Pelham News : basketball

Hojlo heads to college as Pelham High School record holder and special leader

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:22:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

He came off the bench his freshman year – a spark amongst a fiery group of seniors, including his older brother – and helped Pelham garner its first Class I basketball crown.

As a sophomore and junior, his flame burned brightly as he guided the team to the Class I quarterfinal round each season.

That flame flickered when his junior campaign ended with him back on the bench, a coach’s decision based on a technical foul for arguing with the referee.

This year, he ignited into a full-blown wildfire, torching opponents to the tune of 28.1 points per game and 702 markers overall. And if it wasn’t for a thumb injury suffered in this year’s state semifinals, he may very well have led Pelham to another state championship. This was the evolution of Justin Hojlo.

In those four seasons he compiled a Pelham record 1,810 points, far past the old mark of 1,621 set by one of his mentors, James Roman, when Hojlo was a freshman.

In that time, the Pythons won 74 games in Class I and lost 12. They were 80-16 overall.

“He walked into a very fortunate situation as a freshman where he was good enough to be a successful player, but he really didn’t have to be thrown into the fire. He had a lot of big brothers on that team that really allowed him to take his time developing as a high school basketball player,” said Pelham head coach Todd Kress of the standout guard, who has averaged 23.2 points per game as a starter the last three seasons. “Once his sophomore year came, … the team was really thrown into his lap … That was a lot for a sophomore to handle. He wanted to defer to the seniors because it was their last year, but he knew, at times, he needed to be the guy on the court.

“As a senior, you saw he was finally able to really step into that leadership role,” Kress continued. “Now it was Justin who had a lot of little brothers looking up to him.”

Every game this season, Hojlo received opposing defenses’ severest concentration.

Every road and playoff contest, he was the object of fans’ hostility. Yet he led the Pythons to a 17-1 regular season.

Hojlo credits his maturation as a cager almost entirely to Kress, assistant Matt Regan and the other coaches at PHS. “I came in and all I could do was shoot three (pointers),” said Hojlo. “Now I have an allaround game, and I’ve got to credit the coaching staff for that. They’ve made me into a real basketball player.”

Despite his 5-foot-10 frame, he leaves behind some very large shoes to fill.

Michael Lombard, along with fellow sophomore Stephen Spirou, are the two most likely candidates to step into Hojlo’s starring role.

Lombard, a post player, said he hopes to succeed in different ways, but doubts he’ll ever have the game-changing impact Hojlo exhibited on a nightly basis.

“We’ll never have another player like him come through the program,” said Lombard. “It was just amazing to be around him. He could score in a hurry, and he was always there to carry us when we needed him.”

That’s not to say Hojlo was selfish. On the contrary, though he was never afraid to take an important shot, he just as often slashed toward the net, drawing defenders to him before dishing to a wide open teammate for an open look at the hoop.

But the one thing Kress hopes Hojlo leaves behind is his desire to win.

“I hope all the younger players really paid attention to those fourth quarters of tight games because the one thing Justin 100-percent positively showed throughout his four years is he hates to lose,” said the coach. “That’s just Justin’s mentality. You can’t imagine how fiery and demonstrative he is when he loses. I’m sure that 1,810 mark won’t be touched for many, many a year, but what I really hope, if nothing else, he passed on that desire to have the ball in tight situations.”

Kress said the most difficult part of accepting his team’s 61- 48 loss to Portsmouth in this season’s Class I finale was that Hojlo, due to the thumb injury, couldn’t take over one last time in a hotly contested fourth quarter. Still, Hojlo has played in 10 playoff games on the University of New Hampshire’s larger floor, as many as anyone in Class I. Now he hopes to have a similar impact on the Plymouth State University hardwood.

“I think you’re going to see a much different player up there,” said Kress. “You’re going to see a kid that hurts defenses if they don’t play him tight, and you’re going to see someone very dangerous from the perimeter. But I think, more than anything else, you’re going to see a facilitator on a very talented basketball team John Sheinman has up there.

