Hollis Brookline's Dylan Kelly celebrates a play with teammate Keenan Myers (2) during Tuesday night's Division II clash with Souhegan in Amherst. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

AMHERST – Ryan Kelley’s Hollis Brookline boys basketball team pitched a 14-0 shutout for the first quarter of their game Tuesday night at local Division II rival Souhegan.

But that’s not what he was most happy about. The Sabers put his unbeaten team to the test, and that’s exactly what the coach felt his Cavaliers needed as they held off Souhegan 59-54.

Let’s face it, there haven’t been too many challenges for the 10-0 Cavs this winter, as last night was just the second time in the regular season they’ve won by single digits.

“I’m ecstatic,” Kelley said. “I mean this our closest game so far. I want the challenge. Iron sharpens iron, right? We’ve already played Pelham, Pembroke and Hanover, so I really appreciated what (the Sabers) brought to the table.”

Sabers coach Peter Pierce probably would have liked to have seen way fewer turnovers on that table, and certainly some points in the first quarter.

“They’ve turned other programs over, good programs, but not like we coughed it up,” he said. “They’re good, Alton (6-6 senior Williams) is a lot to deal with and they’ve got good pieces around him. They’re not taken any shortcuts, they deserve everything they’ve gotten.”

“We were just not ready to play, and that’s on me. It was two points with 2:40 left, we were there. But you’ve got to play four quarters, not three.”

Souhegan, which got a game-high 29 points from Weston Hickman, bounced back to come within five in the second quarter, trailed 49-37 heading into the final period. But after Joe Mayo hit a trey from the corner with just under three minutes to play, it was a two-point game. However, HB’s Renzo Bergskaug (team high 14 points) hit a free throw and later stole the ball and drove in for a layup to open the lead to 57-52 with 1:18 to play. The Cavs, who also got 13 points from James Arthur, could breathe easier.

But the key was the start.

“We’ve had a couple of matchups when we’ve come out a little bit slow,” Kelley said. “In all reality our focus in this game was to not wait til the second half. I thought we did a great job coming out off the tip. Sometimes that creates an adrenalin dump. When you’re playing against a strong, smart, intelligent well-coached team, they’re going to find ways to rip open the chink in the armor.”

What limited the Sabers in the first quarter. Williams was a defensive presence around the rim with three early blocks, etc. “We need to see the ball go in,” Pierce said. “I think we only got one shot in the first five minutes. … We were throwing the ball away for no reason.”

For the Cavs, a good start and a good finish.

“We’ve been focusing on how to finish,” Kelley said. “Quite frankly, we’re in control of our destiny. I’m trying to make every game as pressure filled as possible so we can have close games like this an not panic. Sure I think there was a little (panic) out there, but it could have been a lot worse and we’ll learn from this too.”

Souhegan’s Evan Bernasconi tries to shoot over Hollis Brookline’s Alton Williams during Tuesday nights Division II clash in Amherst. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Pierce also thinks this game will benefit hi 5-5 team. They lost to the buzzer vs. another unbeaten, Manchester West, beat Pelham, and feel they’ll be a team to be reckoned with come March.

“We’re going to be fine,” Pierce said. “We’re getting better as we go and we’re going to be fine. We’re playing the meat of the division right now; we’re not getting the reward we want, but we’re not getting blown out. We’re going to have to go on a bus somewhere (in the tourney), it might as well be Hollis or West.”