The Nashua North bench has a glum look in the final moments of Wednesday night's Division I semifinal loss to Goffstown, but there's a good chance theTitans can return to this round next season. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

EXETER – Sometimes there’s a silver lining in a loss, and the sudden gleam in Nashua High School boys basketball coach Steve Lane’s eyes several minutes after the Titans fell to Goffstown 74-58 in the Division I semifinals Wednesday showed it.

“They’re all back,” Lane said in an Exeter High School hallway, referring to his group of what some would call overachievers. “I’m excited about that. … It was a great year.”

It might have been as simple as the fact the No. 2, 17-4 Titans were shorthanded, missing scorers Jack Sullivan (hand) and Thomas Laurendi (leg), while the Grizzlies had their full complement and used an 11-point third quarter by Aiden O’Connell to grab a 49-39 lead after three. An 11-4 run to start the fourth pretty much put the Titans in a hole they couldn’t dig out of and now it will be Goffstown taking on No. 1 Trinity (19-1) in Sunday’s 10 a.m.final at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym. Trinity pummeled Pinkerton in the night cap last night, 74-57.

“They have three or four guys who can pick up the slack when they need to,” Lane said of Goffstown. “Unfortunately, we don’t have all those options.

“Goffstown deserved it. Other kids we didn’t guard, kids we were going to slack off of, stepped up and made some shots.”

The signs were there by halftime, although North was down only five, 29-24 after a 13-all first quarter.

“We were doing what we normally do,” Lane said of the North pressure. “But the ball really didn’t go in in the first half, but I thought we got away by being down only by five at the half, was good. To maintain that in the third, I think we would’ve been in better shape. They’re a super talented team, you’ve got to give them credit.”

Nashua North’s Trevor Labrecque battles to get a shot off against Goffstown’s Ryan Strand during Wednesday night’s Division I semifinals at Exeter. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Still, North’s defensive pressure was still a problem for Goffstown, as it had been for everyone all year.

“They’re amazing, unbelievably athletic, super physical,” Grizzlies coach Ryan Cowette said of the Titans. “…It’s hard to replicate that type of pressure in practice … but we handled it OK.”

And that enabled the Grizzlies to expand on their lead in the third quarter and get to the verge of seizing control of the game.

“We started to move the ball,” Cowette said. “We were talking at halftime we had a few guys who were trying to do too much at times. We’re at our best when the ball moves; it’s going to find who it’s supposed to find. They trusted each other more in the third quarter.”

In that first half, one of the Titan bright spots that Lane can’t wait to have three more years with, freshman Parth Miglani, had eight of his 10 points, helping to keep North in it.

“Parth is unbelievable for North, he’s one of the best shooters in the state,” Cowette said. “For us it was frustrating, because we were talking about trying to take him away and not give him any open looks, but he’s a really good player.”

But on the flip side, the Grizzlies held North’s top scoring threat, Labrecque, to just a bucket in the final seconds of the first half for that first 16 minutes. The North junior finished with a team high 16 with a great second half, but keeping him down for at least two quarter was key for the victors.

“We try not to talk about individuals too much, but Ryan Strand is the best defender in the state of New Hampshire,” Cowette said. “The kid’s unbelievable. He’s just amazing. Give all the credit to Ryan Strand, it was just effort. That’s all it was.”

“He didn’t score with his usual efficiency n the first half, but you’ve got to credit Goffstown,” Lane said. “And they know he’s our main guy to score.”

And on the flip side, Aiden O’Connell was a pistol in the third quarter for the Grizzlies with 11 of his game-high 21 points. Mason Blondeau added 15 while Rob Baguidy, Peyton Strickland and Junah Lopez had nine apiece.

“He (O’Donnell) has been labeled as shooter the last couple of years, he gets to the hoop as well as anyone in the state,” Cowette said. “He’s confident in himself, he plays bigger than he is. That was huge, though. That propelled us in the second half.”

Ironically, the Titans had four players in double figures as Jayden Montgomery had 15 and Derek Finlay with 13 to join Labrecque and Miglani.

And yes, all four are returning.

“It’s really not fun when it’s the last one,” Lane said. “It’s always a tough pill to swallow.”

But if he were to say his team at the start of the season, with the lack of experience it had, was to be the No. 2 seed and reach the semis, “You might have thought I was crazy.”

We won’t next year.