“He’ll be one of the pieces in a bigger puzzle, and I see him fitting right into his role and dishing out a lot of assists. He’ll be a very popular teammate, I’ll put it that way,” added Kress. “Justin isn’t intimidated by anything, and Plymouth is very fortunate to have a player like him.”

Portsmouth pulls away from Pelham in title game

Salem Editor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:16:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Pelham entered the Class I boys basketball finale with a 21-1 record, but it was six-loss Portsmouth that once again proved superior, pulling away late to secure a 61-48 victory on Saturday, March 14, at the University of New Hampshire.

The Clippers, after all, were the lone group in the last five years to win in the Pythons’ gymnasium. They snapped the locals’ 37-game home winning streak with a 54-53 decision on Jan. 2, 2008.

They were also the only ones to knock off Pelham this season, delivering a 66-60 Seacoast setback on Jan. 6.

Though the Pythons exacted revenge on Feb. 3 with a 51-42 home triumph, Pelham head coach Todd Kress was admittedly concerned after watching the sixth-seeded Clippers post double-digit defeats of the state’s No. 3 and No. 2 seeds, Oyster River and Pembroke Academy, respectively.

“Portsmouth, right now, is the team that everybody all summer long, all fall long and all preseason said they were going to be … Everybody they’ve gone up against in the tournament now realizes this is the team to beat. This is the team everyone feared,” said Kress following his team’s 56-54 semifinal victory over Laconia on March 11.

“They’re the team that causes us the most problems because their size isn’t just big size, it’s athletic size. They can get out on the floor, they can play great defense … They’re going to be a hungry team that wants their state championship.”

Yet even with star guard Justin Hojlo playing with an injured thumb, shooting 3-for-16 and scoring 10 points – 18 below his average – the Pythons managed to trade blows with the Clippers for three and a half quarters.

Pelham continues to dominate, trounces Lebanon in quarterfinal

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:39:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Good teams take advantage of any opening they’re given. With a recent NHIAA rules change, the boys of Pelham High’s basketball team were handed the makings of a big break, and following a season’s worth of hard work, they’ve capitalized, moving within two wins of a state title.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association decided to forego its annual Class I quarterfinal use of the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium in favor of an additional home game for the top four remaining seeds.

Enter Pelham, Class I’s No. 1-ranked unit and keepers of the state’s most notable home-court advantage. The Pythons have lost once in their own gymnasium in the last five years.

So when eighth-ranked Lebanon drove two hours to meet the locals on Friday, March 6, PHS coach Todd Kress couldn’t help but feel bad for the visitors.

“This was an atmosphere that obviously benefited us here tonight … Let’s be honest, 59- 1, there’s a reason for it … and that’s unfortunate because I really think this needed to be on a neutral floor. Lebanon’s kids did a great job this year. They got the eighth seed. They won their first-round game. They should be rewarded with a chance to play at UNH,” said Kress. “I know it’s a cost thing with the NHIAA, and it obviously was good for us, but it really takes away from the four teams who don’t get to experience playing on the college floor in a big venue.”

The Pelham fans were at full volume, drowning out and eventually quieting the cheers of Lebanon’s equally impressive road contingent. And despite a brief second-quarter lull, the Pythons easily pulled away in the second half and advanced to this year’s semifinals, 61-44.

Justin Hojlo, as usual, keyed the victory with 30 points.

“We have yet to see a team that understands what they need to do to him to get the ball out of his hands,” said Kress. “You see it in the third quarter, when he realizes it’s that time of game, three or four possessions in a row he just gets what he wants and knocks down big shots … His best quality is he understands the moment. He understands how to get his teammates involved … We just need the other guys to be there to complement him.”

That’s something the Pythons have done well all season.

Against Lebanon, for instance, sophomore Stephen Spirou contributed nine markers, Mike Lombard added eight, while Grant Hebert helped stretch the defense with 11 points, including a three-pointer early in the fourth that took all remaining air out of the Raiders’ sails.

Pelham’s semifinal matchup with No. 4 Laconia was scheduled for Wednesday, March 11, with the winner advancing to the Class I championship on Saturday, March 14, at UNH’s Lundholm Gymnasium. Tipoff is 2:30 p.m.

