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Jordan Lates leads Nashua North in OT upset of Bishop Guertin

By Staff | Feb 22, 2014

NASHUA – Jordan Lates has been in a mini-slump recently. Then again, so has the entire Nashua North boys basketball team. The Titans lost four straight heading into Friday night’s matchup with Bishop Guertin, including a 37-point loss on their home court to Manchester Central on Thursday night. That all changed Friday at the Colligidome.

Lates scored a game-high 35 points – 33 in the second half alone – including the game-winning 3-pointer with seven seconds left in overtime to complete a rally for the ages in North’s 75-73 upset over a Division I title-contending BG squad (12-4).

“I just wanted to win,” said Lates, whose Titans are 5-10 and on the bubble of sneaking into the last tournament spot. “We were pushing the whole game. I just had to make the shot. I just had to make the shot. It was going through my head that I’m going to hit this shot.”

North coach Steve Lane knew Lates put the Titans on his back in the second half, but how his team got to its mid-court celebration was all a blur.

“I have no idea how many points he had. I don’t know how many assists he had. I don’t know how many free throws he made,” said Lane of Lates performance, “but that’s what your senior leaders are kind of supposed to do.

“In a game like that, it’s a little close and a little of tight. He makes all of his free throws down the stretch. He made some huge shots. He’s kind of been in a little funk lately as far as scoring the basketball, and that happens to good players. He’s a good player, and I’m proud of him tonight. I’m happy for him.”

Trailing by one with 26.3 seconds left in overtime, BG’s Kyle Gavin finished off a nifty pass from Joe Marandola on the left wing to give the Cardinals the edge with 18.2 seconds left. It was short-lived as North got the ball up court and swung it to Lates for the winner from behind the arc. BG lost possession on its end of the floor. A deep North inbound pass with .8 seconds left was tipped by a Cardinals defender and time ran out.

“They played very, very well,” said BG coach Jim Mignault of the Titans. “The Lates kid is a good player. Their role players played very well. I thought they played a good game tonight. Defensively, they hung in. Offensively, they moved the ball well. We missed a bunch of foul shots, but no excuses. They played very well. It was their night.”

North’s senior guard was held to just two free throws through the first two quarters as the Titans appeared overmatched heading into halftime with a 14-point deficit (32-18) to the Cardinals. North came out of the break with an itchy trigger finger, firing away from beyond the arc and draining five – three from Lates and one each by Brendon Barrett and Drew Sheridan – during the third quarter as the Titans cut the lead to nine (50-41) heading into the fourth quarter.

A 12-4 run to open the fourth quarter, highlighted by an NBA 3-pointer by Lates and a strong drive to the net by Brennan Kastens, got North within one with 4:48 left in regulation at 54-53. On the other end, Marandola pushed the Cardinals back up by three with a nice move to the basket. Barrett then tied things up 56-56 with his third 3-pointer of the night for North. A defensive stop gave the Titans the ball again with a chance to take the lead. Lates did just that for North. After being fouled on a missed 3-point attempt, Lates sunk two of three free throws and the Titans had their first lead of the game, 58-56, with 3:30 left to play in regulation.

“That’s a very good team that we played tonight,” Lane said, “but I’m going to go on our end and give my kids a lot of credit tonight. Being down 14 the kids could have quit. They could have rolled over. They could have gone home. They could have said it’s over, but they didn’t. They chipped away, chipped away, chipped away and then Jordan hit a big shot to seal it for us.”

Another offensive miss for BG allowed North to extend the lead on two more Lates free throws – he would finished the night 14 for 18 from the charity stripe.

Trailing 60-56, BG’s Gavin took charge. Gavin, who finished with a team-high 19 points, would hit four of his own free throws, sandwiched around another Lates bucket. Gavin’s 3-point attempt with 25 seconds left rimmed out into the waiting arms of Marandola, who drove to the net for two and a 62-62 tie with 21.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

With possession and the last shot on their mind, the Titans set a play that eventually found a semi-open Demitri Jackson on the left baseline. The junior’s jumper missed and the game went into overtime.

“We’ve been struggling,” said Lates of the Titans. “I was struggling. I was trying to find my shot mostly. I was trying to find my shot. I felt uncomfortable on the basketball court sometimes. I wasn’t driving as much as I usually do. I wasn’t shooting as much as I usually do. This game, Coach Lane, we had a conversation about being positive attitude-wise and getting up, getting hyped. That’s exactly what I did tonight. Just came out, got the job done and felt good for getting this W definitely.”

at Nashua

NASHUA NORTH (75)

Jordan Lates 8-14-35, Brendon Barrett 4-2-14, Brennan Kastens 4-2-10, Drew Sheridan 1-5-8, Demitri Jackson 1-4-6, Ricky Constant 1-0-2. Totals: 19-27-75.

BISHOP GUERTIN (73)

Kyle Gavin 5-9-19, Joe Marandola 7-3-17, John Noon 4-2-12, Jack Zimmerman 2-2-7, Chad Olivieri 2-0-5, Andrew Williams 2-0-4, Alex Arika 1-1-3, Costas Niarhos 1-0-2, Kyle Lavoie 1-0-2, Ryan McGaughey 0-2-2. Totals: 25-19-73.

NORTH (5-10) 5 13 23 21 13 – 75

BG (12-4) 18 14 18 12 11 – 73

3-pointers: NN – Lates 5, Barrett 4, Sherian; BG – Noon 2, Zimmerman, Olivieri. Next: North hosts Manchester Memorial, 6:30 p.m. Monday; BG hosts Concord, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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