Campbell boys basketball has just enough to upset Hopkinton in D3 semifinals

MANCHESTER – John Langlois wasn’t getting nervous, but the Campbell High School boys basketball coach was wondering how his team was going to hold off Hopkinton.

The No. 5 Cougars led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, only to have the top-seeded Hawks go on a 17-2 run and get as close as four points in the fourth quarter. But Campbell made enough of its free throws, Hopkinton started to cool off, and the Cougars won 56-51 on Friday at Southern New Hampshire University to advance to the Division III championship game for the second year in a row.

Campbell will take on No. 2 Conant, which defeated No. 3 Berlin 39-38 in the other semifinal, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, also at SNHU.

Zach Bergeon had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cougars (18-3), who led by seven at halftime and opened the second half with a 15-2 run to go up 40-20 with 3:25 left in the quarter. Campbell shot 53 percent from the field for the game, was 6 of 12 from behind the 3-point line and went 16 for 25 at the free throw line.

“We got the lead early, and we expanded upon it,” Langlois said. “That’s the first thing I said, it’s not over and we’ve got to play every play at both ends of the court. I thought we played very well.”

Despite taking an early lead, Hopkinton (19-2) struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 33.3 percent. The Hawks got 18 points from Gabe Nichols and another 14 points from Sam Winslow.

“We shot the ball at a 40-percent clip for most of the season, and (Friday), we were about 30 percent, and that’s with being hot at the end of the game,” Hopkinton coach David Chase said. “I know we can score. How many bunnies did we miss in the first half?

“We just did not come out well in the first half. I think it was our being nervous and a lack of being able to put the ball in the basket. I’d like to say it was all their defense, but I don’t think it was. Part of it was us.”

Bergeon got things going in the third quarter with a 3, starting Campbell on its run. The junior then capped the run by converting a three-point play to make 43-22 with 1:34 left in the quarter.

Hopkinton finally found a way to answer back, ending the third on a 7-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Winslow with 3.6 seconds left in the quarter.

“When we were down 20, I called the timeout and said if you guys are going to pack it in, it’s over,” Chase said. “We have 2:18 left, I’d really like to see this get back to 12. Let’s put some pressure on them and we have nothing to lose now because the game is over if we don’t go. Winslow hit the 3 to get us excited and we got it to 14.”

Winslow hit another 3 to open the fourth quarter, and a few minutes later, Liam McNicholas added a 3 of his own to get the Hawks within eight. After the teams traded free throws, Nichols connected from behind the arc, and Campbell’s lead was down to 47-42.

“I wouldn’t describe it as nervous, but a little concerned,” Langlois said. “Just trying to regroup and decide how we were going to stop the bleeding. They just kept drilling them and the couple that they missed, they got the boards.

“They’re not No. 1 for nothing, so I wasn’t surprised they started hitting shots. We changed our defense. We stopped them a little bit at the end.”

A putback by Nichols cut the deficit 50-46 with 2:25 to go, but Bergeon came back with a basket of his won and Hopkinton started missing shots, forcing the Hawks to foul.

“We were fighting time and foul shots,” Chase said. “We had to gamble and they got more hesitant taking care of the ball. They stopped looking to attack the rim. We had a few possessions where we had some great opportunities.”

Campbell now has the opportunity to win its first championship Sunday against Conant, which beat the Cougars 66-46 in the title game a year ago.

“Conant is a very good basketball team and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got,” Langlois said. “We’ll see how it comes out.