SALEM, N.H. — As far as making a statement, Salem couldn't have made a louder one than it did in the first quarter of last night's 77-50 blowout of Timberlane in their Class L first-round matchup.
Josh Jones drilled a 3-pointer to start an eight-minute pasting that ended with No. 2-seed Salem ahead by a stunning 31-6. For one quarter, they looked more like the Blue Devils from Duke than the Blue Devils from Salem.
In that first quarter:
Mike Kimball nailed three 3-pointers, while Salem finished with five trifectas and was 10 of 15 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Mark Adamson got loose underneath and drove at will for nine points.
Salem's forced seven Timberlane turnovers and blocked seven shots.
"We wanted to make a statement," said Jones, who led Salem with 19 points. "They said in the paper that they could play with us, and we wanted to show that we're the defending champions and we can be the best team in the state again."
Added Kimball: "People were shooting us down a little. We wanted to let everyone know that we're coming on strong."
It didn't help that Timberlane's first tourney game in five years was against the two-time defending champions.
"They're a very, very good team and we hadn't been in this situation in a long time," said second-year Owls coach Paul Cardone. "We were nervous and it showed. And it seemed like they couldn't miss."
Timberlane settled down a little in the second quarter, but Salem still extended the lead to 54-23. By that time, Salem (17-5, 16-3 Class L) already had three players (Kimball with 15 of his 17 points, Jones with 14 and Alex LaRosa with 10 of his 15) in double figures.
As the teams got ready for the second half, the Salem student section started yelling "it's all over, it's all over," and it was hard to dispute the chant, even with 16 minutes left to play.
When head coach E.J. Perry cleared the bench with six minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, Salem was ahead by 40 points, 72-32.
Salem will now host No. 7-seed Bishop Guertin in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday. Guertin, which fell at home to Salem by only five points back in January, whipped Dover last night, 81-67.
If there was one bright light for the Owls (7-14, 6-13 Class L), it was the play of senior Erik Hatton. Despite often seeing double teams, he ended his career in style, scoring 17 points in the first half and finishing with a game-high 25 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.
"If he doesn't make all-state, it'll be a travesty," said Cardone. "Erik has had a great year."
Taylor Vondrasek came on strong against the Salem reserves to finish with 10 points.
Salem 77, Timberlane 50
Class L first round
Timberlane (50): Corey Barboza 0-0-0, Kevin Baker 1-0-2, Jacob Siemering 0-0-0, Ryan Carrigan 1-0-2, Alex Horgan 0-0-0, Matt Faia 0-0-0, Bryan Cassidy 0-0-0, Taylor Vondrasek 4-1-10, Terry Matatall 2-0-4, Evan Williams 3-1-7, Riley Cassidy 0-0-0, Erik Hatton 9-7-25. Totals 20-9-50
Salem (77): Dan Tiner 0-0-0, Tyler Hutchinson 0-0-0, Mike Kimball 4-6-17, Josh Jones 7-4-19, Meme Okeke 0-0-0, Marcus Baldwin 0-0-0, Sam Shields 0-4-4, Alex LaRosa 4-4-15, Kyle Henrick 2-0-4, Jason Kinney 0-1-1, Mark Adamson 4-0-9, Matt Cannone 0-0-0, Joe Gallant 0-2-2, Sean Bergeron 3-0-6. Totals 24-21-77
3-pointers: T — Vondrasek; S — Kimball 3, Jones, LaRosa 3, Adamson
Timberlane (7-14, 6-13 Class L):âÇ6âÇ17âÇâÇ4âÇ23 — 50
Salem (17-5, 16-3 Class L):31âÇ23âÇ11âÇ12 — 77
Next game: Hosts Bishop Guertin, Saturday, 7 p.m., Class L quarterfinals
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