Bedford makes a statement, slams Memorial, 93-47, in Queen City final

MANCHESTER, NH – On paper, Friday night’s Queen City Invitational Basketball Tournament title game had the makings of a classic.

On the court, one team lived up to its early-season hype, while the other learned it’s not quite ready for championship level competition.

Bedford High turned a 15-point halftime lead into a full-fledged rout, blasting Manchester Memorial, 93-47, to claim its first QCIBT championship in the 60-year history of the event. Close to 1,000 fans packed the Memorial High gym, giving the game a “State Tournament” feel.

In many ways, the game was decided in the first three minutes. The Bulldogs ran off the first nine points of the game, then built their lead to 15-2 before the game was four minutes old. Memorial was never able to get closer that six points the rest of the night.

“The big topics of conversation during our shootaround were to maintain their pressure and focus on of defensive transition,” said Memorial Head Coach Danny Bryson. “They hopped on us, what was it, 9-0? and we turned the ball over a few quick times. We were able to get it down to six. But anytime you dig a hole like that, (it’s hard). We fought back but then got ourselves into a little foul trouble.”

Bedford led wire to wire, with leads of 29-16 after one quarter, 45-30 at halftime and 65-39 after three quarters. Luke Soden poured inn a game-high 35 points to lead all scorers and he was named Tournament MVP. Guard Brady
O’Connell added 19 for the winners.

Jack Brooks dropped in 11 points to lead Memorial. Bory Bory added 10 and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Memorial and Bedford seemed to mirror each other heading into Friday night’s tournament final. Both clubs are 3-0 in the regular season, 5-0 if you include the two tournament wins for each.

Bedford reached the title game with a nail-biter over Salem (82-81) and a romp over Exeter (85-51). Memorial reached the final with wins over city rivals Trinity (71-54) and Central (67-59).

Most of Memorial’s problems in the final were self-inflicted. The Crusaders had trouble controlling the defensive glass, giving up 12 second-chance points. They also turned the ball over 17 times, including six times in the first quarter, helping Bedford grab a 15-2 lead.

Memorial fought back, closing to 34-28, with 3:35 to play in the first half, thanks to 3-pointers by Brooks and Aaron Gallagher and a power drive by Bory. But the Crusaders were unable to maintain the momentum. Bedford ramped up its defensive pressure and closed the half on an 11-2 run to take a 45-30 lead into halftime.

Memorial tried to keep it close in the third quarter but foul trouble scuttled any chance at a comeback. Bory picked up his third and fourth fouls and Brooks his third, all in the first two minutes of the quarter. In all, Bedford shot a whopping 16 free throws in the third quarter, making 12 of them to build their lead to 26 points. For the game, free throw attempts were 31-10 in favor of Bedford.

“We are still undefeated in the regular season (3-0) and I don’t think anyone expected us to be where we are, given how young a team we have,” said Bryson. “But this game was a measuring stick of where we are and we learned that we still have a lot of work to do.”

Memorial returns to the court in regular season action on Tuesday, at home, against Trinity. Bedford will be back on Tuesday, on the road at Londonderry.