Hanover
The Division II Marauders fell to 5-1 overall (4-0 in NHIAA), while Littleton — a D-IV school — improved to 7-0 (5-0 in NHIAA).
“It’s fun to come down here,” Crusaders coach Trevor Howard said. “It’s a big court. Up north in Littleton, we play in a lot of small gyms, so coming down here is good for us.”
Littleton, which got a game-high 26 points from Jason Brammer, scrimmaged larger schools, Plymouth and Berlin, during the preseason, which helped the Crusaders prepare for the Marauders.
“This is a big game for them, for sure,” said Tim Winslow, Hanover’s coach. “And I’m not saying it’s not a big game for us. We knew it was going to be a big game for them. They’re playing Hanover in Hanover’s gym; we knew they were gonna come with their ‘A’ game. It’s not a surprise at all. They played well, and they worked hard.”
Both teams essentially traded baskets throughout the first half as Hanover’s run-and-gun approach was overzealous at times, leading to an array of untimely turnovers. The hosts were outmuscled underneath, losing the overall rebounding battle, 30-22.
“We played hard, but we need to play hard and smart,” Winslow said. “If you look at how we rebounded or didn’t rebound, a lot of times we would take a shot and four or five guys would kind of sit and watch and not go after the basket.
“One of the things that we have to do, because we’re not tall, we’ve got to get after it on the glass. And so we really need to understand that better.”
Littleton trailed the Marauders, 34-33, at the end of the first half after Brammer knocked down a running floater from the elbow as time expired.
Hanover led by four when Simon Roach drew an offensive charge with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter, and the score was tied heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a nifty dribble drive by the Marauders’ Charlie Adams.
Jai White, a freshman, grabbed some key rebounds off the bench and scored Hanover’s first four fourth-quarter points from the foul line. The Marauders led, 65-60, when Henry Pikus hit a deep 3-pointer with 3:18 remaining, but they could muster only single layups by Nolan Gantrish and Pikus down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Crusaders’ offense continued to score consistently.
Adams launched a deep 3-pointer as time expired, but the shot was amiss, halting Hanover’s undefeated December.
Howard praised the Marauders’ defensive pressure and intensity.
“This group I have, they don’t go away; they keep battling,” Howard said. “At times it got ugly, and I told them it was going to. (Hanover) plays good D; they’re full-court, in-your-face. … We almost came unraveled at the end, and we gathered ourselves and made plays.
“We had 23 turnovers, which is by far the most we’ve had all year, but Hanover makes you play that way.”
Friday’s loss came despite 23 points from the Marauders’ Pikus. The sophomore drained five of his team’s eight 3-pointers.
“(Pikus) is a very good player, and he plays with an air about him, which is really good,” Winslow said. “He does a nice job.”
Gantrish scored 14 points for Hanover, which got nine points from Adams and eight from Max Galbraith.
Littleton — D-IV champ in 2016 and runner-up in ’17 — placed both Brammer and Daniel Kubkowski (18 points on Friday) on the all-tournament team, with the former claiming MVP honors. Kubkowski, a junior, scored the 1,000th point of his career in Thursday’s victory over Mascoma.
Adams was Hanover’s all-tourney team representative. Mascoma’s Ben Schwarz and Woodsville’s Patrick Reardon-Estes also received all-tourney honors.
■Mascoma defeated Woodsville, 67-40, in Friday’s consolation game. Dakota Decocq led the Royals with 15 points, Schwarz scored 13 and Connor Thompson chipped in 10. The Engineers, who trailed by nine points at halftime, got 14 points from Billy Green.