There were times during WLC’s Friday night home game against Portsmouth Christian when the Warriors looked like a dominant, sure-fire final four team. There were also moments when the wheels fell completely off the bus, and Wilton-Lyndeborough’s uneven play led them to a 58-46 loss to the visiting Eagles.
“When things don’t go the way they they’re supposed to, we break down and then we play individually,” said WLC head coach Wiley Billings after the game. “When we play individually, when the shots are going, it’s great. When they’re not, it puts us at a rebounding disadvantage. It puts us in bad position to get back on defense. We’ve got to learn to do that once we get that down.”
When the Warriors were hot, they looked as good as anyone in Division IV, with Troy Brennan (15 points) and Sean Brennan (10 points) hoisting three-pointers, Dominic Hutchinson getting physical in the paint, and Zach Taylor (14 points, nine rebounds, three blocks) using his height and wingspan to take over on both ends.
When they were struggling, like in Friday’s second quarter, which featured a 22-10 run for PCA, everything went wrong. Warrior shots wouldn’t fall, their passes were deflected, their defensive rotations were suspect, and the Wilton boys just weren’t on the same page.
“We have to grasp the concept of offensive basketball, moving the ball from one side of the floor to the other and getting the defense to go from one side of the floor to the other, so that passing lanes, driving lanes and open shots are created,” Billings said.
The Warriors (1-2) will have to wait a little while to test that out in earnest, as Wednesday’s home game against Newmarket has been postponed. WLC is next in action at Mount Royal on Jan. 3.
ConVal 71, John Stark 56
The Cougars are looking good to start the season, winning all three of their games by at least a 15-point margin. Thursday’s game against John Stark was ConVal’s highest scoring output of the young year; Malachi Page (16 points), Christian Buffum (16 points), Owen McGuire (11 points) and Austin Knight (10 points) hit double figures for ConVal.
The Cougars (3-0) had Monday’s home game postponed due to a COVID outbreak among the Merrimack Valley team; they’ll host Sanborn on Monday, Dec. 27.
Mascenic 53, Fall Mountain 30
Wyatt Duval led three Vikings in double figures as Mascenic improved to 3-0 on the year by beating Fall Mountain Friday night.
Adam Stauffeneker added 11 points and Joe Cocozella had 10.
The Vikings were set to host St. Thomas Monday after press time and then host Monadnock Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Monadnock 42, Conant 22
Conant’s scoring woes continued Friday night as the Orioles were held under 30 points for the second straight game. Conant (1-2) will need to make their adjustments on the fly during this tough week of games, starting with hot-shooting Ben Seiler and Mascoma on Monday after press time and then hosting the Hopkinton team that knocked the Orioles out of last year’s playoffs on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Hollis-Brookline 52, ConVal 33
Senior Maddy Faber had it going for ConVal Saturday morning, but that was about it, as the Cougars stumbled against a tough Hollis-Brookline team. Faber finished with a team-high 13; Elisabeth Stapelfeld led the visitors with 23.
ConVal (0-2) hosts Plymouth Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Conant 54, Monadnock 31
The two-time defending champs handled rival Monadnock with relative ease Friday night to keep rolling. Emma Tenters led the Orioles with 18 points; Brynn Rautiola had 14 and Mylie Aho added 12.
Conant (3-0) was set to play at Mascoma Valley Monday night and at Hopkinton Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Fall Mountain 79, Mascenic 22
The Vikings ran into their second straight 55+ point loss on Friday night as they make their way through a difficult stretch of schedule. Mascenic (3-1) was set to play at St. Thomas Monday night and then host Monadnock Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Hollis-Brookline 11, ConVal-Conant 2
The ConVal-Conant Griffins returned to the ice for the first time since early 2020 Wednesday, and the long layoff from competition combined with the Griffins’ short bench led to a blowout win for the host Cavaliers.
“We’ve got some decent talent, but we’re short,” said head coach Scott Tracy, who returned to the program this winter after a two-year hiatus and the lost COVID season.
Senior goalie Braden Crisp played well, Tracy said, stopping 40 H-B shots.
“He played hard,” Tracy said. “He battled every shot.”
Despite the tough loss, the Griffins got some joyous moments when freshman Kiernan King scored his first – and second – career varsity goal, assisted by older brother and senior captain Aiden King.
“It was a real enlightening moment,” Tracy said. “That really motivated our team.”
Logan Favart played well on the backcheck, Tracy said, and Mason Devost was “just an animal” harrying his opponents. Leo Lacroix, Dom Lacroix and Tanyan Scott also turned in hardworking, blue-collar performances, Tracy said.
The Griffins are down to a 13-man roster as of now, which means their defensive lines are seeing 30+ minutes of ice team and the offensive lines nearly as much. Once they get their legs under them and see the return of injured senior captain and defenseman Elias Niemela, ConVal-Conant should see an upswing.
“I’m super proud of how my boys worked despite being exhausted – literally running the ice for 45 minutes,” Tracy said. “They worked hard and I couldn’t be more proud of it.”
ConVal-Conant (0-1) is at Belmont-Gilford on Jan. 3 at 2:45 p.m.
The Griffins got their season underway Thursday at Exeter, where senior assistant captain Sabrina Leahigh scored in the defeat. Freshman goaltender Francesca Ketola made 46 saves.
ConVal-Conant is captained by Conant senior Tessa Spingola and ConVal senior Mackenzie Gauthier, with ConVal junior Addie Lustenberger and Leahigh of ConVal as assistant captains.
The Griffins (0-1) are at Bedford Tuesday at 7 p.m.