Milford boys basketball holds off Souhegan surge to pick up win

AMHERST – For more almost two quarters, the Milford High School boys basketball team was playing as well as coach Dan Murray could have expected.

The Spartans outscored Souhegan by 25 points and were well on their way to their fifth win in a row, but then, the Sabers came back.

Souhegan went on a big run of its own to trim a 23-point deficit down to five midway through the fourth quarter, but Milford’s lead was just too much, as the Spartans held on for a 64-57 win Monday night in Division II action.

Milford went on a 30-5 run that started with a buzzer-beating, halfcourt 3-pointer by Shane Greska and ended with the Spartans (11-1) up 42-19 early in the third quarter.

“I don’t think we could have played any better,” Murray said. “Our defense was really good over that whole stretch. It was quick. Next thing you know, it’s turned around and they’re coming back on us.”

Souhegan (7-5) went on a 26-8 run of its own to cut the Spartans’ lead down to five points midway through the fourth quarter.

“For my guys to respond to that, that represents growth,” Souhegan coach Peter Pierce said. “There have been times in the past where that would have been the end of the night. But these kids work hard and they’ve got some pride. They don’t want to get blown out by anybody.”

Milford’s Ryan Banuskevich led all scorers with 20 points, including three 3-pointers, and Kirk Palladino added 17 points while Jack Briggs chipped in with nine.

Raju Gandhi had 18 points for Souhegan and also in double figures were Jerrell Webster, with 15 points, and Zach Theriault, with 13.

A 3-pointer by Gandhi and a two-handed dunk by Webster put Souhegan up 14-12 in the final minute of the first quarter, and the Sabers had a chance for more, but turned the ball over. Greska came up with the loose ball with a second left, had time for a dribble and banked in a halfcourt shot to give Milford a 15-14 lead after one.

Souhegan would score just one points over the next seven-plus minutes.

“In the halfcourt, initially we were strong against the zone and then Dan (Murray) made an adjustment,” Pierce said. “We countered and it didn’t work as well as it needed to, so we countered again and got better results.”

Milford cranked up the pressure on defense, leading to plenty of opportunities at the other end, and the Spartans were able to capitalize.

“We went on that run, we brought our defensive pressure up on that second quarter and made them play a lot faster,” Murray said. “They tried to slow us down, so even out of our zones, we brought our guards up to bring more pressure.”

After outscoring Souhegan 17-3 in the second quarter, Milford opened the third with a 10-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3s from Briggs and Banuskevich that made it 42-19 with 5:45 left in the quarter.

But then the Sabers started chipping away, outscoring Milford 18-5 over the rest of the quarter to cut the lead to 10 points going into the fourth. Three baskets by Theriault and another by Webster made it 50-45 Milford, but that was as close as Souhegan would get.

Palladino and Banuskevich answered to put Milford up 60-47 with 1:54 to play to secure the Spartans’ fifth win in a row.