Porcupines split weekend pair

The Nashua boys' basketball team split its pair of games this weekend, dropping its first game of the season on the road to Culbertson.

On Friday, the Porcupines took on Fairview in Saco as part of a four-team tournament hosted by Saco and Culbertson.

The boys were unable to capitalize on their opportunities in the first quarter, though their defense was stellar. The team held Fairview scoreless for 7:45 of the opening frame but were only able to muster 5 points in the quarter. As a consequence the first half became a struggle for Nashua to try to pull away from the scrappy Warriors.

They finally did find some separation about half way through the quarter, pulling away despite being in heavy foul trouble. Luckily for Nashua, the Warriors missed most of their free throws in the half and the Porcupines were able to take a 21-10 lead into halftime.

The second half is when things got interesting. The Porcupines maintained their lead through the third quarter, but foul trouble started catching up with them in the fourth. Within 5 seconds of each other, both centers, Brandon Hansard and Pick Ackerman, fouled out of the game, leaving Nashua thin with two minutes still remaining in the game.

Fairview took advantage, applying full court pressure, and forcing the Porcupines into mistakes. The Warriors brought the game to an 8-point margin, then got a steal off the inbounds but were unable to convert for a basket. When they attempted to get a rebound the Warriors were called with a foul. One of the Fairview coaches didn't agree with the call and received a double technical for yelling at the referee, giving Nashua four free throws, in addition to the one-and-one for the initial foul.

With only 45 seconds remaining, senior guard Anthony Bengochea stepped to the line and hit all four technical free throws, icing the game for the Porcupines. Nashua won the game 52-38.

“When you step up I the level of competition that's what happens,” head coach Gary Fisher said. “You take the fast breaks when they are there but you have to play a bit smarter down the stretch”

On Saturday, the boys headed to Culbertson and found themselves in an equally tough situation. For the first time this season, the Porcupines trailed after the first quarter, 12-8, as they were again unable to get the fast break going early.

Nashua found its groove in the second, retaking the lead 27-26 at halftime, but the offense stalled again in the second half. The Cowboys outscored Nashua 27-14 to close the game, handing the Porcupines their first loss 53-41.

Hansard score 19 points in the loss to lead the team in scoring.
The Porcupines will take on Hinsdale and Saco/Whitewater this weekend in an effort to get back in the win column.