Still plenty of work to do, but Nashua North boys basketball enjoyed comeback win

The Nashua High School North boys basketball players and coaches were all smiles leaving the locker room after Friday night’s 55-46 comeback win over Bishop Guertin.

But Titans coach Steve Lane was quick to point out that his team isn't even halfway through the Division I schedule yet this season.

"Don’t feel comfortable yet," the coach said. "It’s a long season and we’re just about at the halfway point. We’ve got to keep after the grind and keep playing, don’t read the hype of how good they might think they are."

Even as he was saying it, Lane couldn't keep the excitement of a big win over a city rival off his face.

"I was proud of the kids," he continued. "That’s a great basketball atmosphere and it’s a good test for us, to rise to the challenge in a very hostile place to play. I’m happy with the win. I can’t complain."

North has plenty of reasons to be happy, as it sits at 7-1, good enough for fourth in the division going into Tuesday's games.

It's a long way from where the Titans were a year ago, as their next win will double the team's win total from last season, when North missed out on the playoffs.

Against the Cardinals (3-6), the Titans found themselves in an early hole that they may not have been able to escape a year ago. Bishop Guertin led 17-5 early in the second quarter, and took an eight-point lead into halftime.

After two baskets in the first minute of the third quarter, the Cardinals were once again up by 12 points, but that's when North was able to make its adjustments work.

"We made two adjustments at half, as far as ball movement on offense and discipline on defense," Lane said. "Dribble penetration was killing us. Kids like Brenden Choate, Curtis Harris, Nate Kane, adhered to the discipline of what we taught for a couple of days and didn’t give up dribble penetration and make them take tougher shots. To only let up 16 points in the second half is pretty good."

While Harris finished with 17 points and Choate had 16, it was that defensive effort that stood out more to the head coach.

"Probably defense because if you can’t stop the other team, you’re going to have difficulties controlling the game," Lane said. "Brenden Choate had some huge blocks down the stretch. He did a great job of keeping (Andrew Arika) in front of him more and staying disciplined."

As for the offense, too many times in the first half, the Titans weren't being patient and couldn't settle in to what they wanted to run.

"The first half was really tough to score and that’s a credit to (Bishop Guertin)," Lane said. "The assistant coaches made the adjustment and let them know that the ball has to go side to side, and it did, and it made things easier.

"The emphasis at halftime was to make them play defense for more than five seconds. We were settling in the first half and in the second half, they did a nice job of getting the ball side to side and getting the ball to places where we can take advantage."

North has two more road games this week, at Pinkerton on Tuesday and against Nashua South on Friday, before returning home to for a big test against Exeter on Feb. 5.