By Ryan O’connor
Having netted four consecutive road victories, and after losing its first home contest in four years, the Pelham boys basketball team returned to PHS and started a new streak in its house.
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, Pelham defeated visiting Milford, 68-50. It starts a stretch in which the 7-3 Pythons play seven of their last nine regular-season Class I games at home.
“We dug ourselves a hole at 2-3, but we knew if we could survive that stretch and get to 6-3, we just had to come home and protect our court,” said head coach Todd Kress.
And while Kress said it felt good to be home, he was the first to point out that his team looked sloppy and often out of sync throughout most of the Milford contest.
“I don’t think either team did a great job of executing and didn’t necessarily shoot the ball well. They did a great job in the second half of exploiting us inside, which you would think more and more teams are going to keep doing,” he said. “But we had the benefit of home court tonight and I really think that was the difference.”
Justin Hojlo paced the Pythons with 26 points, while freshman Stephen Spirou added 13 for the victors. Ricky Costa, who was uncharacteristically absent from the scoring line in the first half, rebounded in the third and fourth quarter to contribute eight points. Jamie Vaiknoras and Evan Cove each matched Costa’s point total.
The widespread scoring distribution was exactly what Kress said his squad was lacking when they were struggling early in the season. And opposing coaches are taking notice.
“They’re as good as anybody,” said Milford coach Dan Murray. “Even though they don’t have the size, they have the guards to match up with anyone in the state.”
Hojlo, especially, creates problems for opponents, he said.
“What makes him so good is that he sets the other guys up so well,” Murray continued. “If he was out of the lineup they would drop way down. Their guys can create, but he sets the tone for everything they do.”
Against Kennett, at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord on Friday, Jan. 18, the Pythons dominated from start to finish, crushing their opponents, 90-60.
Hojlo led the team in scoring with 24 points, while contributing eight assists. Costa dropped in 22 points to go along with five helpers and four rebounds. Spirou added 13 points, and Grant Hebert put another 12 on the scoreboard, adding four assists.
Up next, the 7-3 Pythons host 7-2 Monadnock on Friday, Jan. 25. Kress said the matchup presents an interesting dichotomy between the two squads. Monadnock is one of the larger, more physical squads in Class I, while the Pythons are small and fast and like to wear teams out by running up and down the court.