Pelham, 15-1, escapes from Bedford, 3-13, with basketball victory

Salem Editor — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:23:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

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.

Pelham seeks return to playoffs following difficult campaign

Salem Editor — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:26:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Following a generally disappointing 2007-08 campaign in which his Pelham girls basketball team posted a 4-17 record, Tim Powers plans to use this season to move the program back to a level of respectability – and the postseason.

The Lady Pythons have already taken step one, knocking off fledgling Bedford in the season opener, 55-51, on Dec. 2. Though they dropped game two, 64-36, to an ever-solid Souhegan squad, Powers said he’s pleased with the progression he’s seeing.

“Obviously we have some room to improve from last year, but I expect that every time we go out to play, we get better,” he said. “I’m looking for our leaders to take on bigger roles this season and aid the younger players as they mature into their roles.”

Briana Szidat, said Powers, is one of the best players in the state.

A standout 6-foot-3 center, Szidat averaged more than 13 points per game last season and rides a full hoops scholarship to UMass-Lowell next year.

“Szidat can obviously play, so there’s a huge chunk of the offense,” said Powers. “A lot of teams will try to stop and scheme around her. She’s going to see double- and sometimes triple-teams all year, so to combat those defenses they’re going to throw at us, we’re going to need someone to step up each game and provide us with a solid secondary scoring option.”

Against Bedford, returning sophomore Alex Catalano contributed nine points, junior Sarah DeBaldo dropped in eight and Jacki Perry added six markers to complement Szidat’s 31 points.

DeBaldo and Perry both started last year, along with senior guard April Blinn, who captains the team with Szidat.

Kayla Baile and Amanda Blake are back as well. They’ll help acclimate first-year varsity players Christine Morgan, Rachael Fournier, Katie Halpin and Nicole Mastacouris.

“This is a good, hard-working group,” said Powers. “I fully expect to be in almost every game we play.”

Pelham boys basketball team, after two-year absence from finals, has plan to return

Salem Editor — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:53:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

Thirty seconds into a meaningless preseason jamboree at Concord’s Community College, Pelham boys basketball head coach Todd Kress had seen enough. He called a timeout.

“Did you even think about taking the charge?” he heatedly said to one of his starters, who had just allowed a Bishop Guertin ballhandler to drive for an uncontested layup.

Later, with three minutes remaining in the 20-minute game, a Pelham bench player stood his ground, drew a charge from an out-of-control BG foe and returned the ball to the Pythons. Kress enthusiastically clapped his hands for the player.

Those two exchanges – in an abbreviated contest – explain Kress’ mindset entering the 2008-09 Class I season: he has zero patience for soft play, yet unlimited support for the selfless variety.

“The last couple of years, I felt we really weren’t mentally tough,” said Kress. “We didn’t come in ready to take (the postseason tournament).”

The coach, who led the team to the state title in 2006, watched the Pythons fall to muscle-bound Hanover in the tourney quarterfinals the last two years. He said his team in 2008-09 is long on talent, if not long of limb.

“Big, strong, physical teams like Hanover have given us trouble,” he said. “But we’re going to work harder than those teams and dictate the tempo. We want to get back to our style of basketball – fast-paced, non-stop basketball. If we keep that pace for 32 minutes, we’re going to be fine.”

Setting the tone is senior star Justin Hojlo, one of the best backcourtmen in New Hampshire.

In years past, the question always seemed to be, “Can Hojlo make his teammates better?” This year, Kress requires the rest of the team to take responsibility.

“They have to help him. You want to watch him do his thing, and that’s understandable. But it’s not going to be productive for him and the team,” said Kress, who knows Hojlo’s keen court vision is a dangerous weapon only if his mates move without the ball.

Grant Hebert, a senior, and Stephen Spirou, a sophomore, are two of Hojlo’s main targets, yet Kress said the whole 11-man roster needs to be prepared to help.

“At least through (our first) eight guys, we’re not going to lose anything,” said the mentor. “We’ve got a lot of kids that love to get out there and run.”

Sophomore Mike Lombard, senior EJ Baker, and juniors Conor McColgan, Sean Sweeney and Josh Boissonnault must be key contributors, while senior Dave Wesson and juniors Corey Couillard and Joe DeAngelo push their teammates and try to push their way into more playing time.

