acked up against the wall and in enemy territory, the Bears came out fighting in the fourth quarter. And, as a result, Winnisquam was a winner. The Bears boys' basketball team completed a huge fourth-quarter comeback last night to defeat Inter-Lakes, 54-52, on the Lakers' home court.
Inter-Lakes led after the first three quarters, and went into the fourth with a comfortable 36-29 lead, but the Lakers fell into foul trouble that contributed to the Winnisquam comeback. Over half of the Bears' points came from the free-throw line in the final period. The fouls that made those free throws possible also sent key Lakers to the bench during the fourth quarter, and that allowed the game to slip away.
An increase in the Bears' defensive intensity was another cause for the comeback, according to Winnisquam coach Jim Belair. The Bears capitalized on a lot of Laker mistakes in the final quarter - after failing to do the same when given similar opportunities earlier in the game. Belmont (2-6) kept things close in the first half, but came out sluggish after the break, in its loss to Littleton (4-4).
Trailing 40-33 at the half, the Red Raiders were never able to recover, coming out cold in the third quarter. Sean Newman led Belmont scorers with 16 points, while Nick Harriman finished with seven. Kirk Crecco led Gilford's offensive attack with 30 points, while Eric Dean finished just behind with 27.
Gilford also saw solid play from Artem Stryha, chipping in with 15 points. "We capitalized on a lot of easy opportunities and easy looks," Gilford Coach Chip Veazey said. "We were able to move the ball extremely well.
" Shawn LaPlante handled the ball well, also playing tough defense in the win. The Panthers (2-6) dropped their deficit to six points with three minutes remaining in regulation, but couldn't cap off the comeback, falling to Moultonborough (8-1) in an offensive shootout. Shooting just 26 percent in the first half and trailing 32-20, Pittsfield knew they'd need to turn things around to make it close.
And they did. Chris Ward came out hot in the second half, finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Travis Miller looked to help out with 16 points and 12 rebounds. "We came out from the half playing much better defense," Pittsfield Head Coach Jason Darrah said.
"We were able to get to the basket better and finish our possessions." With Pittsfield closing in, Moultonborough relied on solid free throw shooting to seal the win, sinking eight of nine fourth-quarter attempts. "We're still looking to put four solid quarters together," said Darrah, "but we're certainly headed in the right direction.
" With things knotted at 24 at the half, the Red Raiders came out more aggressive, outscoring Littleton 18-6 in the fourth quarter. Marissa Donovan led Belmont scorers with 18 points, while Kristi Parent played well, finishing with 14. Winnisquam (3-5) held off various Inter-Lakes runs to earn a nice home-court victory.
The game remained close for three quarters until the Bears put together a 16-2 fourth quarter to seal the game. Heidi Miller led all scorers with 28 points. Phylicia Martel added 11 points and Leigh Smith finished with eight.
Winnisquam looks to extend it's win streak against 1-7 Prospect Mountain on Friday. Derryfield 53, Mount Zion 20 Derryfield (3-5) recorded 30 steals in an easy victory over Mount Zion (1-8). The Cougars jumped out to an early, 15-4 first-quarter lead thanks to great defense and didn't let up over the course of the game.
Vanessa Platts led Mount Zion with 10 points. Aubrey Andis scored five points and played well at point guard in her first time at the position. Kelly Schwarz led both the offense and defense with 18 points and eight steals.
Annie Jenney also played well with 10 points and five rebounds. Derryfield travels to Hinsdale for its next game tomorrow. The Golden Tornadoes slipped away with the victory, winning six matches in a hard-fought meet with Newport.
First-year wrestler Sky McDonough wrestled hard for the Tornadoes in his 125-pound match, but couldn't escape with the win. The Generals handed out six pins, while allowing only one, in a physical win over Souhegan. Both Marois and Adam Lantiegne remain undefeated in state competition, with records of 18-0, and 14-0, respectively.
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