Langdon, n.h.
“I absolutely think so,” said Newport coach Ross Dole said.
The opening night of the MG Sports Holiday Tournament at Fall Mountain Regional High School showed the Tigers remain a work in progress.
The eight-team showcase pitted Newport against Hinsdale on Tuesday night, and the Pacers humbled Dole’s bunch, 45-26.
“This was a setback,” he said, “but we’ll be OK.”
The reason for the optimism this season perhaps came in three games against Monadnock last winter. While the Tigers, who went 8-10 last season and were eliminated by the Huskies in the NHIAA Division III tourney, Newport topped Monadnock, the eventual state champion, on the other two occasions they met.
“I think those two wins over Monadnock was an indication of us coming together,” said Dole, who is in his second season at Newport after two years as junior varsity coach and two years as head coach at Stevens.
Dole, along with his assistant, Gary McCall, have been together all those years, and Newport athletic director Jeff Miller couldn’t say enough about the duo.
“They are my best two hires,” said Miller. “They are not in the system, but they are around the school all the time.”
Culture is a word that Dole often uses as to describe his way of doing things.
“We sat down a couple of years ago (with McCall) and put everything together. And it is more than just basketball,” Dole said.
“Whether it is fundraising or what we do for the community, it’s all part of the culture,” said Dole. “These kids show up to work every day, and sometimes that’s not easy. We put a lot of work in the summer with the AAU program and make sure every player comes to every practice. We help everybody in how to handle themselves in everyday things. It’s all part of the culture. There’s not a bad kid in the bunch, and I think this team is on the cusp of doing big things.”
Dole is grateful to Miller for providing him a varsity coaching opportunity. Now his smile couldn’t be wider.
“I’m very happy now,” said Dole. “The Newport community is passionate about its sports, and we want to contribute to that passion with a winning culture.”
Newport fell to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in NHIAA D-III play with the loss to Hinsdale. The Tigers will have two more games before wrapping up the Fall Mountain tourney.
Tuesday was just one of those nights for Newport, which surprised Dole.
“We didn’t rebound, didn’t shoot well (11 field goals) and turned the ball over too much,” he said. “I don’t know what to say.”
The Tigers hung in for a half with the Pacers (4-1), trailing just 22-16 at the break. They closed the gap to 22-21 before the Pacers went on a 11-2 run to put Newport down for the count.
Selena Coronis had 11 points for Newport, but no other Tiger had more than five.
In other games on Tuesday, Littleton beat Mascoma, 62-43; Monadnock edged Stevens 40-32; and Sunapee fell to the hosts, 55-20.
Today’s schedule has Stevens meeting Mascoma at 2:30 p.m., with Newport challenging Sunapee at 4. Littleton takes on Monadnock and Hinsdale meets Fall Mountain in the evening winners’ bracket contests.