The idea, Kress said, is for Pelham and its fresh legs to outlast any huffing, puffing opponent in the fourth quarter, particularly in March.

Pelham Pythons fall to Hanover for second straight year

Salem Editor — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:25:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Prior to the contest, Pelham boys basketball coach Todd Kress conceded, “This is the one matchup I didn’t want to see.”

On the other side of the floor stood the same Hanover squad that, last season as the No. 10 seed, beheaded the No. 2 Pythons, the defending state champs, in the Class I quarterfinals.

The Marauders, this year’s No. 4 seed, and their star, likely Class I Player of the Year Casey Maue, once again humbled the locals in the quarterfinals, 61- 50 on Sunday, March 2, at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham.

“Just like last year in the quarterfinals, against the same team, we just took too many quick, ill-advised shots, and that’s what does you in against a good team,” said Kress. “It’s immaturity, it’s poor coaching, it’s kids not doing their jobs on the court, and unfortunately it’s (a problem) throughout the program, and we need to fix it. Otherwise, we’re going to get here every year and lose in the quarterfinals.”

Justin Hojlo watched the final six minutes of the contest from the bench. After receiving a technical foul for arguing with a referee early in the fourth quarter, the junior was immediately benched by Kress, who has a zero-tolerance policy regarding such penalties.

“Coach’s rule … Been that way for nine years. I don’t care what the situation is, if you mouth off to the referee, you’re not going to play the rest of the game. I don’t care if it’s the state championship game, they know the rule, they live with the rule, and (Justin) knows better than that,” said Kress. “Obviously if it’s a slap on the backboard or something like that, I look at it objectively, but I just don’t believe in a 16- or 17- year-old young man disrespecting an adult. I’ll live and die with that if I have to.”

The Pythons fell into a 14-2 first-quarter hole, but came back to take a 15-14 lead three minutes into the second frame. Hanover responded, however, taking a 31- 22 halftime lead, which it never relinquished.

Before being benched, Hojlo scored 14 points, pulled down five rebounds and was entering a zone all too familiar to Class I foes. He had contributed four straight assists to four different teammates and his flashy play was causing hasty reactions by Hanover defenders.

Still, Kress contends with or without the star guard down the stretch, the result was a foregone conclusion.

“It wouldn’t have mattered. That team, every time we got within six (points), even when we got to them in the second quarter, they responded with a nice run of their own. It was just a much better team tonight than we were,” he said. “I don’t know what happens if we play them 10 times, but certainly the last two years we had no business trying to beat a team like that. They’re just fundamentally sound and well disciplined, and we’re not.”

Ricky Costa, who instantly became the focal point of Hanover’s defense once Hojlo was removed, added 12 points and three rebounds, while Mike Lombard and Grant Hebert each contributed nine points in the loss, and Evan Cove scored six.

Three days before their season- ending loss, the Pythons beat up on visiting Kearsarge in the preliminary round, 65-44, on Thursday, Feb. 28. The win was their 14th in a row.

Hojlo torched the visitors with 35 points and eight assists. Hebert, with four blocks, and Dan Trainor, with three steals, led the defense.

“We did everything we didn’t do (against Hanover),” said Kress. “We spread the floor out, we made them come out of their tight defense, we used our athleticism and our quickness, and, bottom line, we did everything we were supposed to do to beat a pretty good basketball team. The game was really never that tight.”

Pelham, which returns eight of 14 players, looks to next season. Replacing hoopsters like Cove, Jamie Vaiknoras, Brady Tryon, Dan Trainer, Craig Moreau and especially Costa won’t be easy, but Hojlo leads a cast that includes freshman phenom Stephen Spirou and Hebert, a junior who contributed regularly this season.

Junior EJ Baker, sophomores Conor McColgan, Sean Sweeney and Josh Boissonnault, and Lombard, a freshman, also return for the young squad.

