KEENE, N.H. - The 2019 Noyes Volkswagen Holiday Tournament is underway, and Murdock, Sunapee, Newport, Smithfield (R.I.) B, Smithfield (R.I.), Mamaroneck (N.Y.), ConVal, and Keene all nabbed victories on the first day of three in the annual event at Spaulding Gymnasium.

White Division:  Mount Royal vs. Murdock (Mass.)

Luis Maldonado scored 16 points and Kevin Pesce went 5-for-8 from three-point range as Murdock (Mass.) held off Mount Royal 52-44 in the tournament opener.  The Blue Devils led 25-21 at halftime and then pulled away with an 18-6 third quarter.  The Knights drew within eight in the final quarter and outscored Murdock 17-9 in that frame, but came up short after trailing by as many as 16.  Mount Royal was led by Louis Larosiliere's 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting.  MRA outshot the Blue Devils 42.2% to 30.2% overall, but went just 4-of-13 at the foul line.

White Division:  Fall Mountain vs. Sunapee

Sunapee scored the first 12 points of the game, led 20-4 after one quarter and cruised to a 63-28 win over Fall Mountain.  Harper Flint posted a 14-point double-double to lead the Lakers, while Jordan Chappell finished with 12 points and four steals.  Sunapee shot 43% from the floor in the win and limited the Wildcats to just 10-of-52 shooting.  Brady Elliott paced Fall Mountain with 12 points, but was the lone Wildcat in double-figures.  Sunapee advances to one of Saturday's White Division semifinal games against Murdock (Mass.) at 4:00 pm.

White Division:  Wilton vs. Newport

Will Cross finished with 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting as Newport rebounded after seeing a 15-point lead vanish to beat Wilton-Lyndeborough 61-56.  The Tigers led for the entirety of the opening half, including by 15 at the 6:42 mark of the second quarter, but the Warriors rallied to lead by five with just over four minutes left in the third and later were up 42-39 entering the final eight minutes.  However, Newport made 9-of-17 shots in the fourth and outscored Wilton 22-14 in the period to surge back in front.  WLHS made just 6-of-20 in that frame.  Jack Schwab (34 points) and Kyler Tremblay (20 points) scored in double-figures for Wilton.

White Division:  Hinsdale vs. Smithfield (R.I.) B

Led by 10 points each from Joshua LeHane and Jacob Harris, Smithfield (R.I.) B advanced to the semifinals of the White Division with a 52-28 victory over Hinsdale Friday afternoon.  The Sentinels led 25-17 at halftime and pulled away for good by outscoring the Pacers 17-2 in the third quarter.  Hinsdale, who got nine points and five rebounds from Bayden Eastman, was outscored 17-5 off turnovers and shot 27% in the contest.

Red Division:  Smithfield (R.I.) vs. Wells (Maine)

Smithfield (R.I.) put three players in double-figures and overcame a 35-30 halftime deficit to defeat Wells (Maine) 63-56 in a back-and-forth Red Division affair.  The Warriors shot 53% in the contest, but committed 18 turnovers and went 13-for-23 at the foul line.  They were led by Nate Chandler's 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and five rebounds, while Caleb Corey finished with 14 points (5-10 FG, 3-6 3-PT).  The Sentinels made 8-of-17 from long range and outrebounded Wells 28-23, including 8-3 on the offensive glass.  Justin Tedeschi led the winners in scoring with 19, making 4-of-8 from three, while Christian Carmosino made 4-of-7 from deep and 6-of-10 overall to score 16 points.

Red Division:  Coe-Brown vs. Mamaroneck (N.Y.)

Mamaroneck (N.Y.) began their Red Division title defense with a runaway 78-23 win over Coe-Brown Friday evening at Spaulding Gymnasium.  The Tigers scored the opening 17 points, led 23-5 after one quarter and were never threatened while shooting 59% (30-for-51) overall and 17-of-22 at the free throw line.  Nathan Friedman finished with 16 points and five rebounds for Mamaroneck, while Will Webb tossed in 13 and Thomas Plunkett 12.  Alex Verni grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points.  The Bears received 10 points from James Noble, but made nine field goals and were outrebounded 49-19.

Red Division:  ConVal vs. Conant

ConVal advanced in the winners bracket after holding off Conant's second half charge in a 39-33 victory.  The Cougars led 22-9 at halftime, holding the Orioles to just two field goals, but Conant scored 14 points alone in the the third and drew within seven (30-23) entering the final eight minutes.  ConVal only scored nine points in the fourth quarter, but was able to hold on behind Connor Buffum's 17-point effort.  Anthony Gauthier scored 19 points to lead Conant with 16 of them coming after halftime.

Red Division:  Monadnock vs. Keene

Noah Timmer finished with 23 points (17 in the first quarter) on 10-of-21 shooting while also adding eight rebounds and three steals as Keene scored 51 points in the first half and ran away from Monadnock, winning 87-58 in the finale of the opening day of the tournament at Spaulding Gym.  The Blackbirds made 11-of-18 shots in the opening quarter and connected on 5-of-7 from deep while building a 31-17 lead, an edge they would never relinquish.  Keene outrebounded Monadnock 52-34, including 24-4 on the offensive end, and turned the ball over just five times.  Monadnock was led by Kevin Putnam's 19 points on 11-of-13 free throw shooting.  Jake Kidney added 18 points, 16 of which came in the first half.