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Panthers do the math and come up short, 52-44

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Feb 17, 2018

Staff photo by TOM KING Nashua South's Razz Alkalay goes up for two over Portsmouth's Calvin Hewett during Friday night's 52-44 Clipper win over the Panthers at the Belanger Gym.

NASHUA – Sometimes a basketball game, even a basketball season, is one big math problem.

And when the Nashua High School South boys basketball team does its math, it isn’t liking the results.

The Panthers went 9 for 19 at the free throw line, missed some key easy shots down the stretch, and fell 52-44 to title contender Portsmouth on Friday night at the Belanger Gym. And the loss sinks them to 5-9 as they battle for one of the final spots for the Division I tourney with three games to go.

Making it even more frustrating was more math: The Panthers shuttled five in, five out, playing as many as 10 players, while the 13-2 Clippers were mainly a six man team. Yet the visitors won their eighth straight.

“We shouldn’t have run out of gas,” Mazerolle said. “I don’t think it was out of gas in terms of endurance, because they work hard. It’s ‘Make a layup’. As I told them, make two or three more layups, and then we went 9 for 19 from the free throw line. We’re not going to beat the No. 1 team in the state doing that.”

More frustration: South got out to a 10-0 start, holding the Clippers scoreless for the game’s first five minutes. They led 15-6 at the quarter, but the lead was down to 24-20 at the half, and then 33-30 heading into the fourth quarter.

“We knew they get off to fast starts, and we didn’t play well at the beginning and they did,” said Portsmouth coach Jim Mulvey, who had words with the referees and the scorers table most of the game. “I just think we started playing a little bit better defense. … They’re tough. They keep bringing in fresh bodies and we don’t have a lot of bodies.”

South’s main body, Richie Mercado, did his best to try to keep the Clippers at bay with 21 points. But he was the only Panther in double figures, while Tony Amigo added eight. Portsmouth, however, had three in doubles, led by sharpshooter Max Lincoln’s 17, while Alex Tavares added 14 and Mike Sanborn, 10.

The Clippers took the lead for good, 36-35, when Lincoln hit a trey with 6:25 left, followed by a Tavares layup. South closed to 43-42 on two Amigo free throws with 2:56 left, but the Panthers’ last field goal of the game was a Mercado 3-pointer with 4:18 to play. The Clippers blanketed him the rest of the way.

“They did,” Mazerolle said. “And the offense we were running wasn’t to just get it to Richie. But they did a very nice job. Simple. Make your free throws, one or two more layups, it’s a different ball game.”

Now the Panthers hope it can be a different season, as they will need two or three more wins to be one of the 13 teams under the 70 percent rule to get in. They visit Alvirne and Manchester Central next week, then finish at home vs. Dover and Keene. Math problem is, they are just 2-5 at the Belanger, not having won here since Jan. 2.

“We’re playing our best basketball,” Mazerolle said. “It’s just, make a layup, make a free throw.”

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