Pelham’s Hojlo reaches 1,000 points in record time

Salem Editor — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:51:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Playing pickup basketball with his older brother and his brother’s friends, young Justin Hojlo was at a constant disadvantage. Now, in his junior year at Pelham High School, the hoopster that teammates once nicknamed “Peanut” because of his relatively small stature has arrived at 1,000 points faster than any other player in school history.

That list includes current Southern New Hampshire cager James Roman, who captained Pelham with Justin’s brother Frank in 2006 when Justin was a freshman and the team won the Class I crown. In fact, Hojlo hit the mark in five fewer games.

“(Roman) is a completely different player because he dominated with his size, where I dominate with my quickness,” said the flashy guard.

Indeed, it makes the accomplishment that much more impressive, said Pythons coach Todd Kress.

“The thing about Justin I guess I admire the most is a lot of times, when you see 1,000- point scorers, usually they are bigger, physical players, and they usually get a lot of putbacks and garbage points,” he said. ““It’s kind of remarkable because (Hojlo) has gotten the majority of his points from the perimeter. You’ve got to be one heck of a shooter and have a very high (shot) percentage to be able to do that. It really speaks volumes about how skilled he is.”

And, said the coach, Hojlo has done this as the focal point of opposing defenses since his first game as a sophomore last season.

“Not to take anything away from James, but he was very fortunate to play on a team with numerous offensive options,” said Kress. “Justin has had to constantly face the other team’s best shutdown defender and their gimmick defenses, so to be able to reach 1,000 points in such a short amount of time is pretty amazing.”

‘Unselfish’ star

Still, Kress said if he had to describe his star with one word, it would be “unselfish.” Hojlo sees it as playing within the system. “Because of the way our offense is, it’s run and gun, and I just love playing that type of game. It gives me a lot of opportunities to score,” he said.

Likewise, it gives him the opportunity to draw defenders away from backcourt mate Ricky Costa and the rest of the Pythons, who have learned to feast on the defensive vulnerabilities Hojlo creates.

“He just makes everyone better,” said Costa. “I mean, he did score 1,000 points, but you look at most of the games, and he usually has around 10 assists, so it’s not like he’s just out there for himself.”

Left alone, he’ll take the three-pointer from the top of the key nearly every opportunity. Pressure him, and he’ll drive to the basket, draw a foul or find an open teammate at the last moment. Any way Kress draws it up, it means points.

But Hojlo hasn’t always been so polished. As a freshman, he received little playing time at the varsity level until the end of the season, when he became the team’s secret weapon in the playoffs. Back then, said Kress, Hojlo had already developed a precision shot from the perimeter. The problem was he drew defenders out 20 feet from the basket, then stepped back two feet and took the shot. When he was 22 feet out and a defender followed, he shot it from 24 feet, and so on.

“Now, he dares them to come out and get him, and when they do, he goes right by them,” said Kress. “He was very one-dimensional as a freshman. He’s gone from being a shooter to being a scorer.”

Hojlo said that development has been in the works for awhile. Along with his brother and Roman, Hojlo grew up playing against Aaron Lastoff, Pelham’s center during its 2006 title run, as well as Kyle Roman, who graduated in 2007.

“(Frank) helped me work on my offense a lot because he was such great defensive player,” said the younger Hojlo. “Plus, playing in the neighborhood a lot growing up – going against guys that were bigger and better – helped me learn and work on different ways to score.”

Through games on Tuesday, Feb. 12, Hojlo has scored 1,037 career points, 583 short of Roman’s school record of 1,621 points. But he still has more than a year of games to play.

Solid road win lessens pain of historic home loss

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:01:00 GMT

By Ryan O’connor

It had to end sometime.

Four years and 37 games after the Pelham boys basketball team last lost in its own gymnasium, the squad dropped its home opener, 54-53, to Class I favorite Portsmouth on Jan. 2.

The Pythons’ last home loss came in 2004 when they still competed in Class M.

“To be honest, when the game ended, not one part of me was thinking about the streak,” said head coach Todd Kress. “But we had some guys in the locker room that felt they let some of the alumni down. They really had this on their minds a lot more than I thought they did.”

But Kress witnessed his hoopsters come within one point of beating one of the top team’s in the state, despite having one of the worst shooting nights in their recent history.

