Souhegan boys basketball pulls away in second half to beat Milford (video)

MILFORD - The Souhegan High School boys basketball team has seen enough of Milford over the years to know the Spartans were going to make shots during Tuesday night's game.

The key for the Sabers was how they would respond.

When Milford opened the second half with a 9-0 run to take its first lead since early in the game, Souhegan didn't panic, and answered with a run of its own.

The Sabers closed the third quarter with seven straight points to retake the lead, and when the Spartans got within four points in the fourth, Souhegan went on another 7-0 run and pulled away for a 41-30 win in a Division II game in Milford.

"You’re not going to hold a team like that down," Souhegan coach Peter Pierce said. "They’re going to go on a run for sure. We knew they were going to hit two or three (shots) in a row at some point in the game because that’s who they are.

"We were trying to prepare the kids mentally for that, that it’s OK, it’s going to happen. Just take a deep breath and play through it, and I think that’s what they did. They got a couple of stops, made a couple of buckets and felt better about themselves."

Leading the way for Souhegan (3-1) was Curtis Redd, who had eight of his game-high 13 points in the second half, and Mike Maroun, who was also in double figures with 12 points. That included a 3-pointer to end the third quarter, giving the Sabers a 26-22 lead, while Matt McCool added nine points and had some big rebounds and assists down the stretch.

Milford (2-3) got 10 points from Jake Greska, including two 3s, and Ryon Constable added eight points, while also hitting two 3s. As a team, the Spartans hit six 3-pointers while making for shots from inside the arc.

The Spartans also played the final three quarters without senior Gavin Urda, who hurt his right ankle on the final possession of the first quarter and did not return. After the game, Milford coach Dan Murray said Urda could be out for a while.

"We missed a lot of shots," Murray said. "I think not having Gavin, we played kind of young. We were too fast around the perimeter, we didn’t get it inside. Defensively, I thought we did a real good job until the end, when we broke down.

"To me, the defense was pretty good, just a few break downs until late. Things run through (Urda). He runs the break and gets it to other people. All of a sudden, they had to do it by themselves."

Souhegan led 7-5 at the end of the opening quarter, and with Urda on the bench, the Sabers outscored the Spartans 10-6 in the quarter to take a 17-11 lead into halftime.

But Milford came out fast to start the second half, getting 3s from Greska and Constable to tie the game just a minute into the third. A three-point play by Joseph Shepard gave the Spartans a 20-17 lead, and after Maroun scored for Souhegan, a putback by Greska made it 22-19.

The Sabers ended the quarter with seven straight points, and extended the run to 18-4 to take a 37-26 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game.

"They might have had a poor shooting night, but our defense might have had something to do with it," Pierce said. "Those guys playing the top of the zone, they have to cover a lot of ground, and I thought they played it really well."