Nashua North fans and players celebrate the Titans' dramatic buzzer-beating win over South in the boys basketball Battle of the Bridge Friday night at Titans Gym. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – He walked back out into Titans Gym Friday night to a loud cheer as people were still mingling, amazed at what they had seen about 15 minutes earlier.

Nashua High School North sophomore guard Andre Kargbo has had a good January, and he ended the month the best way possible: with a buzzer-beating putback to beat rival Nashua South 55-53 in the Battle of the Bridge.

The game became a battle in the second half after South had led 19-6 early, 27-19 at the half, and 41-34 after three. So much so it took a traditonal three point play by Panther Francisco Rodriguez Malignon to knot things at 53 with 16.1 seconds left.

The Titans got the ball to Josh Sullivan who put up a shot from just at the 3-point line that looked like a winner. However it rolled out, but there was the 5-8 sophomore Kargbo to on the weak side to knock the ball in off the glass as the buzzer sounded and send Titans Gym into a frenzy.

“I knew (Sullivan) was going to shoot it, so once he shoots it, I see the ball kind of come towards me,” Kargbo said. “Like I said, we do it in practice. He shot it with about six or seven seconds left, and I went up with it.

“This is a great win, we definitely needed it. Now we have four wins, we’re looking to get to playoffs, so we’ve got to keep fighting. North-South is always a tough game, just got to grind through it.”

Kargbo and speedy backcourt mate Tyson Hoang each had 15 points while Sullivan came alive in the second half with eight points. It was just another example of how the 4-7 Titans fight to the finish while South, which got point guard Josh Tripp back from injury for his season debut, are now 4-6.

“They (South) made everything really difficult, so when that happens, you have to try to get everything you can,” North coach Kyle Tave said. “Crashing on the glass, trying to be opportunistic in that third and fourth quarter is what we really try to do. Turnovers, fast breaks, second chance points.”

We keep finding out over and over that the Titans are never out of a game.

“I think the one thing you talk about is four quarters,” Tave said. “What happens in the first doesn’t dictate. They came in here, they were ready, and with Tripp in, why wouldn’t you want to play Nashua South with all their best players? … It was 19-6, yeah, but four quarters guys.”

South, which was paced by Tripp’s 18 points – the only Panther in double figures – had led by 12 in the third quarter. But the Titans got back into it slowly but surely, and scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 41 on a Sullivan hoop it was Fun in the Fourth.

“They played very well in the second half and the fourth quarter especially, which has been our nemesis all year,” South coach Nate Mazerolle said. “Too much dribbling, too many turnovers, couple key missed layups, and one missed box out right at the end.”

Tripp practiced last Sunday and was set to make his season debut vs. Merrimack on Tuesday but the game was postponed in the aftermath of the snowstorm. It was clear he’ll make a difference after his teammates get used to playing with him.

“When things look awfully dire right now,” Mazerolle said, “Things will get better.”

Nashua South’s Daniel Karavanic tries to thwart a shot by North’s Josh Sullivan (2) during Friday night’s Battle of the Bridge at Titans Gym. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Things were tied at 50 with two minutes to play and stayed that way for awhile but a free throw by North’s Connor Johnston and two more by Hoang gave North a 53-50 lead with 23.8 to play before Malignon’s effort. The first quarter was a distant memory after Kargbo’s game-winning effort play. It didn’t help South that 6-8 junior Daniel Karavanic never got untracked, finishing with just six points with foul trouble and held scoreless in the second half.

“We got content and stopped executing,” Mazerolle said.

“The kids locked in and let the game come to them,” Tave said. “Once we did that, we had a four-quarter barn burner. Tip my cap to both groups of kids out there, it was a battle.”