DURHAM, N.H. — High school teams that shoot 59 percent from the floor, including a jaw-dropping 8 of 11 from 3-point land, don't lose often.
The No. 5 Pelham High boys absorbed that painful lesson, falling to a sizzling, fourth-seeded Hanover squad, 71-60, last night in the Class I quarterfinals.
It was the second straight final eight tourney exit for Pelham, both coming in similar fashion at the hands of the defending state champion Marauders.
"I thought their guards did a great job of making shots," said Pelham coach Todd Kress.
"They are a very good, experienced team that knows how to win big games. You could see their poise throughout the game. That's a very, very good basketball team out there. They made our defense look silly."
The Pythons battled uphill all night and hung around, probably longer than should have considering the experience, savvy and execution of Hanover.
Losing top gun Justin Hojlo to two early fouls and Hanover racking up trips to the free throw line, Pelham, which never led, kept the margin under double digits right through halftime at 31-22.
"I thought the guys coming off the bench did a great job," said Kress.
Senior Evan Cove nailed a long-range triple and a traditional 3-point play in the second quarter to slow the bleeding. Grant Hebert and Mike Lombard both came off the bench to provide sparks as well.
Hojlo (5 for 15 on the night) began to get untracked in the third, and with it came the Pelham offense.
The junior guard put up nine points with three assists in the third, with Pelham slicing the lead to four, five twice and six. Each time, though, Hanover had the answer, either with senior Casey Maue (22 points, 11 rebounds) pounding away inside or classmate Grady Chaltain (21 points, four 3s drilling rainbows from the arc.
"Every time we got to them, they responded with a nice run of their own," said Kress. "Every time they needed a basket, they got the ball to Maue. Even if he didn't score, he created for his teammates."
Pelham's final stand came with about six minutes to go, when Hojlo, whistled for his third foul, let an official know what he thought of the call, picking up a technical for it.
The four-point trip pushed the lead to 57-43, and without its leader, Hojlo, Pelham was all but doomed.
"My policy is if you get a technical foul in any situation on my team, you're not going back into the game," said Kress, who also admitted by that playing Hojlo down the stretch wouldn't have changed the outcome. "He knows better than that."
The Pythons scrapped to the end, with seniors Ricky Costa (12 points) and Jamie Vaiknoras leading the charge, but Pelham would close to no fewer than nine points.
Pelham's freshman frontcourters Stephen Spirou and Mike Lombard acquitted themselves quite well, combining for 15 points and gaining a valuable lesson about what it takes to win at UNH when it counts most.
The duo, plus the juniors Hojlo and Hebert and promising sophomore Conor McColgan should provide a solid nucleus for the Pelham re-tooling project that lies ahead.
Christmas tourney champs, the Pythons close out at 19-4.
Hanover 71, Pelham 60
>N.H. Class I quarterfinals<b>><p>
At Lundholm Gym, University of New Hampshire, Durham
Pelham (60): Ricky Costa 4 2-4 12, Grant Hebert 3 0-0 9, Stephen Spirou 3 0-2 6, Justin Hojlo 5 4-4 14, Jamie Vaiknoras 2 0-0 4, Evan Cove 2 1-1 6, Mike Lombard 4 1-2 9, Totals 23 8-14 60
Hanover (71): Casey Maue 7 8-10 22, Grady Chaltain 6 5-10 21, Brendan Donohue 2 0-0 5, Paul Formella 3 7-10 13, Sam Gest 3 1-2 10, Totals 26 21-32 71
3-pointers: P — Costa 2, Hebert 3, Cove; H — Chaltain 4, Donohue, Gest 3
>Pelham (19-4)<b>: 7 15 20 18 — 60
>Hanover (17-3): <b>14 17 18 22 — 71
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