Boys basketball done in by Bobcat 3-pointers

Friday, March 12, 2010

DURHAM – Oyster River High School boys basketball coach Stuart Mitchell has made it clear that he doesn’t want his Bobcats to be known as a 3-point-shooting team, but Oyster River may have a hard time shaking that label after Tuesday night’s performance against Hollis/Brookline.

The curtain was pulled on Hollis/Brookline’s season after Oyster River made 11 3-pointers during its 70-42 triumph in the Class I tournament’s opening round.

“That’s a dangerous way to play,” Mitchell said. “It’s a part of our game that’s gotten stronger as the season has gone on.”

The Cavaliers remained within striking distance for the better part of three quarters, but had little choice other than to come out of their matchup zone when they fell behind by double digits early in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats outscored the Cavaliers 25-11 over the final eight minutes.

“We’re built to play zone,” Hollis/Brookline coach Michael Soucy said. “Once we got down by 12 or 13 we had to come out of that (zone). That’s not who we are. We needed the score to be in the 40s or low 50s to have a chance because we don’t make a lot of shots.”

Oyster River point guard Tommy McDonnell, the son of University of New Hampshire football coach Sean McDonnell, led all scorers with 28 points. Forward Jack Nadeau scored 14 points and was the only other player for either team in double figures.

McDonnell and Nadeau each made four 3-pointers.

“We did a better job in the first game against them (a 55-46 Oyster River victory) getting out on shooters,” Soucy explained.

“I don’t know if it would have mattered tonight. They were making everything. When a kid has a hot hand, he’s got a hot hand. (McDonnell) certainly did tonight.”

Third-seeded Oyster River improved its record to 16-3 and will face No. 11 Kingswood (13-6) in Friday night’s quarterfinals. Kingswood advanced by beating sixth-seeded Kearsarge 61-49.

Freshman guard Connor Walsh scored a team-high seven points for 14th-seeded Hollis/Brookline, which completed its season with an 8-11 record.

The Cavaliers received six points from junior forward Brian Liamos, six from senior guard Bryan Landry and five from both senior guard Trevor Nierendorf and senior forward Dan Baerthlein.

Hollis/Brookline trailed 12-7 after one quarter, 27-17 at halftime and 45-31 entering the fourth. McDonnell hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to end the third.

“I thought our zone offense was stagnant for quite a while, but once they went to man-to-man we were pretty much able to run the show they way we wanted to,” Mitchell said.

Oyster River used a 7-2 spurt at the start of the third quarter to open up a 34-20 lead, but Hollis/Brookline went on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit in half.

The Bobcats outscored the Cavaliers 11-4 in the rest of the quarter, however, and the lead never dipped below 14 the rest of the way.

“We started the second half flat, and that when they really jumped on us,” Soucy said.

The Cavaliers entered the game playing their best basketball of the season.

Hollis/Brookline won five of its last six regular-season contests.

“A lesser team would have hung up their sneakers when we were 3-9,” Soucy said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids − especially our five seniors.”