Londonderry boys basketball outlasts Pinkerton
DERRY – Behind the shooting of Jake Coleman, the Londonderry High School boys basketball team found consistency in its offense Friday night and ran past Pinkerton Academy for a 64-47 win.
There were a combined four runs of 10 or more points, two by each team, but during the flow of the game Londonderry shot the ball consistently.
The first 10-point run for the Lancers (4-3) spanned the first and second quarters with six points on two 3-pointers from Coleman, who finished with a game-high 25 points.
The Lancers jumped but to a 31-16 lead with 2: 24 remaining in the half, as Londonderry was led by the first half by sharp shooter Coleman, who had 10 first half points, while Pinkerton guard Nicholas Bortones matched the 10.
Once the Lancers got out to the lead is when Pinkerton (2-6) went on the second run of the contest scoring 10 points over four minutes stretching between the first and second halves. This first run was ended by a nice play by Londonderry senior Brandon Radford. Radford, along with fellow front court mate Patrick Zepf, were huge differences in the game.
“They were key to rebounding the basketball and spreading out the floor,” Londonderry coach Nate Stanton said of Radford and Zepf. “They also help us set up the pace of play to a pace that we are more comfortable playing at.”
Pinkerton entered the fourth quarter with a 40-37 lead sparked by guard Jay Reynolds. The sophomore guard was a big part of another run by the Astros, highlighted by a Reynolds dunk on a fast break that had the Pinkerton student section rocking.
Pinkerton had a balanced scoring attack with 11 points from Reynolds, 12 by Bortone, and another 11 by point guard Matthew Anzivino.
But this balanced scoring was not enough to stop Londonderry’s fourth run, as the Lancers ran away with the 3-point shooting of Ethan Garofalo and Coleman.
“We are probably only shooting 20 percent from 3 on the season,” Stanton said. “This was our best shooting night of the season.”
Starting the fourth quarter with a 10-point run and not looking back was especially impressive, as Londonderry played just six players the entire second half. Garofalo added 13 points for the Lancers and Radford chipped in with 12.
Londonderry, after having two weeks off, returns to action on Tuesday against Nashua South, while Pinkerton heads to Keene.
