Pythons snap Blue Knights’ win streak, 75-47

PELHAM, NH — There were two lessons to be learned from West High’s 75-47 loss to Pelham High, Thursday night.

1. The No. 2 ranked Pythons are every bit as good as their 13-1 record indicates, and …
2. Whether you play in the Biddy League, the NHIAA or the NBA, you can’t hope to win games if you don’t rebound the basketball.

Pelham raced out to a 34-13 halftime lead and cruised to its ninth win in a row. Zach James, who recently passed 1,000 points for his career, had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the Pythons. Dom Herrling dropped in 18 and Connor Travis added 12.

“They’re a really good basketball team. They beat us in every phase of the game. I would hope that we would learn from this,” said West Head Coach Rich Otis. “We just couldn’t handle their physicality. They were up into us. We’d get by someone and their help defense was right there and we don’t always make the right play.”

Will Tanuvasa had 15 points to pace West, which saw its three-game win streak snapped, The Blue Knights dropped to 10-4, with four games left in the regular season.

The game was decided in the paint, where Pelham dominated. Logan Dumont pulled down 19 rebounds, helping the Pythons to a 46-21 edge on the glass. Pelham had 14 offensive rebounds, leading to 22 second-chance points.

“One of our Achilles’ heels all year has been rebounding,” said Otis. “We just don’t rebound. (The players) just don’t think it’s important. We drill it, we talk about it all the time but we just don’t execute when it comes to rebounding.”

West tried to make a game of it in the third quarter. Early in the quarter, Nathias Obando drained back-to-back 3-pointers from the corner, pumping a little life into the Blue Knights. Later, a steal by Tevin Edmunds led to a dunk by Max Shosa, highlighting a 7-0 run that cut the Pelham lead to 15 (43-28), with just over 3:00 to play in the quarter.

But Pelham kept its composure and found an answer. James hit a deep 3 from the wing, helping the Pythons close the quarter on an 11-4 run and regain control, 54-32.

Edmunds had eight points for West, which made just three 3-pointers, as a team. Obando and Eliel Chavez chipped in with six each.

West has less than 24 hours to lick their wounds. The Blue Knights are back in action tonight, at home against 4-10 Milford at 6 p.m. Their remaining games also include a rematch against Pelham, at home at 6 p.m. on Feb. 16, as well as games against Bow and Souhegan.