The top teams in Division II went toe-to-toe and blow-for-blow Tuesday night, and while Hanover and ConVal traded punches for three quarters, the Cougars’ offense abandoned them in the fourth and the Marauders left Peterborough with a 55-41 win and control of the No. 1 seed.
“We knew this was going to be a challenge, but we also knew we had it,” said Hanover guard Hank Pikus after the game, which snapped ConVal’s 31-game regular-season win streak. “I never felt really like we were going to lose the game, it always felt like it was just a grind and we had to work hard.”
The Marauders quickly went up nine points in the first quarter, with center Jai White (son of former NBA center Jahidi White) controlling the glass and taking it right to ConVal’s player of the year candidate Mather Kipka. White scored six of his 12 in the first quarter, but Kipka was up to the challenge; unfazed by an early block, ConVal’s bespectacled big man went to work in the post, tying the game at 16 with an and-one and then giving the Cougars their first lead with a halftime buzzerbeating layup that put ConVal up 26-25 at the half. He’d finish with a team-high 19.
“He’s going to do whatever it takes for us to win,” said ConVal head coach Leo Gershgorin. “That’s all he cares about.”
The Marauders boast four players who score in double figures: the center White (11.9) and three guards, Pikus (12.8), Charlie Adams (18.8) and Nolan Gantrish (15.7). Pikus was the hot hand Tuesday, scoring a game-high 23.
“On any given night, any one of us could go off for 20 or 30,” Pikus said. “The other ones recognize it pretty quickly, they do a great job of recognizing it, and they pass to whoever’s playing well, they get him the ball and they let him score. Tonight it was me, tomorrow it might be Charlie, might be Nolan the next night.”
With Pikus getting to the line (10-12 FT) and White controlling the glass, Hanover edged out to a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, then five, then six, then seven, and ConVal was in unfamiliar territory – the undefeated Cougars trailing late.
“We just stopped doing the little things,” Gershgorin said. “We’re not a team that’s going to blow you out by 30, 40, 50 points, we’re a team that’s going to grind you out, do the little things and pick up the win. That’s what we’ve been doing all season long. In this game, we didn’t do that.”
Hanover doubled up on Kipka and chased him all the way out to the perimeter, forcing him to pass; Kipka found his teammates open, but their shots would not drop. Connor Buffum had 12 points, but none in the fourth quarter; only three other ConVal players scored in the game and none had more than five. ConVal only made one basket, a Taylor Burgess two, the entirety of the fourth period. The Marauders outscored the Cougars 19-3 in the fourth.
“I don’t want to simplify it, but we missed good looks,” Gershgorin said. “We didn’t take tough shots, we didn’t force anything, we had open looks around the perimeter and we had guys that we wanted taking those shots, they just didn’t go in. It’s as simple as that.”
Hanover (15-1) takes over the No. 1 spot in Division II with games against Pelham (12-3) and Lebanon (12-2) remaining; ConVal is also 15-1 and is at Laconia (5-9) Thursday and Souhegan (6-7) on March 5. Bow (14-1) is right in the mix as well, and anything could happen, but as of now, the Marauders are in the driver’s seat.
“Our last two wins, we beat Kennett by 35 and we beat ConVal by [14] in their house,” Pikus said. “It just shows teams that even though we had a bad game and lost to Hollis, we’re a serious team and we’re not something you should take lightly. If you don’t get after it, we’re going to get after it and we’re going to get the win.”
ConVal’s shot at an undefeated season is over, but Gershgorin said his team should be able to stay focused, close out the season and turn their attention to the tournament.
“They’re a really humble group,” Gershgorin said. “I don’t think losing made a difference for them. Whether we’re going in 18-0 into a tournament or we’re going in 17-1 or 16-2…or 15-3, we’re going to be the same team.”
Mascenic 83,
Monadnock 58
After beating Saint Thomas Friday in a game that saw just 53 total points scored, Mascenic played into Monadnock’s run-and-gun style a bit in Tuesday’s season finale but still came away with their program-best 17th win.
Trey Shaw had a game-high 22 points; Zack Barthel had 19 with eight rebounds, eight assists and five blocks; Dylan Vaillancourt scored 14 and Gabe Turner 12.
Mascenic (17-1) and Gilford (17-1) are at the top of Division III and will receive first-round playoff byes, but Gilford is likely to receive the No. 1 seed due to strength of schedule despite the Vikings’ head-to-head win.
Mascenic will host a home playoff game on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m.
Conant 57,
Fall Mountain 24
The Orioles made strides to better their playoff positioning with a blowout win at Fall Mountain Tuesday.
Conant improved to 8-8 with the win and moved up to 12th place in Division III with two games left.
Anthony Gauthier scored 14 points; Connor Hart had 12 and Colson Seppala 10.
The Orioles close out the season at home, where they’ll finally host the rescheduled championship rematch with Somersworth (12-4) Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and then host Belmont (9-8) Friday.
Hanover 79, ConVal 35
The Cougars were held to 13 points in the second half by the undefeated defending champion Marauders on Tuesday night.
Freshman Morgan Bemont had a team-high 15 for ConVal; Julia Donovan added nine.
ConVal (7-10) is behind Stevens (8-10) and Kearsarge (7-9) for the 15th and final playoff spot in Division II. Kearsarge was scheduled to host Souhegan (4-12) Wednesday and Plymouth (5-12) Friday. ConVal hosts Lebanon (14-3) Friday at 6:30 p.m.