LEBANON — Defensive stoppers often gain a measure of rest and recovery by not being a focal point on the offensive end of the basketball court. Jackson Stone was afforded no such luxury Saturday at Lang Metcalf Gymnasium as the Raiders defeated Bow, 54-40, in an NHIAA Division II boys hoop quarterfinal.
Stone led the hosts with 17 points while holding Bow’s Matt Lamy to just four points. A standout for the Falcons (14-2), Lamy netted 20 points in their first-round victory at Hanover.
“The reality is there was no game plan,” Lebanon coach Keith Matte said. “It was Jack Stone just playing great defense. We had sort of a different plan, and then we went, ‘Jack, guard him,’ and that was it. And Jack locked him out.
“Jack’s four threes in the first half were pretty great, but we have other kids who could have done that. … I don’t know if we would have won without Jack’s defense tonight.”
The Raiders (13-0) advance to the semifinals, where they will play Laconia — a 52-43 winner over Kingswood on Saturday — in a 7 p.m. semifinal on Wednesday at Exeter High School. It will be Lebanon’s first trip to the semis since 2017, when it won the D-II championship.
Calvin Bates (15 points) and Braeden Falzerano (14 points) helped carry the load offensively on Saturday.
Though spearheaded at times by Stone, the Raiders’ defensive effort was collective.
“Coach really preached help; help defense,” Bates said. “They have a lot of kids. They’re kind of like us. You shut one down, and one can just go off.
“Obviously, we kind of vocalized Lamy and (Shaun) Lover because they were the two main points, but other than that, it was switch on everything and kind of help defense on everyone and don’t let them drive. And I think we did a pretty good job of that in the first and second half.”
Bow, which was led by Lover’s 15 points, jumped out to a 10-7 lead to open the contest, but Lebanon responded with a 14-5 run to end the first half.
Bow cut the lead to one point, scoring on an inbounds play early in the fourth quarter, but Matte’s bunch stormed back quickly with a 3-pointer and free throw by Stone, a transition bucket by Bates and a Karsen Hansen 3-pointer, which gave them a 10-point lead midway through the quarter.
The Falcons called a timeout, but it was too late for regrouping.
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Notes: The Raiders played a localized regular-season schedule due to COVID restrictions. … Last winter’s squad — set to play a road quarterfinal game that was called off due to the pandemic — was ultimately declared one of six runners-up. The top two seeds, Bow and ConVal, were declared 2020’s co-champions. … Lebanon shot 12-for-15 from the foul line and sank eight 3-pointers while the visitors were 8-for-13 from the line and finished with five threes … Each of Lebanon’s players was allowed to invite two guests to Saturday’s game, while the Bow fans had to settle for an array of cardboard cutouts.