2020 NHIAA Division III High School Tournament Box Scores/Highlights
Girls Basketball
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Semifinal: No. 2 Fall Mountain 44, No. 3 Hopkinton 34 | Box Score | Highlights
Avery Stewart scored 16 points as second-seeded Fall Mountain (17-3) ran out to a 17-6 lead after one quarter before dispatching third-seeded Hopkinton (17-4) 44-34 to advance to the championship game of the NHIAA Division III Girls Basketball tournament for the second consecutive year. The Wildcats, who fell to Monadnock Regional High School 51-44 in last year’s title game, made 6-of-13 shots including 3-of-8 from long range in the opening eight minutes while building a double-digit lead, which eventually became a game-high 16 in the final seconds of the opening half after Nora Dunnigan’s basket. The Hawks made things interesting, as they scored the last six points of the third quarter and the opening five of the final period to get within 33-29 on Brooke Carlson’s three with 6:43 to go, but Stewart’s three-point play less than a minute later pushed FMRHS back up seven and wound up being the beginning of a 9-0 run that sealed the game, as Sophie Bardis’ layup with 1:16 remaining made it 42-29. Fall Mountain also received nine points from Makenna Grillone and 10 rebounds from Erin Brady. Hopkinton was led by Brooke Carlson’s nine points. Katie Meserve had 15 rebounds and Ellie Owen 10. The Wildcats outscored HHS 25-5 off turnovers and 16-2 on fast breaks. The Hawks were looking for a second appearance in the final in the last three years, as they fell to Conant 36-30 in 2018.
Semifinal: No. 1 Conant 60, No. 4 Newfound 27 | Box Score | Highlights
Top-seed and unbeaten Conant High School (20-0), who had to grind past Campbell High School in one of their closest games of the year in the quarterfinals this past Saturday, blew past fourth-seeded Newfound Regional High School (17-4) 60-27 in the second semifinal. The Orioles will look for their third Division III championship since 2015 and eighth overall on Saturday afternoon when they take on Fall Mountain at Spaulding Gymnasium (4:00 p.m.). Conant started strong, as they hit six of their first 12 shots, three of them coming from long range, to lead 18-3 after one. They never let the Bears, who had not lost since January 22, back in the game, as the advantage swelled to 32-11 at halftime and 47-18 through three. Silas Bernier tallied game-highs of 18 points (6-10 FG, 5-7 3-PT) and nine rebounds to lead CHS, while Emma Tenters (3-6 FG, 6-7 FT) and Teagan Kirby (4-6 FG, 4-4 FT) each had 12 points. Newfound was paced by Paulina Huckins’ 10 points and five rebounds. However, the Bears, who last played for a title in 2007, were held without a three-point make in the game. Conant and Fall Mountain have never met in a state championship game before.
Championship: No. 1 Conant 51, No. 2 Fall Mountain 42 | Box Score | Highlights
Top-seed Conant High School (21-0) completed an undefeated season and captured their eighth state championship (third since 2015) after surviving a scare from No. 2 seed Fall Mountain Regional High School (17-4) Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium in the NHIAA Division III title game. The 51-42 final marked the Orioles' largest lead of the game, with seven of the points coming in the final minute from the line after CHS led 44-40 following a layup by Brynn Rautiola with 1:33 remaining. FMRHS, who had fallen twice to Conant in the regular season by scores of 66-47 and 66-36, was ahead in this game with a little over six minutes left after a layup by Erin Brady made it 35-34. One of Sophie Bardis' title game-record six threes still had the Wildcats within 42-40 at the 1:58 mark, but Conant was able to hold on, shooting 50 percent from the field and the three-point line in the final eight minutes while making 10-of-16 free throws. Rautiola made 3-of-4 from three and scored 16 points to lead the Orioles. Elizabeth Gonyea had 12 points, and Emma Tenters grabbed 11 rebounds. Bardis finished with 18 points, making 6-of-9 from long range, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Conant has won championships in 1985, 1986, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2018, and 2020. Fall Mountain was bidding for their seventh (first since 1983). The teams combined to shoot 13-of-32 (41 percent) from three-point range. It was just the Orioles' third win by less than double-digits this season.
