Chick-Fil-A Basketball Roundup: Goffstown pulls away from Nashua North to reach girls basketball final

NASHUA – Kelly Walsh had 25 points to help lead the Goffstown High School girls basketball team to a 52-40 win over Nashua North in the semifinals of the Chick-Fil-A Holiday Basketball Tournament.

Goffstown led by one, 26-25, at halftime, but after North scored on its first possession to take the lead, the Grizzlies outscored the Titans 13-6 to take a 39-33 lead at the end of three quarters. An 8-2 run to open the fourth gave Goffstown a 47-37 lead with 2:33 to play.

Olivia Brannen also had nine points for the Grizzlies and Shannon Gifford added seven points, as Goffstown will play Nashua South in the girls final at 3 p.m. Saturday at South.

North got 13 points from Katie Carr, while Janessa Lofton, Arianna Motivala and Jaden Smith had seven points apiece. The Titans will play in the third-place game against Keene at 12 p.m.

Nashua South 44, Keene 32

The Panthers moved on to the championship game for the second straight year behind a balanced scoring attack.

Jasmine Sylvester, Maya Rioux and Kirsten McIntire each had eight points for South, while Julianna Martin and Catherine Covert had seven points apiece.

South got out to a 17-point lead in the first half, but Keene closed the gap going into halftime and trailed 28-18. The Panthers pushed the lead back to 16 points to open the third quarter and led by 12 at the end of three, but the Blackbirds went on a 9-3 run to cut the lead in half.

The lead was eight points, 40-32, with 1:55 to play, but Rioux and Sylvester each made a pair of free throws to put the game away.

Kaitlyn Lemnah led the Blackbirds with 13 points while Aly Lemnah had nine and Kristen Farhm added seven.

South will take on Goffstown in the final at 3 p.m. Saturday, while Keene will face Nashua North at 12 p.m. for third place.

In the consolation bracket, Alvirne knocked off Milford 37-19 and Merrimack beat Campbell 67-16. All four teams will play Saturday at 9 a.m., with Campbell taking on Milford in the South medium gym, while Alvirne and Merrimack play in the main gym.

Boys Basketball

Thornton Academy 56, Nashua South 42

Payton Jones had 14 points and Dylan Griffin came off the bench to add 12 more as the Golden Trojans rolled past the Panthers and into the boys final.

Anthony Bracamonte and William Chapman also had nine points each as Thornton went on a 14-3 run in the first half to turn a tie game into a 22-11 lead. The Trojans led by 12 points at halftime and 14 after three quarters, stretching the lead to as many as 18 in the final quarter.

South got 18 points from Andres Hulfachor, including a 7-of-9 performance at the free throw line, but no one else had more than seven points for the Panthers.

Thornton will be looking for its first tournament title since 2010 when it takes on Nashua North in the championship Saturday at 4:30 p.m., while South will face Merrimack for third place at 1:30 p.m.

Nashua North 50, Merrimack 31

Brenden Choate and Nathan Kane each had 16 points to lead the Titans to the tournament final for the first time since 2015.

Curtis Harris was also in double figures with 10 points, as North overcame a slow start for the second straight night to advance. The Titans didn’t score until 1:56 into the game and it was a 4-4 game midway through the opening quarter before North went on an 11-4 run to take a 15-8 lead.

The lead expanded to 10 points on a 3 by Kane, but Merrimack cut it to five before halftime. North had no trouble opening the second half, as Choate hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Kane followed with another that made it 34-20 less than two minutes into the third quarter.

Merrimack never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way, as the Tomahawks got 11 points from Jared Dyer and six from Ben Eichman.

In the consolation bracket, Alvirne defeated Milford 58-42 while Souhegan held off Goffstown 56-51. All four teams will play Saturday at 10:30 a.m., with Milford taking on Goffstown in the medium gym and Alvirne facing Souhegan in the main gym.