Blue Hawks soar past Crusaders, 56-38

MANCHESTER, NH — It’s clear to anyone who has seen the Memorial boys basketball team play, the Crusaders have the talent to play with any squad in Division I.

But if they hope to make a deep tournament run, they’re going to need better effort than they showed Friday night, in a lackluster 56-38 loss to Exeter High.

The win was the seventh straight for the Blue Hawks (12-3).

The 38 points were a season low for Memorial (8-7) and it was just the third time they have been held under 50.

The more telling statistic is that Memorial led, 14-8, early in the second quarter, then scored just 24 points over the final 23 minutes.

”I told these guys that the two keys to this game were going to be rebounding and limiting our turnovers and I think both those things cost us, especially in the second half,” said Memorial Coach Danny Bryson. “We were just throwing the ball around and it seemed like (Exeter) was beating us to every loose ball.”

Exeter point guard Nate McNeff led all scorers with 20 points. Forward Nik Greco added 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Jack Brooks had 10 points to lead Memorial (8-7)  but he was held to just three points over the final three quarters.

Bory Bory and Christian Bilolo added seven points each.

If 16 turnovers slowed the Memorial offense to a crawl, missed opportunities brought it to a screeching halt. The Crusaders missed 10 shots in the paint, many coming on offensive rebounds.

But while the offense sputtered, defense kept Memorial in the game. Aggressive play by Bilolo, Bory and Jake Ornelas forced several Exeter turnovers in the second quarter.

A layup off a steal and two free throws by McNeff helped Exeter go up 24-20. But Ornelas took a beautiful pass from Devin Lavallee and finished off the fast break to pull the Crusaders to within two at the half.

Bryson was hoping his team would find its footing at halftime but it wasn’t to be. The Crusaders came out sloppy, turning the ball over on four of their first six possessions of the half.

Exeter took full advantage, going on a 12-4 run to build a 36-26 lead.

From there, the Blue Hawks’ lead steadily grew. A putback by Nate Tomasi and a 3-pointer from Greco made it 41-28.

Memorial had one last push to try and climb back in the game. Brooks drilled his second three of the game and Bilolo scored on a strong drive, cutting the Exeter lead to 41-35 early in the fourth.

But that was as close as the Crusaders would get. McNeff and Greco sparked a 9-0 run for Exeter, pushing the lead to 50-35.

Memorial will look to get back on track Tuesday at 6:30 pm at Spaulding.