Strong first half propels Bedford boys basketball past Merrimack (video)

BEDFORD - With a home playoff game on the line, and a senior night celebration before the start, the Bedford High School boys basketball team was amped up for the start of Friday's regular-season finale against Merrimack.

Once the Bulldogs settled down on both ends of the floor, they capped off the night with a big win.

Bedford led by as many as 19 points in the second half, as its zone defense befuddled Merrimack at times, and the Bulldogs held on down the stretch for a 56-50 win over the Tomahawks to finish out the Division I regular season.

The Bulldogs (11-7) got all their scoring from seniors, as Justin O'Neill led the way with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, and Connor Butts hit three 3s and 13 points. Jared Dyer was also in double figures with 12 points and Richard Ravenelle added six points and played solid defensively.

"We wanted to come out and get it done in front of the home crowd for our last regular-season game," O'Neill said. "We were fighting for a top eight seed, so this game meant a lot."

After Merrimack (12-6) took a 5-0 lead early - with Patrick Yudkin accounting for all five points - Bedford answered with a 14-4 run to end the quarter. Once the Bulldogs were able to take the lead - and with Yudkin sitting most of the first half in foul trouble - Bedford switched to its zone defense, which kept the Tomahawks in check.

"They won the game in the first half," Merrimack coach Tim Goodridge said. "They were hitting shots and we looked flat. Pat (Yudkin) getting in foul trouble right off the bat didn’t help us. We were battling all night and we tried to make a nice run. It’s been our problem. We don’t seem to execute when they need to."

The Bulldogs went in planning to switch up their defense throughout the game, but with the zone working as well as it did, Bedford coach Mark Elmendorf didn't see a reason to change it.

"We switched back to zone (defense) out of man, and I thought that was really helpful," he said. "I wanted to get up. We came in saying we were going to change it up a little bit, keep them off balance, because we’ve had some wars over the years and I’m sure they were ready for zone. I wanted to switch it up a little bit, but it worked."

With Merrimack putting 6-foot-4 Jared Dyer on the 6-6 O'Neill, the Bedford senior took his game outside and went to work from beyond the 3-point line in the first half.

"I thought we tried to capitalize on the mismatch," Elmendorf said. "(O'Neill) is the best player who has ever played at Bedford High School. He’s incredibly skilled, he does it all. He has evolved as a person incredibly over four years. He’s such a great kid. In my opinion, he’s the best player in the state."

Tim Eckert led Merrimack with 13 points, including four 3s, while Yudkin and Adam Ellis each added 10 points.

Bedford took a 31-22 lead into halftime and opened the second half with a 12-4 run to take its largest lead, 43-24, with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

The Tomahawks were able to respond, getting three quick baskets from Jack Tarleton, Ellis and Dyer, forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout. A 3 by Eckert before the buzzer made it a 14-5 run by Merrimack to end the third, but Bedford still led 48-38.

The Bulldogs' defense held the Tomahawks to just three points over the first five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, as they stretched the lead back up to 14 points. Bedford scored just two points over the game's final four minutes, but the Bulldogs did enough defensively to keep control of the game.