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Cardinals stay in control in tourney win over Panthers

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Mar 2, 2021

Bishop Guertin's Dylan Santosuosso drives to the hoop against Nashua South's Rhett Medling during the Cards' 63-48 Division I play-in tourney game Monday night at the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Just eight days ago, the Bishop Guertin and Nashua High School South boys basketball teams played a regular season game that was really three games in one.

However, in Monday night’s Division I Region Four tournament play-in game, it was just one game at the Colligadome.

Guertin’s game.

The Cards jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never really looked back in a 63-48 win that sends them to yet another local rematch, this time with Nashua North Thursday in the preliminary round.

“It’s awesome having early momentum,” Cards standout Nate Kane said, as he had 14 points to go with Dylan Santosuosso’s team high 15. “We learned last time we have to play a full game.”

“We didn’t take anything for granted,” Guertin coach John Fisher said. “I didn’t have any confidence until the end of the game. Those kids (for South) played hard every second they were out there.

“We had different schemes we were looking at. Everybody was ready. I could tell in the locker room before – well, not locker room, we have this huge classroom -that they were pretty excited for the game, they were up. It’s South. It’s a rivalry.”

But this one wasn’t as competitive as the first one, even though after BG hit four 3-pointers in the first period – including two by Kane to start the game – the Panthers had the momentum of Jeremiah Mitchell’s buzzer beating 3 at the end of the first period.

That made it 15-12, but the South couldn’t take advantage. The Cards went on a 7-0 run, keyed by a a traditional three-point play by Jordan Robichaud, led 22-12, and took a 27-18 lead into the half.

The points flowed in the third period for Bg (22), the Cards (14-5) led 32-18 just 1:06 into the quarter, and it was basically over.

What hurt the Panthers? Besides the fact they struggle offensively, South turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, 21 for the game.

“That’s been our Achilles,” said South coach Nate Mazerolle, his team’s season done at 4-9 with a tough six game skid to end it. “That and just, we take good shots, they just don’t see them fall. And they (the Cards) have three or four that bounce around the rim and fall. What can you do?”

Keep playing hard, which is what the Panthers did the entire night. But by the end of the third quarter, Guertin, which also got 11 points from John Sullivan, was up 49-32, and the Panthers lacked the firepower to make up that deficit in a short time. They did, though, have three players in double figures, as senior Cody Rochileau had 16 points, Mitchell 11 and Alex Hulfachor 10.

“The kids had confidence going in, great practices leading up to this, I thought we had a good game plan,” Mazerolle said. “I’m very proud of them.”

Now Kane and the Cards look ahead. And they don’t have to look far.

“It feels good, being a Nashua kid, knocking off another Nashua team,” Kane said. “Looking forward to Thursday. It was a ton of fun playing last week (at North).”

And now the fun of a tourney showdown for Kane & Co. will continue.

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