The Alvirne High School Boys’ Basketball team was saddled with a difficult overtime loss in Salem, but then bounced back with a convincing victory against the Londonderry Lancers in Hudson last week.
The Broncos week started at Salem High School, on Tuesday night, Jan. 14, where one quarter of low scoring by AHS allowed the Blue Devils back in the game and finished with a 71-66 overtime loss.
The Alvirne squad started strong against the 1-4 Salem team, leading 12-8 coming out of the first quarter, and 29-27 after two.
In the third, AHS maintained their lead, out-shooting the Blue Devils 21-20, to lead 50-47 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, a 9-12 scoring deficit tied the game and sent the teams into overtime.
There, the Alvirne scoring struggles continued, putting up just seven to Salem’s 12, for the six-point loss.
Senior center, Andrew Deely led the Broncos in scoring with 15-points, getting seven baskets and one free-throw.
Junior forward Garrett Hall and senior forward Alex Valenzuela both added 10-points with each getting two, three-pointers.
Senior guard, Sam Dewitt finished with eight-points, most of which came by way of foul shots. Dewitt hit six of seven at the foul line and had one two-pointer.
Three Broncos tallied seven points. Senior guard, Gabe Conrow, junior forward Jacoby Durham and senior guard Evan Bettencourt all finished with seven.
Three nights later, on Friday, Jan. 17, the Broncos started strong, in front of the home crowd, to lead the Londonderry Lancers from start to finish for a 54-43 victory.
Deely drove to the basket to put up eight points and Dewitt hit two from outside the arc to help give AHS a 16-7 lead after one quarter.
The Broncos held Londonderry to just five in the second quarter and put up 14 of their own for an overwhelming 30-12 lead going into the break.
In the third quarter, the teams were separated by just one-point, 11-10, and the Broncos had a 41-22 lead heading into the final period.
In the fourth, the Lancers scored 21-points, mostly behind the efforts of senior forward Mason Paquette, who finished the game with 21-points, just two shy of a career 1,000-points.
Hudson’s Deely also finished with 21-points, getting ten baskets and going one for three at the foul line.
Dewitt finished with eight-points, two, three-points and two for four at the line.
Valenzuela and Bettencourt both had seven-points, Conrow got six, and Hall had five.
Head coach Mitchell Roy commented after the game, “Awesome defensive focus by our guys tonight, I was really proud of the effort and attention to detail. Career high night for Andrew Deely, he has been working really hard and it is starting to show. After a rough past couple of weeks, I am super proud of how our guys battled for this.”
The now 4-4 Broncos boys were scheduled to play two teams strubbling to win this week, starting with the Timberlane Owls (0-9) at home on Tuesday, Jan. 21. On Friday night, Jan. 24, the team will head to Concord High School to attempt to serve up another loss to the Crimson Tide (0-8).