ConVal suffers first loss, bounces back
Souhegan bested ConVal in a battle of unbeatens Thursday night, but the Cougar boys bounced back with a pair of wins as they navigated a packed second-half schedule.
ConVal came out strong against the Sabers Thursday and had a halftime lead before the tide turned dramatically in the second half.
“It’s almost the opposite of what we talked about coming out out the half,” ConVal head coach Jay Starr said after the game, “to come out really strong and try to either put the game away or at least get going on a little run.”
The Cougars were held to just three points in the third quarter as the Sabers’ length on defense had ConVal settling for jump shots or forced drives; on the other end, 6’8” center Johnny McBride (14 points) and guard Matt Canavan (13 points) poured it in. The Cougars, missing their top rebounder and longest post defender Owen McGuire, were undersized in the paint, and Souhegan knew it.
“They just tried to slow us down and take advantage, because they were bigger than us in size obviously,” said ConVal senior point guard Austin Knight. “So they were just trying to take advantage when they could.”
Despite a late steal from Joe Gutwein, a clutch three from Christian Buffum (10 points) and a buzzer-beating three from Knight (game-high 19 points), the Cougars came up just short, 45-42. Malachi Page added 11 points.
“I think we just need to put it behind us,” Knight said. “I mean, it’s just one game, we’re still a good team – can’t just dwell on that loss.”
The Cougars had little time to dwell, with games scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday, and they bounced back quickly, beating Milford 58-46 at home and then beating Hanover 58-54 on the road.
Against Milford, Gutwein went off for a game-high 18 points; Page scored 15.
At Hanover, Buffum was the high man, with 18 points of his own; Knight had 15 and Owen Michaels 14 in the win.
The Cougars are once again mastering the balanced scoring attack that has served ConVal well as the program has returned to playoff contention over the past half-decade. ConVal currently has four players averaging double figures in Gutwein (13.5 ppg), Knight (13.5 ppg), Buffum (13.1 ppg) and Page (11.1 ppg).
ConVal (9-1) is at Pelham – and Division II Player of the Year contender Jake McGlinchey – Tuesday night and hosts Merrimack Valley Wednesday before traveling to Coe-Brown Friday. The Cougars are in the midst of a stretch in which they’ll play six games in nine days.
Conant returns to court with pair of big wins
After a layoff of about 10 days following a team COVID exposure, the defending champion Conant girls were back in action last week and didn’t look any worse for the time off.
The Orioles beat Hillsboro-Deering 76-23 on the road Thursday behind 15 points from junior center Emma Tenters, 14 from junior guard Brynn Rautiola, 12 from senior forward Teagan Kirby and 10 from senior guard Regan Despres.
On Friday, the Orioles returned home and beat St. Thomas 81-41, with a season-high 30 points from Rautiola and 18 from Tenters, who is currently second in Division III in scoring at 17.9 ppg.
“Excellent team win tonight,” Troy said Friday. “We were really excited to play at home tonight in front of a great crowd. Our ball movement and unselfishness really stood out tonight. The team chemistry with this years team is the best I’ve seen. Really proud.”
Conant (7-0) has a championship rematch with Fall Mountain (8-0) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Jaffrey. The Wildcats, who were runners-up to the Orioles in the past two DIII championship games, have the division’s top scorer in Avery Stewart (18.1 ppg).
ConVal 44, Milford 38 (OT)
The shorthanded Cougars dug deep for an overtime win over Milford Saturday afternoon. Missing Makenna Proctor and Allie Burgess, ConVal got good performances out of players stepping into new roles, head coach Kevin Proctor said, including Abby Rodenhiser, who played hard defense for 36 minutes.
Junior point guard Morgan Bemont forced overtime with a three off a Jada Stevens ball screen before ConVal put it away in OT.
Bemont had a team-high 17 points; Maddy Faber had 13 points and 10 rebounds; senior Mairin Burgess grabbed 14 boards and Stevens had 10. Bemont is currently 10th in Division II in scoring at 11.6 ppg.
ConVal (3-6) hosts Pelham Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.