Londonderry boys basketball holds off Salem
LONDONDERRY – Nate Stanton welcomed his old team into his current home, as the Londonderry High School boys basketball team grabbed a 59-52 victory Friday night over Salem.
Stanton, the Lancers coach who was a 1,000-point scorer at Salem, led Londonderry through leading scorer Jake Coleman, a 1,000-point scorer in his own right, and the rest of his high powered offense to victory.
At the half, Londonderry (5-4) lead a very high-paced contest 37-17, ending the half on a 7-0 run over the course of 1:36 to really create space heading into the second half. The run was highlighted by a Coleman 3-pointer and a Brandon Radford buzzer-beating layup.
In the first half, Londonderry had separate 8-0 and 9-0 runs to go along with the 7-0 run heading into halftime.
“I knew (Salem coach Rob McLaughlin) was in there giving them an earful and preparing them for the second half,” Stanton said of his halftime talk. “We needed to keep playing our game.”
Salem (4-5) came roaring back in the second half, opening the third quarter on a 9-0 run that became a 15-4 run. In all, the Blue Devils scored 19 points in the third quarter, which is well above Stanton’s goal of 10 points per quarter on defense pace.
Leading Salem in the third quarter was senior captain DJ Coletti, who finished the game with 17 points. Other Salem leaders included Griffin Curtis, who added 12 points, and Matt McLaughlin, who chipped in 11.
Salem began picking up the pace by forcing turnovers and converting them to easy buckets on the other end of the floor.
With two minutes left in the game, Londonderry was holding onto a 51-49 lead, but Coleman maintained a steady presence for the Lancers.
“I don’t get nervous,” Coleman said. The four-year started led the way with 20 points, four of which came after Salem made it a two-point game, and he assisted on the other bucket.
Helping the Lancers seal the victory were Ethan Garofalo, who finished with 12 points, and Radford with eight points, who also was a load on the defensive end.
“After the game I went to Rob and said maybe we need to combine our team,” Stanont said. “I’ll take our first half and take your second half. If we play that way the entire game we are unbeatable.”
Londonderry looks to continue its momentum as the Lancers head east to face Winnacunnet on Tuesday. Salem looks to get back even as it heads to Concord for a Monday night contest.
