Winnacunnet boys basketball stages fourth-quarter comeback to beat Nashua South (video)

NASHUA - The Winnacunnet High School boys basketball team just had a case of the Mondays.

For the better part of three quarters, the Warriors struggled to shoot from anywhere on the floor and had just 27 points heading into the final quarter.

Fortunately, Winnacunnet's defense kept the game close, as the Warriors trailed Nashua South by four points going into the fourth. With a little less than six minutes to go, Winnacunnet finally got its offense going and rallied for a 45-39 win over the Panthers.

The Warriors (10-3) outscored South 18-8 in the fourth quarter, including a 16-3 run to end the game, to avoid losing for the fourth time in five games.

"It looked like a Monday night on the road," Winnacunnet coach Jay McKenna said. "Out of rhythm, out of sync, it took us a while to get going. Credit to the kids and our senior leadership just figured it out down the stretch.

"We were missing a lot of shots we normally make, a lot of layups, a lot of free throws, some open looks at 3s. They started falling and we started getting some stops and some momentum. We looked a lot more like we should look in that fourth quarter."

Ben Allen led the way for the Warriors with 14 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, and Jack Schaake was also in double figures with 10 points, despite sitting almost all of the third quarter in foul trouble.

South (6-7) got 13 points from Andrew Moody and Ivan Nyantenji came off the bench to add 10 points, including two 3-pointers in the first quarter, as the Panthers got out to a 17-6 lead in the first half. Winnacunnet went without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game and ended the first half on a 12-4 run to get within three points, 21-18, at halftime.

Moody scored two baskets to open the second half and stretch South's lead to seven points, and two free throws by Nyantenji made it a 29-20 lead for the Panthers with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

Winnacunnet was able to score in transition a couple of times before the end of the quarter, cutting South's lead to 31-27 going into the fourth.

"Our plan was to run," South coach Nate Mazerolle said. "Our big floor, and they’re a team that doesn’t like to run, we thought, we saw on film. They beat us in transition. I think the first half, they didn’t find their rhythm in the paint and eventually they did."

The Panthers took a 36-29 lead on another basket by Moody with 5:58 to play and Allen answered at the other end with a layup of his own to start the Warriors' game-ending run. South's Andres Hulfachor (nine points) was called for an offensive foul on the next possession, which seemed to give Winnacunnet some momentum.

A three-point play by Schaake cut the South lead to two points, but Moody worked his way inside for a basket to make it a four-point game. Schaake added another free throw and a layup to make it a one-point game, and at the other end, the senior blocked a shot by Moody into the stands.

Winnacunnet's defense held South again after that, and a putback by Allen with 2:08 to play gave the Warriors a 39-38 lead, their first of the night. The Panthers turned the ball over on their next two possessions, and Winnacunnet made three of four free throws to go up 42-38.

On the night, the Warriors were 16 of 24 from the line, while the Panthers had just eight attempts, making six.

"They got to the line a lot, as we tried to do," Mazerolle said. "They overpowered us. They executed and did what they know they do well."

Allen made two more free throws with 27.4 seconds left to give Winnacunnet a 44-38 lead, and after the Warriors fouled at the other end, Moody made the front end of a one-and-one.

The senior missed the second and Hulfachor got the rebound, but his layup attempt started to go down and came back out, keeping it a five-point game. Allen made another free throw at the other end to finish out the scoring.

"We knew we’d have a challenging game," McKenna said. "It was huge for us to get a quality win here and pick up some momentum as we head into the final few weeks of our season."