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Senior Sendoff: Cards pull away from Broncos at right time

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Mar 2, 2023

Bishop Guertin's Spencer Matarazzo (45) and Alvirne's Garrett Hall have their eyes on the ball during Wednesday night's Divison I first round game at the Colligadome. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It was Senior Night II at the Bishop Guertin High School Colligadome Wednesday.

Unofficially.

That night where seniors are honored actually took place a week ago, but last night was a night when the Cardinal seniors had to take charge in their final appearance on the Guertin floor. And they led their team to a 50-34 Division I preliminary round win over a younger, less experienced Alvirne team whose success is down the road.

“It’s definitely a great feeling to get the win, especially the last time playing (at home), and it means a lot to all of our seniors,” Guertin’s Matt Santosuosso, who led the No. 5, 14-5 Cards with 13 points.

Guertin has 11 seniors on the roster, eight more than the Broncos. Case closed.

“In the tournament, you win with seniors,” Guertin coach John Fisher said, his team now advancing to face city rival Nashua South in Saturday’s quarterfinals. “You saw how those guys were playing at the end of the game. There’s a little something extra when you think it could be your last game.

“It was so hard holding these guys in practice. They went through practice (Tuesday) 100 miles an hour, and we went through a walk-through today, they were just rarin’ to go. That’s just the way it gets.”

But the Broncos, despite their 12th seed and 7-11 record, weren’t backing down right away. The Cards led 14-7 early but just 24-19 at the half. It was still only 38-29 after three when Guertin went on a 10-0 run as the Broncos went scoreless for the first six minutes of the final quarter. In other words, the worst possible time.

“We needed to play better defense,” Fisher said. “Alvirne was hitting their shots. They’ve got shooters. They’ve got basketball players. That’s a team that’s good now, but they’re going to be great in the future.”

At some point, young teams play like young teams in the tourney. The Broncos didn’t have a double figure scorer, as their sharpshooter, sophomore Sammy DeWitt, and one of their three seniors, Cam Kruger, led them with nine points each.

“I was hoping we’d be against the grain on that one,” Alvirne coach Leo Gershgorin said of the perils of youth. “We had a great game plan coming in, we understood their offense. Our guys did a really nice job on the defensive end. It was more the offensive end, the turnovers, and we couldn’t knock down a couple of key shots.”

Tyler Mackey, whose layup started the fourth quarter run, finished with nine points, along with fellow senior Spencer Matarazzo.

And now it’s back to South, where the Cards got a huge 70-66 win back in early January.

“But this is a completely different thing,” Fisher said. “This is a great opportunity. … It’s going to be a great game.”

Where seniors on both teams will be fighting to extend their high school basketball careers. Yes, it’s tourney time.