Boys’ Basketball

Merrimack Valley 52, Manchester West 48

Key players: MV – Trevor Simonds (17 points), Logan Gabour (14 points, 10 rebounds), Nate Joubert (4 assists); West –  Max Shosha (17 points, four 3-pointers)

Highlights: The Pride started the third quarter with an 8-0 run after a tightly-contested first half and led by nine points heading into the fourth. The game went down to the wire, but MV held on to had the Blue Knights just their second loss of the season.

Coach’s quote: “Our guys competed and hit some big time shots which helped us win tonight.” – MV’s Tim Mucher

Records: MV 5-5; West 7-2

Coe-Brown 72, ConVal 50

Key players: Coe-Brown – Connor Bagnell (20 points, 4 assists), Quinn Salter (10 points, 10 rebounds), Ryan Kouchoukos (10 points, 4 assists), James Larson-Clark (9 points), Jack Matson (8 points)

Highlights:  The Bears won their fourth game in a row.

Records: Coe-Brown 7-2; ConVal 0-8

Kearsarge 55, Gilford 45

Key players: Kearsarge – Noah Whipple (27 points, 8-for-8 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Parker Goin (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Drew Huff (7 points), Ajay Tremblay (3 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists), Austin Needham (3 points, defense), Eddie Kinzer (2 points, defense)

Highlights:  Whipple scored 11 of his game-high 27 points in the first quarter and the Cougars forced some turnovers to get transition buckets early to take a 16-4 lead through eight minutes. Kearsarge led 29-15 at halftime, but Gilford found its shooting touch in the third quarter to cut the Cougars’ lead to 38-31 heading into the fourth. Kearsarge made some defensive adjustments and executed some timely plays on offense to secure the victory over the defending champs. Huff scored five of his seven points, Goin had three and Whipple had nine in the final frame.

Coach’s quote:  “I was really proud of the way we came out early with purpose at both ends of the court. Tons of energy and toughness, which has been our trademark over the past few weeks. More so the way we responded after Gilford had a big third quarter, we stayed calm and made plays down the stretch to win against a good team. Whipple was impressive again tonight, but I’m also excited to see the way Parker Goin, Drew Huff, Austin Needham and Ajay Tremblay have been helping us. We are more than one player and that makes us dangerous this time of year.” – Kearsarge’s Nate Camp

Records: Kearsarge 9-3; Gilford 6-5