HB boys fall to Souhegan

Friday, January 13, 2012

HOLLIS – Two weeks ago, the Hollis Brookline High School boys basketball team ended the Chick-fil-A Holiday Tournament with a four-point win over rival Souhegan.

Wednesday night, the Sabers got their revenge.

Souhegan jumped out to an early lead, held off several charges by the Cavaliers and closed out the game late, winning 71-61 to remain undefeated (5-0) in Division II.

Zach Simmonds led the way for the Sabers, scoring 23 points, including five 3-pointers, while Shaun McKenna added 15 points and Brandon Len had 13 for Souhegan. HB (1-4) got 18 points from Connor Walsh and 10 more from James Wilson, but there were two things that Cavs coach Mike Soucy felt doomed his team.

“Rebounding and free throw differential,” Soucy said. “They seemed to get every loose ball and they did a number on us in the boards.”

While the Sabers were cleaning up the glass on the defensive end, they were attacking on offense, forcing the Cavs to foul. At the other end, HB couldn’t do the same, meaning the Cavs attempted 13 fewer free throws than the Sabers.

“It wasn’t officiating. It was that they attacked us and we didn’t attack them as much as we would like to,” Soucy said. “I keep telling my guys, ‘It’s not the team that makes the most free throws that wins; it’s typically the one that attempts the most.’ It changes the flow of the game. It gets the other team in foul trouble, and it changes the dynamic of their lineup, which could give you an opportunity to run.”

The Cavs still made their runs. They fell behind early, 10-2, forcing Soucy to use a timeout just two minutes into the game, but HB regrouped and trailed 18-14 early in the second quarter.

Souhegan responded with a 15-4 run to go up 33-18, and when the Sabers took a 37-25 lead, Soucy used another timeout to dig into his players.

HB answered again, getting back-to-back 3s from Russ Belden and Tim Rencken to cut Souhegan’s lead in half, and by halftime, the Cavs only trailed by four.

“We took some punches early in the game,” Soucy said. “We made it a game at halftime. I have a bunch of warriors, they have no quit in them.”

The Cavs made it a two-point game, 40-38, early in the third, but Souhegan again went on a run. The Sabers outscored HB 15-7 the rest of the quarter and led by double digits going into the fourth.

“We did a nice job offensively, and now we need to sure up our defense by finishing,” Soucy said. “That’s just rebounding and being more active on the boards. Once that clicks with us, I think we’ll fly high from there.