The Dracut (Mass.) High School boys’ basketball squad was no match for coach Nate Stanton’s Londonderry High boy hoopsters in first-round action at the Lowell Holiday Basketball Tournament at Lowell Catholic High School in the Bay State last Saturday afternoon, Dec. 27.
The Lancers, who won both of their New Hampshire Division I contests prior to the holiday break, powered their way past the Dracut dudes by an 89-65 tally to advance to the semifinal round of the tourney Monday evening.
The undefeated LHS crew had four players finish in double figures in scoring, led by senior guard Cody Ball and his 29 points. Jake Coleman tallied 17 points, Brandon Radford collected 16, and Marc Corey was good for 11.
All in all, the locals were impressive and productive from long range, sinking 11, three-point buckets in bagging the lopsided win. Ball buried four of those treys, Corey hit three of them, and Coleman rang up two.
The Londonderry High crew grasped a four-point lead at the completion of one quarter (22-18), but it outscored its opponent by a 25-12 tally in the second period to hold a commanding, 47-30 advantage at the half.
Both contingents managed 17 points in the third quarter, and the Lancers outscored Dracut by a 25-18 tally in the fourth quarter to reach the final score.
But the Lancers wound up dropping a truly tough decision – in a stunning double-overtime contest with the Pelham High Pythons – in the semifinals of the tourney this past Monday evening.
The Pelham squad snagged the 90-87 win in a game that won’t soon be forgotten by anybody who witnessed it.
There were 63 field goals – including 18 three-pointers – scored in the epic battle, with Corey netting 22 points, Ball tallying 21, Coleman snaring 17, Radford collecting 13, and Kwiatkowski snagging 12. Corey, Ball, and Coleman combined to sink nine of the treys netted in the contest.