Two straight appearances in the Class L boys basketball finals – and two straight losses to Salem – have Trinity’s head coach, Dave Keefe, hoping the third time will be charming indeed.

Though he lost star Ryan Bourgeois of Bedford to graduation, Keefe returns super senior Jordan Laguerre and Hooksett’s Cormac Fitzpatrick, a proven long-range threat who has raised other areas of his game.

“I think he’s the best pure shooter in the state,” said Keefe, who joked two years ago that Fitzpatrick would trip over the three-point line if he tried to drive to the basket. “But he’s really worked hard to improve his strength. He hit the weight room all summer, added some muscle, and that’s going to help. Nobody works harder than that kid.”

In a preseason jamboree at Concord’s Community College, Fitzpatrick’s defense, something Keefe said the junior must continue to develop, was solid.

During one sequence in a scrimmage with Class L foe Bishop Guertin, Fitzpatrick anticipated a long cross-court pass and picked it off, sending the Pioneers on the attack.

With the smart, athletic Laguerre, a troop of Manchesterbased players from Sudan, and high-flying Bedford senior Zach Ibanez also among the eightplayer rotation, Keefe plans to play an up-tempo game when possible.

“I want to be up in people’s faces,” said the Trinity mentor, who listed Salem, Nashua South, Winnacunnet, Central and dark horse Memorial – coached by Cormac’s father, Mike – as contenders for Class L supremacy.

“We’ve got no one in our rotation over 6-foot-2 1/2. We’re a small, athletic team that has to take care of the ball.”

Keefe said 14 or 15 regularseason wins are within reach for his charges, and added Trinity doesn’t face the two-time defending champs in the regular season, though he wouldn’t mind a postseason rematch.