Nashua North's Gavin Theriault, left, and Zion Melendez celebrate on the bench during the Titans' Division I quarterfinal win over Windham on Saturday in Nashua. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It was a Titan-ic win to say the least.

Those who have followed the Nashua High School North boys basketball team all season know in the last six weeks they will never let their ship sink.

Thus, down 28-18 in the second quarter against No. 6 Windham in the Division I quarterfinals at Titans Gym, they put together a run that brought them to 30-29 at the half and then started the third quarter with a 6-0 run en route to a 70-60 win. That triumph puts them in the Division I semifinals for the third straight year, Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. vs. defending champion Bedford at a site to be determined.

“We came out a little slow in the first quarter, rushing ouselves, not playing at our own pace,” said North junior Parth Miglani, who had a game-high 24 points including a big 3-pointer early in the second half to help start the Titans on their way. “Coach called a time out, got us under composure, we caught our breath and it was our game from there.”

Alize Roig-Cortez hit a trey to start the second half and then Miglani hit a big 3 with about a minue left in the third that gave the Titans a 49-42 lead going into the fourth quarter. They never lost the lead, and the Jags, who finish at 13-7, never got closer than four.

“Make a few shots, that obviously helps,” North coach Steve Lane said, his red-hot 16-4 team now riding a 12-game win streak. “I think our conditioning helps the way we try to wear people down. Don’t kid yourself, that (Windham) team is super good. … We just happened to make a few more than them. And the Luke Peters crew showed up again in the second half, just guarding.”

At halftime, Lane said it felt like “we were down a million. … They took what we said at halftime, hardly turned it over, and dominated the defensive boards. Did (Windham) score? Yes. But they did the things we asked them to do. I couldn’t be any happier.”

“We knew it was going to be a game of runs,” Windham coach Carson Desrosiers said. “A game of punches thrown. We threw a couple of haymakers in that first half , they responded. They threw that first haymaker in the second half, and from that point we were playing behind a little bit. … We were always in the game but just didn’t come up with enough plays at the end of the game.”

Nashua North’s Gavin Theriault tries to control the ball as he goes up against Windham’s Jack Begley during Saturday’s Division I quarterfinal in Nashua. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

That’s because the Titans went 11 of 15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, with Jaden Pena scoring eight of his 10 points during that time. Robinson Rodriguez had 11 while defensive stalwart Peters added 10.

Windham was led by 12 points each by Jack Murphy, Jack Begley, and Caden Bouchard. But a big key was the fact Bouchard had three treys in the second quarter as the Jags built their early lead, but then just one thereafter. That’s due to the Titan defense.

“I’m just happy,” Lane said, “that we get to play on Wednesday. Good stuff.”

The stuff really, really good teams are made of.

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