Milford continues hex over Souhegan

Thursday, February 25, 2010

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AMHERST – Mike Heaney can breathe a little easier now.

The Souhegan High School boys basketball has seen Milford for the last time this season. Well, unless they meet in the playoffs.

In Heaney’s two years as coach, the Sabers and Spartans have played six times – four in the regular season and twice in holiday tournaments – and all six have turned out a lot like Milford’s 68-38 win on Feb. 17 in Amherst.

“I said to (Milford coach) Dan Murray after the game, I hope we can give you a better game next time,” Heaney said. “It’s been three or four years, and that hurts. We should have given them a better game and we didn’t.”

Milford’s Mike O’Loughlin scored all of his game-high 22 points in the first half, while Jamie Holder added 14 points, all but two in the second half. Mike Mitchell, who suffered a sprained ankle eight days ago at Pelham, played but was scoreless and sat most of the second half.

“They are a really good team,” Heaney said. “Mike Mitchell is one of the best point guards in the state. O’Loughlin is one of the best shooters and Jamie (Holder) is one of the best slashers.

“What makes them so tough is it’s not only the three of them. Their role players made shots, too. You’ve got guys you’ve never heard of making 3s, that’s tough.”

Kevin Cyr also had eight points for Milford (13-1), including two 3s, and Jeff Asselin came off the bench to chip in six points, all from behind the arc. O’Loughlin added five 3-pointers, two of which came in 17-7 run that turned a two-point game at the end of the first quarter into a 12-point game with 1:14 left before halftime.

Seth Cordts led Souhegan (9-5) with 10 points while Devin Gilligan added six points.

Souhegan opened the game in a zone defense, hoping to slow down Milford’s transition offense and force the Spartans to spend more time working for a shot. The Sabers even cleared out when they were shooting free throws, putting all four players on the defensive end.

It worked for most of the first quarter, as Souhegan had the lead with a minute left in the first frame. But a 3 and an offensive rebound and put-back by O’Loughlin put the Spartans up four and they never looked back.

“The idea of that was that you so rarely get a missed free throw back,” Heaney said. “I wanted to trade that for them walking back up the court, which they did. Unfortunately, O’Loughlin was red hot.”