Three years ago, the Pelham boys basketball team used a one-loss regular season as a springboard to a state title. The town of Bedford had yet to begin construction on its high school.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, Bedford’s first-year varsity hoops squad proved it’s set a firm foundation. But at the end of four quarters, Pelham showed BHS what it takes to build a Class I powerhouse.

Despite trailing after three quarters, Pelham left a raucous Bedford gymnasium with a 67-64 victory.

“(Pelham) is the best team in Class I, and I think the way they beat us a month ago ... it’s something that really motivated us to come out and play hard, to play with pride and effort, desire and intensity,” said Bedford’s head coach, Joe Kegler. “All I asked them for was an opportunity at the end of the game, and they gave me that.”

“This was supposed to be a walk in the park tonight, I’m not going to lie to you,” said Pelham’s mentor, Todd Kress. “(But) they’ve got a wonderful combination of quick guards that don’t make mistakes and young big kids that already have the skills and just need to get physically stronger.”

The Pythons must focus on playing better – now. The 15-1 record aside, Kress said his team has work to do if it’s to compete for a second championship in four years.

“I told them at the end of the third quarter, ‘We’re going to find out how good we are right now. Are we ready to be a good tournament team? Because a good tournament team comes back and wins this game,” he said. “Everyone has to understand it’s all about the tournament. We’re either going to be a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed … and everyone who has watched Class I the last couple years knows it’s all about matchups.”

Despite earning top-five seeds, Pelham ran into a wall against bigger, stronger Hanover each of the last two seasons. This year, the Pythons’ one loss came in a 66-60 contest at 10-6 Portsmouth on Jan. 6. Though they avenged the setback with a 51-42 home triumph on Feb. 3, Kress admitted the senior-laden Clippers, among others, look scary as potential second-round opponents.

“We drew the one team we didn’t want the last couple years, and I’m not going to say who it is, but there’s definitely a team out there I don’t want to see this time around,” he said.

One thing’s for certain. Kress is happy he doesn’t have to see Bedford again.

“Imagine if (the Bulldogs) snuck in the back door. They’ve got wins against Portsmouth and Milford, two top-eight seeds, and they almost beat us tonight. I wouldn’t want to play them again, I don’t care what gym we play in,” said Kress. “But we’ve got Justin (Hojlo), and with Justin on the floor, I’ll tell you what, we’re going to be a tough out.”

Game notes
Arguably the Class I player of the year front-runner, Hojlo led all scorers with 26 points, but Bedford’s James Schappler forced him to take more shots than he usually does. In fact, Kress said the young guard played the best defense he’s seen on Hojlo this season.

Pelham sophomore Stephen Spirou was a close second in scoring, with 25 markers, while the Bedford trio of Connor Green, Mike Marmelli and Joey Maher managed 22, 17 and 14 points, respectively.

Though Conor McColgan’s name doesn’t often jump out on the Pelham stat sheet, Kress said the junior’s five consecutive third-quarter points were pivotal to his squad’s comeback.