Merrimack's Jenson Monroe looks up at a leaping Nashua South's Samson Akotey during Friday night's game at the H. Dana Taylor Gym in Merrimack. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MERRIMACK – Where were you the night Logan Day stole the ball?

Those who were at Merrimack High School’s H. Dana Taylor Gymnasium on Friday night saw one of the best defensive efforts of the local high school boys basketball season in the Tomahawks’ thrilling 57-56 win over Nashua South.

The only words uttered by everyone after the Merrimack students mobbed the court at the final buzzer were “Logan Day.” Day stepped in the passing lane and intercepted a pass from the Panthers’ Zac Castonguay to teammate Josh Caruso in the final seconds to secure the win, giving Merrimack its eighth win (8-8) and sending South to is fourth straight loss (9-7).

Day was a thorn in Caruso’s side the entire game, but mostly in the second half, holding the junior scoring sensation to just eight points in the second half. He followed him everywhere, and will probably on the floor waiting for Caruso at his house when he gets up this morning.

“Oh he’s an animal,” Tomahawks coach Austin Denton said of Day. “That kid is a First Team All-State guy. He denied the hell out of the ball the whole game. We were talking through it. Josh hit some tough, tough shots in the first quarter. Tough ones in the first half. Logan kept digging in, just kept grinding. I said, ‘Just wear him down, wear him down.'”

He did just that.

“A microcosm of just what you’re talking about, when have you ever seen Josh Caruso miss two free throws?” South coach Nate Mazerolle said of an event that occurred midway through the fourth quarter. “We’re relying too much on he and Zac. And they’re both banged up. … But they’ve got to play and they know that.”

Lost of course in Day’s heroics was the winning basket, a driving layup by the ‘Hawks’ David Roy with 8.8 seconds left after Castonguay put the Panthers up 56-55 with a traditional three-point play with 21.1 ticks to go.

“When we need a good, tough stop, we can’t get it,” Mazerolle said.

The Panthers looked early on like they might roll. Caruso and Castonguay (17 points) were rolling, hitting tough shots off the dribble en route to a 24-15 lead. But the Tomahawks got their inside game going, whittled the deficit down to 28-25 at the half and then enjoyed a 9-0 run to start the second half and lead 34-28.

“We didn’t score in the first quarter,” Denton said. “I said guys, we’re exactly where we want to be. We came out, hit some shots and got it inside.”

That’s the other problem South had, as in the third quarter, which ended 43-41 Merrimack, the Tomahawks were able to pound the ball down low and come away with points. The Hawks’ Jenson Monroe’s 18 points was proof of that.

“We knew we were bigger and stronger,” Denton said. “We just said hey, keep throwing it in there. Sometimes it didn’t work out, but we just kept after it. I said just keep going to get the rebound and put it back in.”

Still, the lead changed hands a few times before Roy’s driving layup.

The Panthers called time with 8.8 seconds to play, and had to go the length of the floor. Castonguay got it down and tried to get the ball toward the middle to Caruso. Nope.

Castonguay, an elite point guard, had two choices, but unfortunately he made the wrong one.

“I told him we’re running a play we have to get it to Josh,” Mazerolle said, “but if you can keep going, keep going.”

Nashua South’s Josh Caruso can’t get a shot off thanks to the defense of Logan Day, left, and Jenson Monroe during the first half of Friday night’s Divison I game in Merrimack. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

And now the Panthers have to keep going hoping to get on track in the regular season’s final week. “We’re in a rut, but we’ll figure it out,” Mazerolle said.

The Tomahawks hope this gets them going.

“This was huge,” Denton said. “Gets us to eight wins (and .500), which is where we want to be.”

Day had six points, but no one really noticed. Fans were walking out of the gym in amazement of the defensive job he did on Caruso.

“That was his only job all night,” one woman was overheard saying as she walked out. “They didn’t care what else he did.”

For Merrimack, the end definitely justified the means.

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