SALEM, N.H. — Salem High coach E.J. Perry lined the Davis Gym locker room walls with signs highlighting the road to the 2009 state championship.
Once the Blue Devils found their home floor, they took the second big step toward the championship.
Setting the tone with their best offensive quarter of the season, No. 2 Salem routed seventh-seeded Bishop Guertin of Nashua, 82-61, in last night's Class L quarterfinals.
Wednesday night (6 p.m.), the quest for a Blue Devils' three-peat rolls up to Durham for the Class L semis. At 6 p.m., Salem faces No. 3 Memorial, which beat Winnacunnet last night.
Just how good were the Blue Devils out of the box?
Josh Jones came out smoking, nailing four or four threes. Alex LaRosa hit all four shots he took, three of those from behind the arc. And Mike Kimball exploded for six quick points of his own.
The result was a 28-17 lead after one, and it wasn't that close. "Last time on the court for us, the seniors wanted to go out on top," said Kimball, who finished with a game-high 25 points. "When we share the basketball like that, we play amazing. And we've been clicking lately."
The passing was crisp and unselfish. The points kept coming.
Salem shot 18 for 30 from the field in the half, 29 of 55 for the game and B.G. never closed it to single digits.
"Once we drive and kick it, it's wide open," said Jones, whose first and only miss of the night finally came with 2:13 left in the third quarter. "We just came out on fire and took it to them."
Kimball finished the night early, but not before hitting 10 of 20 from the floor with seven assists and six steals.
Jones' 23 came on a frugal 7-of-8 shooting, and he worked the glass for seven boards.
All of LaRosa's 15 came before halftime, as did his six assists.
Defensively, the Blue Devils threw just about everything at Guertin, a team that took Salem to overtime in the regular season.
Perry mixed zone traps in with man-to-man, and found exceptional success with a halfcourt matchup that took its toll on the Guertin inside game.
Now the Devils find themselves two wins away from a three-peat, something that has only happened two times in the 88-year history of this tournament.
"That would be amazing," said Kimball. "And that's what we're looking for."
Salem 82, Bishop Guertin 61
Class L Quarterfinals
Bishop Guertin (61): Stephen Zanette 3 2-2 10, Scott St. Lawrence 5 0-0 10, Ryan Turner 1 0-0 2, Jamison Zajac 3 6-7 13, Sean McClung 0 2-2 2, Andrew Vallas 4 2-4 11, Christopher Green 1 0-0 2, Kyle Coumas 2 1-3 7, Erik Skogsholm 1 0-0 3, Totals
Salem (82): Matt Cannone 0 1-2 1, Dan Tiner 1 0-0 3, Joe Gallant 1 0-0 2, Mike Kimball 10 3-6 25, Josh Jones 7 4-5 23, Alex LaRosa 5 2-2 15, Mark Adamson 1 0-0 2, Sean Bergeron 2 2-2 6, Sam Shields 2 0-0 5, Totals
BG (12-8 Class L):17181214—61
Salem (18-5, 17-3 Class L):29182213— 82
3-pointers: BG — Zanette 2, Zajac, Coumas 2, Vallas, Skogsholm; S — Tiner, Kimball 2, Jones 5, LaRosa 3, Shields
Next game: Salem vs. Memorial; Wednesday, 6 p.m., at UNH, Class L semifinals
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