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# Winnacunnet boys basketball comes back to beat Goffstown in OT
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/winnacunnet-boys-basketball-comes-back-to-beat-goffstown-in-ot/
- Published: 2021-02-26T12:00:13.000Z
- Updated: 2021-02-26T12:00:13.000Z
- Description: GOFFSTOWN - The play didn't work out as planned, but it ended the way the Winnacunnet High School boys basketball team wanted. Down two points in the final seconds of regulation, James O'Hara saw a lane open in the Goffstown defense and outran everyone to the basket to score and forced overtime. In
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, boys basketball, Goffstown, slider, Winnacunnet, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

GOFFSTOWN - The play didn't work out as planned, but it ended the way the Winnacunnet High School boys basketball team wanted.

Down two points in the final seconds of regulation, James O'Hara saw a lane open in the Goffstown defense and outran everyone to the basket to score and forced overtime.

In the extra sessions, the Warriors took control early and made their free throws down the stretch for a come-from-behind win, beating the Grizzlies 54-45 in a Division I game.

Brett Marelli finished with a game-high 19 points for Winnacunnet (8-3), which had the lead just twice during regulation - when it was 2-0 early in the game and when the Warriors took a 38-37 lead in the fourth quarter, which lasted for under a minute.

Lucas Schaake added nine points and Samuel Andreottola chipped in with eight while O'Hara finished with seven.

"We’re coming off a two-point loss to Exeter, so we were really hoping that we would learn something from that loss, approach it with a growth-mindset of the things we need to do better," Winnacunnet coach Jay McKenna said. "We struggled with that in the first half. I had a very spirited halftime with them and I’m proud of the way the kids responded in the second half. We played great team basketball, and because of that, we’re on the winning side of things."

Goffstown (10-2) got 17 points from Mason Blondeau, 14 of which came in the first half, while Jack Kelly had 10 points and Anthony Sindoni came off the bench to score nine.

Both teams struggled to make shots all night, as the defenses stepped up and both sides saw some unlucky bounces at the rim.

"I think they were frustrated, but we talked about at halftime was that they were taking really good shots," Goffstown coach Ryan Cowette said. "They weren’t going in and we’ll live with that. They weren’t taking bad ones. Some nights they’re going to fall more than others. It probably wore on them as the game went on."

While the game was physical, neither team shot a free throw in the second half until the final seconds of regulation.

With Goffstown up by one, 41-40, and Winnacunnet with possession, Blondeau came up with a block on Marelli and was fouled on the rebound by Andreottola. The Grizzlies sophomore made the front end of the one-and-one and missed the second, but Kelly was there for the rebound.

A foul on the putback attempt sent Kelly to the line for two more free throws, but he missed both, and this time Winnacunnet controlled the boards. The Warriors took a timeout with 7.5 seconds left and a foul by Goffstown - the Grizzlies still had two to give - gave Winnacunne the ball at midcourt with 5.5 to play.

Schaake got the ball in to O'Hara, and as the Grizzlies moved into position defensively, the lane opened up. O'Hara won a race to the basket and laid the ball in to tie it at 42 with 3.2 seconds remaining.

"I’d like to say that’s how we drew it up, but it wasn’t," McKenna said. "We figured they’d let us throw it into the backcourt and we something we wanted to do to try to give James a look at the basket.

"We were trying to get Sam, our big guy a look at it, but they pressured enough that (O’Hara) was able to slip it. Lucas made a great pass and James made the decision to get all the way to the rim. He missed a bunch of shots before that and that one fell."

The Warriors opened overtime with a 6-0 run and Andreottola, Marelli and Schaake combined to go 8 of 10 at the free throw line to put the game away.

"Going into it, I knew it was going to be a good test," Cowette said. "They’re one of the best three teams in the state. I’m proud of how our guys fought. That’s the most physical game we’ve played and that’s the biggest team we’ve played. They play strong and they play physically, too."

Winnacunnet is done its regular-season schedule and will take on Exeter in the preliminary round on Thursday, while Goffstown plays its final regular season game Friday at 6 p.m. at home against Manchester Memorial.