HANOVER — Covering high school basketball with no fans this season can be noticeable at times. Other moments, the circumstances are completely forgettable.
But Tuesday night at Hanover High was one of those games where identifying the moments where a student section would’ve added to the suspense wouldn’t be hard.
Take Calvin Bates 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining in game. The Lebanon High boys basketball guard hit the huge trey right in front of his team’s bench, which exploded with excitement.
The score put Lebanon up 41-35, making a six-point comeback seem insurmountable for the Marauders. You can almost picture the camouflage-clad Raider student section jumping into a controlled chaos.
Hanover rallied back, however, eventually falling when two longballs missed the mark. The cheers mixed with sighs would’ve been palpable.
Fans can change the trajectory of a game, especially in high school basketball. That was missed on Tuesday when the biggest rivalry in the Upper Valley — Lebanon and Hanover boys basketball — went down to the wire, with the Raiders pulling out a 43-40 victory.
“It’s too bad fans couldn’t of been here,” Hanover coach Tim Winslow said. “They would’ve loved this one; it was exciting. They would’ve been into it because it was close the whole way. I think when Lebanon had that six-point lead in the fourth quarter it was the biggest one they had since 5-0 in the first quarter.”
If COVID-19 hasn’t twisted the norm in high school sports enough this season, Hanover and Lebanon (10-0) will meet twice this week — the second matchup comes Friday at Lang Metcalf Gym. A typical campaign would have the two teams meet a couple weeks apart.
Yet, that’s how it goes. Lebanon coach Kieth Matte said he’d watch some film before hitting practice on Wednesday. He doesn’t mind playing his archrival twice in the last week of the season because the Marauders’ half-court, man-to-man defense provides a needed test.
The timing of the rivalry comes at an important time for both teams.
The NHIAA released tournament seedings last week for the upcoming NHIAA Division II tourney.
Similar to fall’s playoff format, teams have been split into pods by region. Of course, Lebanon and Hanover find themselves together. The Raiders will host the winner of John Stark and ConVal in the preliminary round while Hanover (7-3) welcomes Bow.
Those games are scheduled for Thursday, March 4. The rivals seem to be on a collision course for a quarterfinal showdown on March 6.
“It’s perfect,” Matte said of playing Hanover at the end of the season. “When they announced the playoff pods, sometimes there is this inclination that the rest of the games don’t matter. Well, you need to play at game speed, you need to want to win, you need to execute under pressure. Playing Hanover the last two games of the season is perfect for both of us to play whoever we do in the playoffs.”
The last time Lebanon and Hanover met in the tourney was the 2012 postseason, when the Marauders knocked off their rivals, 52-47, in the quarterfinals.
They seemed destined to meet again in the playoffs last year. After splitting the regular-season series, the NHIAA had them on the same side of the bracket, bound for a semifinal game at UNH’S Lundholm Gymnasium.
Each won opening round games and had favorable matchups in the quarterfinals. But before the contests could be played, they were called off due to the outset of COVID-19. Days later the NHIAA decided end the tournament, giving Lebanon and Hanover a share of second place with three other teams.
“I think what we have to do is take the name off of the uniform,” Winslow said of Friday’s rematch. “We’re playing a really good team; some people think Lebanon is the No. 1 team in our division. So we’re playing against the best team. And I know it is hard to take the name off the jersey, but our job’s not to look at it that way.”
Friday night’s chapter of the rivalry at Lebanon might be a little louder than Tuesday’s since the Raiders allow a few parents to watch.
But the fandom that makes the rivalry the hottest ticket in town is missing this year. And it can’t be substituted.
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.