Souhegan hangs on this time to beat Bedford

AMHERST – It had been only 12 days since the Souhegan High School boys basketball team blew a 17-point lead against Bedford and lost to the Bulldogs.

It was still on the Sabers’ minds when they took the court Wednesday night for both teams’ Division II regular-season finale.

When Souhegan went up by double digits, it focused on its game plan. And when Bedford cut the lead to two, the Sabers stomped on the gas. Souhegan went on a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter and shut the Bulldogs down to win 65-46.

The win means the Sabers will be no worse than the fourth seed in the tournament, depending on what three other teams – Pembroke, Portsmouth and Hanover – do in their final games. Bedford is locked into the fifth seed when the tournament begins on March 7.

“I’m really proud of them,” Souhegan coach Mike Heaney said. “I think because the loss was so fresh, I think it carried over. Even when we got the lead, we said it was a long way from being done.”

Brandon Len led the way with 15 points, while Jake Kennedy and Shaun McKenna each had 11 points for the Sabers (16-2). Bedford (14-4) was led by Trevor Fahmy, who had 11 points, and no one else was in double figures.

“They outplayed us,” Bedford coach John Langlois said. “Souhegan made some big shots at the right times. They’re a good basketball team. We had a couple of tough breaks.”

Bedford took an early lead and held it for most of the first half, but play slogged down for a few minutes and before the Bulldogs could pick up the pace, Souhegan had gone on an 11-0 run and led 32-23 at halftime.

The Bulldogs looked to make adjustments at the break, and the Sabers helped out in the third quarter. A layup by Sean McGrath with 4:54 left in the third put Souhegan up 40-31, but Bedford responded with a 10-3 run to make it a two-point game.

“We made some adjustments and I thought we came back pretty well,” Langlois said.

“I called a timeout and said one pass possessions is what they need to get back in the game,” Heaney said. “We need ball reversal, ball reversal and finish. We said weather the storm, that 4-0 runs and 6-0 runs don’t change a game; 12-0 and 13-0 runs do. We didn’t give that up.”

The Sabers went on a run of their own to end the game.

A jumper by Cameron Meservey made it 45-43 with 46 seconds left in the third, but Len hit a buzzer-beating 3 to put the Sabers up by five going into the fourth.

Souhegan then outscored Bedford 17-3 over the final eight minutes, blowing the game open.

“That’s amazing,” Heaney said when informed his team only allowed three points in the final quarter. “I thought from the second half of the second quarter on, we got that up-for-grabs rebound and we got to loose balls. We were tougher with the basketball and we wanted it more than we did in the first quarter.”

Bedford will move on right away, as the Bulldogs will look forward to hosting their first playoff game.

Souhegan honored its seniors before the game, including Ben Petersen, who was returning from a health scare in practice the week before. Petersen had experienced severe chest pains during practice on Feb. 20, but had been cleared to play on Monday. He started and scored eight points.

“I gave him a hug when they introduced him and I almost lost it,” Heaney said. “You know … I’m just proud of him.”

The Sabers will also host a playoff game on March 7.