Spartans cruise to playoff win over Sachems

MILFORD - If there was any question about whether the Milford High School boys basketball team had the focus to defend its title, the Spartans answered it Wednesday night.

And then some.

Milford cranked up the defense against Laconia, forcing nine turnovers, and got 20 points from Mike O'Loughlin. And that was just in the first quarter.

O'Loughlin scored a game-high 32 points to lead No. 1 Milford to an 80-38 win over No. 16 Laconia in the first round of the Division II playoffs. Jamie Holder added 20 points for the Spartans, who led 33-13 at the end of one quarter and coasted the rest of the way.

The Spartans advance to the quarterfinals to take on No. 9 Bedford, which defeated No. 8 Coe-Brown 60-53, on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Milford.

“They came out focused and fired up,” Milford's Dan Murray said of his team. “They have a lot of determination. All the things we’ve been working on, we just put it all together.”

Milford (19-0) jumped out to a 13-3 lead, getting fastbreak layups from Logan Barlow and O’Loughlin before Laconia coach Chad Davis called a timeout with 4:50 left in the quarter.

While Davis implored his players to take better care of the ball, things only got worse for the Sachems (6-13).

O’Loughlin stole the ball out of the timeout and found Holder for a dunk, and then the senior forced another turnover and this time went in for a dunk of his own. O’Loughlin then hit two 3-pointers, sandwiched around two free throws by Laconia’s Babacar Kamara, before getting another steal and fastbreak layup to make it 25-7.

Kamara made a layup on the next Laconia possession, but after the Sachems got the ball back, O’Loughlin stole the ball again and this time found Mike Mitchell for a layup. After another Laconia turnover, O’Loughlin hit another 3 to make it 30-9.

“Absolutely,” Murray said when asked if that’s the defensive pressure he always wants to see. “I don’t think anyone can stand up to that pressure all the way through the game. And we don’t seem to get tired.”

Milford didn't take its foot off the gas until halftime, taking a 49-22 lead into the break. Murray let his bench play most of the third quarter, and the Spartans only scored 10 points in the frame.

Now Milford will face Bedford for the second time this season. The Spartans beat the Bulldogs in the regular season, 83-65, but Bedford has won seven in a row, and eight of nine since that loss.