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Bedford rocks North; Bulldogs emerging at D-I contender

NASHUA – Hmmm, should the Bedford High School boys basketball team be taken seriously?

“They should,” Nashua North coach Steve Lane said after the Bulldogs raced by Lane’s Titans 65-52 on Tuesday, snapping North’s three-game winning streak.

“I mean, there’s a reason why there’s Portsmouth and everybody else. … (Bedford is) pretty good. They spread out, three, four or five guys who can score the basketball. And they can shoot. … They’re a very well-balanced, well-schooled, well-drilled, fundamental team.”

And they are now 12-2, on a seven-

game winning streak since they lost to the unbeaten Clippers on the coast about a month ago.

“That was a big win for us,” Bedford coach Mark Elmendorf said. “(North) had been playing really, really well. To be 12-2 at this point in the year, I’m thrilled.”

The Bulldogs, opposite of the Titans, spread their scoring out well. They got 16 points from Liam Greene, 14 from Cole Glennon and 12 from Nolan Anderson to lead the way, but also had a host of other contributors.

The Titans, meanwhile, barely shot in the 30 percent range from the floor, and even 28 points from Alonzo Linton weren’t enough. That’s because Bedford shut everyone else down, as Casey Lane was the only other North player in double figures with 10.

“We had our chances,” Coach Lane said. “It is what it is. I’m not going to take anything away from Bedford, they deserved to win the game tonight. … If the ball goes in things might be a little bit different.”

Still, North was hanging around at halftime, down just 36-31 thanks to 17 points by Linton. But the third quarter proved to be difference, as Bedford, up 45-39, went on an 8-0 run. When Connor Crowley sliced through the North defense for a buzzer-beating layup, the ’Dogs led 53-39 after three periods. It stayed a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

“All halftime was all about stopping Linton, he’s good,” Elmendorf said. “That’s what we tried to do. We tried to slow it down a little bit. I thought we shot well. … That was the key to the game, the third quarter.”

The Titans would love to have senior forward Levi Gosselin (broken foot) back, but Lane said he’s likely done for the year. Gosselin had 20 points and 22 rebounds in one of his last games a month ago. “You tell me where he would help us the most,” Lane said. “I mean, we’re a different team than we were a month ago, because we got some healthy bodies back and some pieces in place.

“Tonight was just one of those nights. It’s unfortunate.”

“We have good balance between (Troy) Meservey and (Chris Chartier), and Nolan played great, he was outstanding,” Elmendorf said. “And Nick Mokas does everything you ask him. We have really good balance and it helps.”

It’s helped them to a 12-2 record, for sure.