Winnacunnet rallies past Central, 61-56

MANCHESTER, NH – In a game featuring wild momentum swings, the team making the last big run generally comes out on top.

Such was the case Thursday night, as Winnacunnet High rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to pick up its first win of the season, 61-56, over Central.

Tyson Khalil led the Warriors with 17 points, including going 13-of-15 from the free throw line. Center Andrew Simmons, who provided all kinds of matchup problems in the paint for Central, dominated the glass with 22 rebounds, to go along with 13 points and three blocked shots.

Izaya Diaz led Central with 16 points. Wes Almeda came off the bench to add nine points and a pair of steals.

“Winnacunnet is a very well-coached team. They would up hitting some big shots in the third and fourth quarters,” said Central Head Coach Sudi Lett. “We kind of lost a little bit of our rhythm. But, you know, no moral victories, so we’re off to the next one.”

Central (1-3) led by eight points (29-21) at halftime and by 10 early in the third quarter, before Winnacunnet (1-3) began to heat up from the perimeter. Christian Chartier hit twice from behind the arc and Tim Kollmorgen (15 points) added another to pull the Warriors to within 31-30.

Central had an answer in the person of  guard Wes Olmeda. The “super sub” came off the bench to add some defensive intensity and a dose of instant offense, sparking an 11-4 run to put the Little Green up, 43-34, with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter.

It appeared the Little Green would be able to carry most of that lead into the fourth quarter but Khalil was fouled by Central’s Mohammed Mohammed, while attempting a three-pointer with just four-tenths of a second left on the clock. Khalil calmly made all three free throws to cut the Central lead to just 44-41 entering the final quarter.

Those free throws seemed to deflate Central as much as provide a boost to Winnacunnet, triggering the final major momentum swing of the night. The Warriors opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 52-46 lead. Along the way, Central lost its best option for battling Simmons in the paint, when Daywon Tyler-Fuse fouled out with 4:33 to play in the game.

Central tried to stem the tide. A pair of free throws by Mohammed (7 points) cut the deficit to 52-48. But Kullmorgen’s fourth three-pointer of the night and Braden Nowak scored in the paint to push the lead back to nine with 3:02 left. Central was never able to get closer to five points the rest of the way.

Central began the game ice-cold from the field. In fact, after Diaz drained a three-pointer on the game’s opening possession, the Little Green didn’t make another shot from the field for the rest of the quarter.

Winnacunnet, led by Simmons’ dominance inside, took full advantage. Simmons had seven points and six rebounds in the quarter, helping the Warriors build a 17-7 lead.

Still struggling from the perimeter, Central ramped up its high-pressure, trapping defense to flip the script in the second quarter. Sparked by the play, off the bench, of Mateo Williams, Central opened the quarter with a 10- run to erase the Winnacunnet lead. The Little Green forced nine turnovers in the quarter, many leading to easy transition baskets.

“We’re going to play hard, we’re going to play fast, we’re going to play smart (this year),” said Lett. “So anyone who is reading this, you don’t need to scout, that’s what’s coming.”

By the time Diaz had scored on a fast break, off a lead pass from Williams, with time winding down, Central had outscored Winnacunnet 22-4 in the quarter to take a 29-21 lead into halftime.