WEST LEBANON — The New Hampshire Basketball Coaches Organization delivered two significant awards to the Upper Valley on Sunday and also placed a Lebanon High senior on the Division II all-state first team a day after he won a state championship.
Hanover High girls basketball coach Dan O’Rourke was named the Division II coach of the year for guiding the Marauders to 15 straight victories before last week’s semifinal loss to Kennett. Mascoma High’s Gabe Rock earned the Jack Ford Award for Division III boys, an honor that combines excellence in academics, basketball and community service. The Raiders’ Calvin Bates led his recently crowned teammates by landing first-team all-state honors in D-II.
In his 20th season at the helm, O’Rourke kept the Hanover girls at the top of the divisional conversation despite a pandemic-shortened schedule. Led by the one-two punch of sophomore guard Stella Galanes (19.2 points per game) and junior forward Melissa Whitmore (14.8 ppg), the Marauders outscored their foes by a two-to-one ratio through their 15 wins until Kennett ended their season on Thursday in the D-II semifinals, 51-50 in overtime, at Bedford High School.
Galanes and Whitmore both made the D-II first team with Lebanon High senior Sally Rainey (9.1 ppg). Rainey and Hanover’s Charlotte Johnson landed on the five-player all-defensive team. Lebanon’s Catherine Cole (12.4 ppg) earned all-state honorable mention.
Bates (11.6 ppg) was part of an athletic and versatile Lebanon High boys basketball team that beat Pelham in the D-II title game at Exeter High on Saturday, 40-33, to win the school’s sixth state championship, the second in four years and the third for longtime coach Kieth Matte. Bates had eight points in the victory, including a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers that propelled Lebanon to a 17-10 halftime lead.
In addition to Bates’ first-team mention, the Raiders’ Jackson Stone (10.1 ppg) made the second team and Lebanon’s other two double-digit scorers, Braeden Falzarano (10.9 ppg) and Karsten Hansen (10.8 ppg), earned honorable mention. Falzarano — who had a game-high 13 points in the championship victory — also landed on the all-defensive roster for the division. Hanover was represented by Max Galbraith (11.4 ppg) on the second team.
Rock (9.1 ppg), a senior and Mascoma’s primary second scorer behind first-team selection Ben Seiler (21.5 ppg) during the Royals’ 10-5 campaign, landed the Jack Ford Award for D-III boys, an honor named after the longtime Winnacunnet High head coach and meant to balance the NHBCO’s annual Mr. Basketball honor with considerations from the classroom and community. Rock also made the honorable-mention squad, and teammate Cooper Peavey was chosen for the D-III boys all-defensive unit.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.