryan Hickey and Andersen Geffrard scored big baskets down the stretch, with each scoring 10 points apiece, it was freshman Matt McCool who helped keep the Sabers in the game at times, as he had a team-high 16 points.

"A win is a win, don’t get me wrong, I’m much happier sitting here than if we’d lost," Pierce said. "Even if we’d lost, my kids played really, really well. Those were the best quarters they’ve played this year and that’s what we talked about, getting better with every opportunity.

"That’s the goal for the week here, just continue to get better, so that when we get back to the regular schedule, we’re a better basketball team than we were a week ago."

It's the first time Souhegan has opened the tournament with a win since 2013, and the Sabers will face another tough matchup in Thursday's semifinal against Merrimack, which defeated Thornton Academy, from Sacco, Maine, 52-43.

"That puts a different spin on the experience," Pierce said. "We’ve been here many years where you lose and play early, and then you lose again. I’ve had my share of 0-3s here. This year will be a little different.

"We knew we’d have a bit of a better team. We have guys coming back from injury who didn’t get to play last year, and we’ve got guys who have spent time in the offseason getting ready to play. We felt really good about it, even though we hadn’t played well to date."

Souhegan and Merrimack will tip off at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.