Nashua North, South sweep the day from Milford, Souhegan at Holiday Basketball Tournament (video)

NASHUA – The Nashua High School North boys basketball team needed a little time to get going Wednesday night against Milford.

But once the Titans got headed in the right direction, they flipped the game.

After falling behind by as many as 14 points, North outscored Milford 45-9 over the second and third quarters on the way to a 68-42 win in the final game of the opening day of the Nashua Holiday Basketball Tournament, held at North.

Jaden Pena led the Titans with 22 points, including two 3-pointers and an 8 for 8 performance at the free throw line. Alize Roig-Cortes was also in double figures with 15 points, including three 3s, and Zion Melendez added six points.

North hit eight 3-pointers, and after the first quarter, created turnovers with its pressure to add to its lead.

“Milford came ready to play and give them credit,” North coach Steve Lane said. “We took them lightly and we were down. It was an eye-opening experience and sometimes it’s a lesson learned.

“Our effort changed. Our attitude and the way we went about it in the second quarter was a lot better.”

Milford’s Kai Lau Quan finished 14 points, 11 of those coming in the first quarter, as the Spartans took an 18-6 lead after one. Will O’Connell added 12 points, including a two-handed dunk in the first that helped put an exclamation point on Milford’s run.

But the Spartans went almost seven minutes without scoring, as the Titans used a 13-0 run to cut the lead to one. O’Connell scored Milford’s only points of the second quarter with 2:29 remaining to make it 20-17 Spartans, but North closed the half with seven straight points to lead 24-20.

North will take on Nashua South in the boys championship game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at North. Milford will face Souhegan in the consolation game at 3:30 p.m., also at North

Nashua South 75, Souhegan 53

The Panthers jumped out to a 19-3 lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back against the Sabers.

Josh Caruso led the way with 17 points, as he hit three of South’s eight 3-pointers. Naveen Ravindran also had three 3s and 15 points while Samson Akotey finished with 14 and Zach Castonguay chipped in 13.

The Panthers utilized two lineups, playing its first unit in the first and third quarters and its second in the second and fourth.

“We’re still very much a work in progress,” South coach Nate Mazerolle said. “We have several guys who are going to play lots of minutes, so sometimes, getting that second group some continuity, our practices can get more competitive, that’s important. Or we might find one or two guys who show something and then help us.”

Souhegan, which was missing three starters due to injury, got 15 points from Weston Hickman while Drew Reagan added four 3-pointers and 14 points.

Max Hayes and Teddy Kastel each had six points for the Sabers.

Girls Basketball

Nashua North 57, Milford 29

The Titans avenged last year’s loss in the tournament championship game by jumping out to an early lead and holding off the Spartans in the second half.

Jordan Cottier led all scorers with 18 points, going 4 of 6 at the free throw line, while Lillian Small was also in double figures, as she hit two 3s and had 13 points for North, which was down two regulars.

Arianna Miller added eight points and Angela King had seven for the Titans.

“I thought it was a great effort,” North coach Curt Dutilley said. “We got contributions from so many people in the game. We had two key players out. All the other people stepping up and really playing well, and understanding that this our defensive game plan (Wednesday), some don’t usually play this many minutes, and they just played stellar. We moved the ball on offense and got the ball to the best person at the moment for the highest-quality shot.”

Defensively, North held Milford to just 11 points through the first two-and-a-half quarters. Claire Cote led the Spartans with 10 points, including two 3s, and LuLu Maguire added seven points.

“I think it was really paying attention defensively to what the keys were,” Dutilley said. “A lot of times our zone will look like one thing one night and then another thing another night. All that’s really going on is we’re trying to pay attention to who the key players are on the floor. Now they’re starting to get the communication that comes with that.”

Down 33-11 midway through the third, Milford took a timeout and responded with a quick 8-1 run to cut into the lead.

But North responded with a 9-0 run to end the quarter up 43-19 and stretched the lead to 28 early in the fourth.

The Titans move on to the girls championship game at 5 p.m. Thursday, where they will face Nashua South. Milford heads to the consolation game, where it will take on Souhegan at 2 p.m. Both games will be at North.

Nashua South 48, Souhegan 20

After a slow start by both teams, the Panthers broke open the game in the second quarter to cruise past the Sabers.

South led just 7-0 at the end of one, but kept Souhegan off the board until the final two minutes of the first half, taking a 27-2 lead into the half.

Morgan Gillis led the Panthers with 20 points, including three 3-pointers, while Jaynilies De Jesus, Amber Wong and Nitzann Alkalay each finished with second points.

“We have a long way to go, but they’re getting better,” South coach John Bourgeois said. “That’s the sort of game situation that we needed, then get into practice and figure out where we need to improve. I’ve been happy so far, we just have a long way to go.”

Souhegan got seven points from Mishka Tower while Phoebe Faucher and Chase Harms each had four.