Nashua North's Trevor Labrecque blocks a shot by Merrimack's Kobe Pimentel during the Titans' 63=54 win in Nashua Monday night. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – They had bumps and bruises, as Nashua High School North boys basketball coach Steve Lane shook his head.

“Thousands,” Lane said. “We’re going to have to ice kids down tomorrow and do things for maintenance.”

But it was all worth it as North improved to 4-0 on the season with a 63-54 win over a tough Merrimack team Monday night. Kids from both teams hit the floor, but not as many could score the way North freshman Parth Miglani (19 points) and junior Trevor Labrecque (18), not to mention the Tomahawks’ Jack Tarleton (game high 27 points) did.

Still, it was the North resolve that left Merrimack coach Austin Denton impressed the most.

“They’re not big, but you know what they’re going to do? They’re going to fight you the whole way through,” said Merrimack coach Austin Denton, who’s own team is 1-3 but still much improved and more athletic than last season’s one-win team. “The Labrecque kid’s tough, They’ve got Jayden (Montgomery) who is a good point guard, and the other kid’s (Miglani) a freshman who can shoot it.”

Can he ever, as he hit five 3 pointers, exploding for four of them to highlight his 16-point second quarter, turning a 20-15 deficit into a 33-25 halftime lead.

But the Tomahawks, behind Tarleton, stormed back with an 11-0 run to start the third and grab a 36-33 lead, ending with Issac Ynfante’s dunk.

But the Titans weren’t bothered a bit. Labrecque had eight points in the third, a Montgomery gave North the lead for good during an 11-2 run and when Miglani hit his lone 3-pointer of the second half, a buzzer-beater, North had a 49-42 lead going into the final eight minutes.

“Obviously Parth, being a freshman, you never know what to expect on a nightly basis, but I tell you what, he stepped up big for us tonight as we were stagnant in the offensive end (in the first half). He’s fearless, he spends hours and hours after practice using the shooting machine….

“And I though Trevor and Jayden Montgomery were super in the second half, getting us opportunities. … It’s a great team win, beating a very good Merrimack team that’s going to beat a lot of teams coming up this year.”

Tarleton hit a big trey late and Merrimack was within 59-54 with just under 50 seconds to play, but North hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch to ice it.

“That (third quarter) was the turning point,” Denton said. “And we didn’t do a very good job in the first half of playing defense. Our whole thing was get back on defense, find the guys, and we didn’t do a very good job communicating. I think that’s what it came down to, defense. … We didn’t stop the point guard (Montgomery) from being out of the paint.”

Still, Denton knows he has a “better basketball group” than last year.

North has to be happy where they’re at, as they go into a huge road game Wednesday vs. Goffstown, now 4-0 with double digit wins in all four games.

“We have some kids who have experience but now we have some kids who are filling roles they hadn’t before,” Lane said, adding the defense of players like Jack Sullivan, Jack Peters and Derek Finlay helped last night. “They have the opportunity for some playing time and they’ve taken advantage of it to this point.”

And the Titans are looking good. Bruises and all.