Big third quarter lifts Nashua South boys basketball past Concord

NASHUA – The Nashua High School South boys basketball team wants to put pressure on its opponents and get out in transition to score.

When it goes bad for the Panthers, it can be really bad, but when it’s good, the result is what they did Wednesday night to Concord.

Already up 10 points in the opening seconds of the third quarter, South went on a 13-0 run in just 90 seconds and rolled to a 71-60 win over the Crimson Tide in a Division I contest. Concord closed the game on a 14-0 run of its own, as South went scoreless over the final 4:08 of the game, but by then, all of the Panthers’ starters had been on the bench since the end of the third.

Yordy Tavarez led the way for the Panthers (3-0) with 22 points, while Trevor Knight scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and Cam Joyal was also in double figures with 11.

“We did what we set out to do,” South coach Nate Mazerolle said. “(Concord) is a real good basketball team and playing back-to-back nights is not an easy night, especially when you have to travel. We wanted to make it a game where it’s up-and-down, knowing they would struggle in the fourth quarter.”

The Tide, who defeated Dover 69-56 at home Tuesday, hung with the Panthers through most of the first half. But after a layup by Garrett Jewell pulled Concord within one, 20-19, South went on a 15-3 run to take a 13-point lead with 2:26 left in the half.

“Unfortunately, our shot selection in the first half was not what I expected,” Concord coach John Finnegan said. “(Tuesday) night, we had a great fourth quarter and we showed some discipline, and I thought it would carry over, and obviously, it didn’t.”

Jewell finished with 14 points for the Tide, while Walter Szulc added 11 points and Seimou Smith chipped in with seven.

The Panthers led by 12 at halftime and Concord opened the second with a basket just six seconds in to make it a 37-27 game. But South answered with a putback by Tavarez and a three-point play by Mike Osgood.

A steal and layup by Knight made it 44-27 and started Concord on a string of three straight turnovers. Knight made two more layups, getting fouled on the second by Robert Kelly, who slammed the ball down in frustration, drawing a technical foul.

Knight made two of the three free throws to complete a 13-0 run for the Panthers and give South a 50-27 lead with 6:05 still left in the third quarter.

South scored 27 points in the quarter, with most of them coming inside the paint, and the Panthers led 64-36 going into the fourth. No starters saw the floor for the Panthers in the final eight minutes, and South went scoreless over the final 4:08 of the game.

“It’s high school basketball, you only play 18 games, so it’s not like you have to worry about legs for an entire season,” Mazerolle said. “But that does help. And you try to get some other guys some confidence. It’s still the fourth quarter of a high school basketball game.”