Bishop Guertin's Connor McGowan goes up for two of his game-high 30 points ahead of Merrimack's Nate Johnson during Thursday night's Division I game at Merrimack's H. Dana Taylor Gym. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MERRIMACK – They had a day to get over the fact they gave up 80-plus points in their own gym, and that meant focusing on the defensive end, period.

Mission accomplished for the Bishop Guertin High School boys basketball team, as the Cards kept the Merrimack Tomahawks scoreless for a nearly eight minute (7:45) span from the latter part of the third quarter into a good chunk of the fourth en route to a 58-51 win at the H. Dana Taylor Gym.

“We only had a one-day turnaround from Tuesday’s game (an 82-73 loss to Salem), but the focus of yesterday’s practice was defense,” BG coach Will Horn said. “We didn’t really like the way we competed on Tuesday night. … We hadn’t thought we brought our defensive toughness that we can bring, and tonight we showed that, which was great. We needed it.”

Both teams did. The Cards pulled back to .500 at 6-6 while the ‘Hawks dipped below that mark to 5-6.

“We need to find some wins,” Merrimack coach Austin Denton said after the team’s third straight loss and back-to-back at home. “It’s gonna be tough. But if you don’t score, you don’t win …

“In the fourth quarter we had wide open looks. We were getting the ball around the foul line. I told them, ‘Guys, you’re getting some great looks, just put it in the hoop. We missed layups. I think throughout the whole game I don’t think we made shots. And they (the Cards) weren’t even making them at the start of the fourth quarter. Eventually it’s going to catch up to one of us.”

How cold did Merrimack get? They were up 42-37 with 1:43 late in third and they didn’t score again until Ryan Elliott hit two foul shots wih 2:06 remaining. By that point Guertin was in near complete control, up 54-44.

“After the Salem game we realized we had to get a win,” BG junior Connor McGowan,, who led all scorers with 30 points, said. “We came out with energy in the second half. We can’t get anoher loss, backs against the wall, and we turned it up I guess.”

Merrimack’s Nate Johnson is pressured by Bishop Guertin’s Connor McGowan, right, and Matt Chau during Thursday night’s game at the H. Dana Taylor Gym. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Merrimack’s Nate Johnson is pressured by Bishop Guertin’s Connor McGowan, right, and Matt Chau during Thursday night’s game at the H. Dana Taylor Gym. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Merrimack was paced by Noah Morrison, who had 20 points, and 10 each by Elliott and Nate Johnson. The ‘Hawks jumped out to a 19-12 first quarter lead, BG eventually tied it, a Johnson buzzer beater gave the ‘Hawks a 31-29 lead and it was 44-42 BG with a 7-0 quarter ending run, and no one knew it was the start of something bigger. But it could have gone the other way quickly.

“We talked about it, with these kids, it’s a lot of fear,” Horn said. “Same thing from last year. We get to this point, you’re not sure what the number is to get into the tournament. We talked a lot about faith over fear and the kids had a trust and faith in their teammates tonight.”

They should in have it in Matt Chau. He had nine for BG, and he hit one of the game’s biggest shots, a 3-pointer with 3:35 left, that gave the Cards a 52-42 lead. But what was amazing aobut it was he had to be helped off the floor minutes earlier with what looked like a game-ending ankle injury.

Guess again.

“He’s had some ankle trouble for the last couple of years, it’s been killing him,” Horn said. “He knows how to tape it up quick and get back out. He’s the only senior we’ve got on the team. He’s our senior captain, and he’s a warrior, man. He understands there’s only so many of these opportunities left.”