Defense gets it done for Bishop Guertin boys basketball in D1 final win over Winnacunnet

DURHAM – The Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team knew that points would be hard to come by in Saturday’s Division I championship game.

For a senior-laden team that averaged over 57 points per game, that was all right. so long as the Cardinals had one more point than Winnacunnet at the end of the night.

Bishop Guertin’s defense stepped up to the challenge, holding Winnacunnet to its lowest total of the season, and the Cardinals took advantage of the Warriors struggles at the free throw line to pull out a 42-35 win in the final, played at Oyster River High School.

The championship is the first for Bishop Guertin since 2011 and the third overall. The game had the lowest combined score of a Division I/Class L final since 2009, and the Cardinals’ 42 points were the fewest by a D1/CL champ since Nashua defeated Portsmouth 36-31 in 1960.

“We figured that this was the best matchup all year,” Bishop Guertin senior Dylan Santosuosso said. “We know their style of play is to slow it down and get the ball into the post. We knew it wasn’t going to be a high-scoring game. We had to hit our open shots. We were up most of the game, so that helped as well, with the frustration of not being able to score.”

Santosuosso finished with 12 points for the Cardinals (19-4), including a 3-pointer in the second quarter that broke a 13-13 tie and started Bishop Guertin on a 7-0 run to end the half. Nate Kane had a game-high 13 points and John Sullivan added six while the Cardinals were 10 of 14 from the free throw line, including 4 of 5 in the fourth quarter.

Winnacunnet (10-5) struggled at the line, making just 10 of 24 free throws after getting into the bonus in the second half with over two minutes left in the third quarter.

“That’s crazy because they are so good from the line,” Bishop Guertin coach John Fisher said. “We knew it would come down to defense. I think the guys stepped up. We had a few too many fouls. It was great refereeing, we just fouled too many times. Guys we like to have in at the end were in foul trouble.”

Samuel Andreottola led Winnacunnet with 12 points and made half the Warriors’ free throws, going 5 of 8 at the line. Brett Marelli was also in double figures with 10 points but no one else had more than four.

“We work on free throws with this group probably more than any group we’ve ever had,” Winnacunnet coach Jay McKenna said. “It’s been a point of emphasis for us and it’s won us some games. We shot them this morning. It’s the way it goes. Unfortunately, we missed some costly ones.

“I knew it was going to be physical, I knew it was going to be a bit of slugfest, but I thought we’d score more points collectively than we did. I’ve done it long enough to know that you don’t know until you step out there and the ball goes up.”

The first quarter foreshadowed the difficulties both teams would have on offense, as the Cardinals went almost four minutes without scoring to open the game and the Warriors went the final six-plus minutes without a field goal.

Bishop Guertin led 7-5 after one and a 3 by Santosuosso made it 10-5 early in the second, but then it was the Cardinals turn to go cold, as they went almost six minutes without a field goal. Winnacunnet tied the game at 13 on a putback by Marelli with 3:13 left in the half, but another Santosuosso 3 broke the tie with 1:13 to go before the break.

A pair of free throws by Javari Ellison and a buzzer-beating putback by Matt Santosuosso gave Bishop Guertin a 20-13 lead at halftime.

“I was not comfortable at any point,” Dylan Santosuosso said. “I was happy at halftime because we were up seven, but I was not comfortable.”

A layup by Jordan Robichaud opened the scoring in the second half and gave Bishop Guertin a nine-point lead, but Winnacunnet was able to chip away. An 8-1 run by the Warriors got them within two, 23-21, with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter.

A 3-pointer by Kane gave the Cardinals some breathing room, but a basket by Joseph Allen early in the fourth quarter got the Warriors within one, 26-25.

But that was as close as Winnacunnet would get, as Bishop Guertin answered with a 10-1 run to take a 10-point lead with 2:02 remaining. During that stretch, the Warriors were 1 of 5 at the line.

“We really pride ourselves on our defense,” McKenna said. “We’ve done a really good job on the year. Credit to the kids and how hard they work at it, and how much time we spend on it. We knew we’d put ourselves in a good position to come out on top if we kept them to 45 or under. We were able to do that, we just had a tough time making shots. That’s how it goes.”