Chick-Fil-A Basketball Roundup: Nashua South girls cruise to win over Milford (video)

NASHUA – Kirsten McIntire had 13 points and Maya Rioux added 12 points to lead the Nashua High School South girls basketball team to a 59-16 win over Milford in the first day of the Chick-Fil-A Holiday Tournament at Nashua South.

Nine different players scored points for the Panthers, with Rioux and Aryanna Murray (eight points) each hitting a pair of 3-pointers. After falling behind in the early minutes, South outscored Milford 22-2 in the second quarter to take a 38-8 lead into halftime, and the Panthers never looked back.

South will take on Keene in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Keene advanced with a 39-23 win over Alvirne.

The Spartans got five points each from Meghan Cavanaugh and Elizabeth Paul. Milford will face Alvirne at 9:30 a.m. on Friday in the consolation round.

Goffstown 34, Merrimack 33

Olivia Brannen hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to put the Grizzlies on top and the defense held as Goffstown overcame a slow start to advance to the tournament semifinals.

Brannen finished with seven points, including two 3s, while Kelly Walsh led Goffstown with 16 points. Sofia Piriz, Emma Strong and Samantha Biron also added three points a piece.

Goffstown will face Nashua North in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Friday. North moved on with a 70-39 win over Campbell.

Merrimack was led by Samantha Page, who finished with 13 points, while Heather Rohr had six and Theresa Twardosky and Makenna Desfosses had five points each. The Tomahawks will face Campbell in the consolation round at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

Boys Basketball

Nashua South 65, Milford 62

Down by six points early in the fourth quarter, South outscored Milford 16-7 the rest of the way to advance to the semifinals on the boys side of the tournament.

Ivan Nyantenji led the Panthers with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and Jaden Murphy came off the bench to add 15 points, going 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Andres Hulfachor was also in double figures with 10 points and Jeremiah Mitchell added eight, as South led 34-33 at halftime, but fell behind in the third quarter.

After a layup by Nyantenji tied the game at 59 with 3:11 to play, neither team scored for almost two minutes. Murphy broke the tie with two free throws and Mike Rosatano scored in transition with under a minute to play to put South in front for good.

Milford got 16 points from Sam Santaniello while Jake Greska and Max Fortin each added 15 points for the Spartans. Gavin Urda also had nine points for Milford, which led 55-49 with 6:29 left in the game.

South moves on to face Thornton Academy, which defeated Alvirne 66-36, in the first boys semifinal on Friday at 5 p.m. Milford takes on Alvirne in the consolation round at 11 a.m.

Nashua North 62, Goffstown 38

Nathan Kane had 17 points and Brenden Choate added 14 to lead the Titans past the Grizzlies and into the semifinals.

Goffstown had a 2-0 lead after neither team could score through the first two-plus minutes, but North went on a 23-4 run to take control of the game. The Titans led 31-14 at halftime and led by 20 points, 47-27, at the end of the third.

Joshua Lentz was also in double figures with 10 points and Gabe Buxton added eight points.

The Grizzlies got seven points from John Kelly and six points from Connor Hujsak while Thomas Dutton, Jonathan Mpoyo and William Kennedy each had five.

North will take on Merrimack, which beat Souhegan 42-41, in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m., while Goffstown will face Souhegan in the consolation bracket at 12:30 p.m.