Kearsarge boys basketball grinds out win over Derryfield in D3 playoffs (video)

MANCHESTER – Dropping the final two games of the regular season didn’t just mean the Kearsarge Regional High School boys basketball team had to go on the road to open the Division III playoffs.

It also meant the Cougars hadn’t really had a lead in a game since their last win 11 days ago.

Against Derryfield in Tuesday’s playoff opener, once Kearsarge got the lead, it never gave it up, as the No. 9 Cougars ground out a 41-32 win over the No. 8 Cougars to advance to the D3 quarterfinals.

Kearsarge will get a rematch of last year’s championship game when it travels to face top-seeded and undefeated Belmont, the defending D3 champion, at 6 p.m. on Friday.

“It might not be pretty, but we’re just going to find a way,” Kearsarge coach Nate Camp said. “We’ve been playing catchup and catchup, and it was nice to get out and have a lead and just play our tempo. I’m fine winning like that.”

It wasn’t pretty for either team early on, as Kearsarge (13-6) went up first on a basket by Bragen Kinzer to make it 2-0 with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter, and then it would be almost five minutes until someone scored again.

Not until Eli Whipple went on a personal 7-0 in a little more than a minute to put the Cougars up 9-0. It was 9-2 at the end of the first and Kearsarge led 18-11 going into halftime.

“It was a great defensive battle,” Whipple said. “They fight, they compete and so do we.”

Whipple finished with a game-high 18 points and Davin Boehle was also in double figures with 11 points. Blake Lamothe came off the bench in the fourth quarter to hit a pair of jump shots for four points.

“He usually gets in (earlier), but Davin was playing so well,” Camp said of Lamothe. “Credit to him, he didn’t even hesitate, and that’s just all him. I’m so proud of him as a junior to be able to, under pressure, make those.”

Derryfield (12-7) got 10 points from Jake Lawson while Awaab Mousa scored eight points and Kieth Townsend added seven markers.

All three had a 3-pointer for the Cougars, who were playing without Nate Boudreau and Blake Moskov, who were suspended for two games after getting ejected from Derryfield’s regular-season finale against Hillsboro-Deering.

The shorthanded Cougars looked to be in trouble early in the third quarter, when Kearsarge took its largest lead, 22-12, in the frame. But freshman Mitch Labbe hit a 3-pointer and Liam Cesar came off the bench to score back-to-back baskets to get Derryfield within three, 22-19.

Kearsarge took a 27-22 lead into the fourth, but Derryfield was able to cut the lead to two, 29-27, on a basket by Mousa with just over six minutes remaining.

From there, Kearsarge started to draw out possessions, and went up six points, 35-29, on a layup from Whipple with just over two minutes to play.

“We had to stay calm, collected,” Whipple said. “I just had to go out there, play my game. I’ve got my teammates by my side, and when the defense starts to key on me, I trust my teammates. We fought through it.”

Townsend hit a 3 with 1:40 to play to cut the lead in half and keep Derryfield alive, but the Cougars wouldn’t score again. Kearsarge went 4 of 6 at the free throw line in the final minute to put the game away.

“This is one of those ones where you’re on the road and you’ve just got to grind something out,” Camp said. “It was not pretty basketball. Down the stretch, it was about taking care of the ball, limiting turnovers, making free throws. There were a couple of moments where you kind of see what you’re made of. It was a great atmosphere and it was nice for us to get a road win in the playoffs.”