Huge Fourth Quarter Effort Gets LHS Boy Cagers Win Over PA

 

After falling behind by three points at the conclusion of three quarters, the Londonderry High boys’ basketball squad kicked its game into a higher gear and claimed a pleasing 64-47 victory over the host Pinkerton Academy Astros in Derry in Ball Family Trophy action between the rival hoop squads on  Friday, Jan. 27 evening.

Sharp-shooters Jake Coleman and Ethan Garofalo both sank key three-point shots during the decisive final quarter as the visitors outscored their struggling hosts by a  27-7 tally during those final eight minutes of play.

Londonderry bumped its Division I season record over the .500 mark to 4-3 with the victory while the academy crew slipped to 2-6.

After heading into the fourth period trailing 40-37, Londonderry regained the upper hand on the combination of a single free throw followed by two consecutive treys by spunky sophomore guard Garofalo which made it a 44-40 contest. And the LHS crew wouldn’t lose the lead again, with game-high scorer Coleman throwing down a dozen points in that vital stanza on the way to a 25-point output. All in all, the skilled senior nailed a handful of threes despite having some trouble getting his shots to fall earlier in the battle.

“This is probably the best we’ve shot this season, so we’re going in the right direction,” said LHS coach Nate Stanton.

Speaking of the performance of Coleman in specific, the coach had no worries about having the sharp-shooter come around after seeing a number of his shots slip into the cylinder and out during the first three periods. And Stanton felt no need to say anything to Coleman about any frustration he might be feeling after the numerous close-but-no-cigar moments in the first three quarters.

“He’s a shooter, so I don’t want him second-guessing himself,” said the Stanton. “His confidence is getting there, and we have a ways to go in the season and he’s going to be important for us.”

Coleman, who has been a key player for the Lancer varsity since his freshman year, surpassed the 1,000-point scoring mark during the Lancers’ loss at Exeter back on Friday Jan. 13.

The Lancers grasped leads of 13-9 after one quarter and 31-24 at halftime, but Pinkerton was the considerably stronger of the opposing squads during the third period in outscoring its guest by a 16-6 margin to carry the aforementioned 40-37 advantage into quarter four.

But coach Peter Rosinski’s scuffling PA crew went scoreless through the first 3:25 of the final stanza as Londonderry zipped off a 9-0 run to claim a 49-40 lead.

Nick Bortone ended the PA scoring drought with 4:35 left on the game clock, and the Astros continued to battle. But the LHS lead never slipped below seven points the rest of the way.

Along with Coleman’s game-high 25 points, the victorious Lancers received a bakers-dozen of 13 points from Garofalo, 12 from Brandon Radford, and nine from Pat Zepf.

Pinkerton had three players score in double figures, with senior guards Bortone and Matt Anzivino pacing the way with 12 apiece, sophomore guard Jay Reynolds tallying 11, and his fellow 10th-grader Joe Merrill contributing nine.

Londonderry headed into this week staring at a slate which had it playing host to the Nashua South Purple Panthers this Tuesday, Jan. 31, after Londonderry Times press time, followed by a home meeting with coach Stanton’s former Salem High squad on Friday, Feb. 3.

Pinkerton, meanwhile, was looking at a pair of road games all the way out in Keene on Tuesday the 31st, after Nutfield News press time, followed by a far shorter journey to Manchester Memorial in the Queen City this Friday, Feb. 3.

Caption: Londonderry High hoop star Jake Coleman got his shooting hand all kinds of hot in tallying 25 points during his team’s Ball Family Trophy victory over Pinkerton in Derry last Friday. Photo by Chris Paul