Boys Basketball
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Semifinal: No. 2 Mascenic 58, No. 3 Somersworth 40 | Box Score | Highlights
Second-seeded Mascenic Regional High School (19-1) turned a tight game into a blowout by outscoring No. 3 seed Somersworth (16-5) 19-5 in the fourth quarter, eventually posting a 58-40 win at Spaulding Gymnasium on the campus of Keene State College. The Vikings shot 50 percent from the field and three in the final quarter, and 9-of-20 from long range in the game, to clinch their first title game appearance since 2000. Trey Shaw poured in five threes (5-10) and 16 points, while Dylan Vaillancourt (5-11 FG, 3-4 FT) had 15 points and Sam Stauffeneker (6-12 FG, 2-4 3-PT) 14. Zach Barthel rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and five rebounds. Somersworth, who fell to Conant High School 61-38 in last year's final, got 14 points from Ethan Johnson (5-7 FG, 2-2 3-PT) and 11 from Travis Wright (5-8 FG, 1-2 3-PT), but was dominated 37-16 on the glass. The Hilltoppers trailed 16-9 through one, but hung around, staying within eight at the break despite 1-of-7 three-point shooting in the opening half. SHS came alive in the third quarter, as they made 6-of-11 from the field and were within 37-35 with 51 seconds left in the third following Luke Monesmith's layup, but it was all Mascenic after that, as Stauffeneker answered on their next possession and triples in the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter by Vaillancourt and Shaw stretched the Vikings' advantage to 48-37. MRHS cruised from there and will look for their second state championship Friday night in their fourth title game appearance. Mascenic won the 1999 Class M championship, defeating Gilford 62-53.
Semifinal: No. 1 Gilford 53, No. 4 Hopkinton 40 | Box Score | Highlights
No. 1 seed Gilford High School (19-1) advanced to the NHIAA Division III championship game for the first time in 13 years after turning away fourth-seeded Hopkinton High School (16-5) 53-40 in the evening's second semifinal. The Golden Eagles never trailed and led 35-18 with 5:31 left in the third, but were thrown a scare when the Hawks reeled off 14 consecutive points, finishing with Kevin Newton-Delgado's pair of free throws that made it a three-point game with six seconds to go in the quarter. However, Gilford's Connor Sullivan quickly flipped momentum in a big way, as he connected on a deep three to beat the buzzer as the Golden Eagles led 38-32 entering the fourth and then held Hopkinton to just 3-for-16 (19%) shooting in the final eight minutes. HHS never got any closer than five after that and eventually found themselves down 49-37 with 1:28 left after a 11-5 burst by Gilford. The Golden Eagles, who outscored Hopkinton 24-11 off turnovers, got a game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 14 rebounds from Adrian Siravo, who also connected on 2-of-3 from deep and had four assists. Sullivan was 3-for-7 from long range and finished with 13 points and three assists. GHS as a team made 6-of-13 (46%) of their triple tries. The Hawks got a double-double from Newton-Delgado, who had 17 points (5-9 FG, 7-11 FG) and 14 rebounds. Shepyrd Murdough finished with 10 points. Hopkinton was bidding for their first state title game appearance since 1966, when they won three straight championships (one Class S, two Class M). Friday against Mascenic, the only team to beat them this season, Gilford will aim for their second title, with the other coming in 2004 (65-62 over Pelham).
Championship: No. 2 Mascenic vs. No. 1 Gilford - CANCELLED
The championship game between top-seed Gilford High School and No. 2 seed Mascenic Regional High School was suspended on the morning of Friday, March 13 by the NHIAA and cancelled on Monday, March 16 due concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak.