Due to poor weather and New Year’s Day, Pelham didn’t practice for four days between the Keene Holiday Tournament victory and home opener, which Kress said explained – but did not excuse – the team’s flat performance.

“We walked into that game off no preparation and no practices and definitely looked it,” he said. “Yes, we were rusty, but we should be experienced enough to overcome it. We just didn’t look like ourselves as far as shooting the ball, shot selection and our rhythm were concerned.”

Much to their coach’s delight, however, the Pythons managed to turn their anger into a positive outcome two nights later on Friday, Jan. 4, when they traveled to St. Thomas Aquinas of Dover, minus their top three inside threats, and handled the hosts, 63-51.

“As much as the streak was a very nice thing, it wasn’t going to go on forever,” said Kress. “We’re almost done with this ridiculous stretch (of road games), so we just need to get though this next week (and two tough road contests at Milford and Kearsarge) and then we can go out there and start a new streak.”

The 3-3 Pythons open the season with eight of their first nine contests on the road. They finish the season with seven of nine at home.

Though the three losses will make it difficult for the Pythons to earn a top-three playoff seed, Kress said his team is still poised to lock up a first-round home matchup and reach Durham, where the larger court at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium is advantageous to Pelham’s run-and-gun style of offense.

Against St. Thomas, Pelham – minus starting center Grant Hebert, who sprained his ankle against the Clippers, and backups Evan Cove and Conor McColgan, who were both sick – was forced to start 6-foot freshman small forward Stephen Spirou at center.

For at least two-thirds of the contest, Kress said he essentially had five guards running the court.

“That’s a different, very small, old-school type of gymnasium where the fans are really right on top of you. At the beginning of the year, you look at that game and just hope you can get out of there with a win,” he said. “I’m very, very proud with the way the boys came out, not so much with the lineup, but just going in there after a tough home loss and doing a great job of executing down the stretch.”

Against Portsmouth, Kress said the difference in the game was the lack of a third scoring threat. There was a huge drop between Ricky Costa’s 17 points and Justin Hojlo’s 14 points and the next highest scorers, Hebert and Jamie Vaiknoris, who each tallied five.

Two nights later, Costa delivered 19 points and Hojlo added 17, including 10 big points down the stretch. But Spirou netted eight points and Vaiknoris and point guard Brady Tryon both contributed seven in the winning effort.

Pelham fails to reach state finals for first time in four years

Salem Editor — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:12:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Pelham boys basketball coach Todd Kress is very superstitious about his courtside attire.

While his team is winning, Kress will continue to wear the same outfit to every game.

He also eats the same foods and even styles his facial hair in a certain way.

In fact, his superstition is incorporated into most every aspect of his life, both on and off the court.

Once the Pythons suffer a defeat, however, everything changes.

“I tell the kids if it works, don’t try to fix it. They get a kick out of it, and some of them even will wear different types of socks and stuff like that. It’s kind of a Pelham thing we do,” said Kress.

“After we lose, the kids always say ‘Oh, you’re going to have to get a new outfit,’ and I say, ‘Hey, if you guys keep losing, I’m going gonna go broke’.”

Kress’ routine wasn’t enough this season. For the first time in four years, the team’s final game wasn’t for a state championship.

On Sunday, March 4, the defending state champs lost in the quarterfinals of the Class I tournament to Hanover High School, 61-56, in front of a packed Lundholm Gymnasium at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

The Pythons entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed after winning six of their last seven to finish the regular season 14-4. All four losses came on the road.

After defeating Merrimack Valley, 57-48, in the preliminary round, Pelham fell behind early against Hanover. The Pythons were 7-for-39 from the field in the first half, yet they trailed by only nine points, 29-20, at the break.

Starting center Kris Fournier contributed eight points during a 14-4 run that opened the second half as the locals took a 34-33 lead.

But Hanover responded, taking a 44-38 edge into the final quarter and holding off another late Pelham push to secure the victory.

“The other team came back and made a couple hoops, and we didn’t react well to that at all,” said Kress. “We just didn’t look like an experienced team out there.”

Hanover coach Tim Winslow said the key to the victory was not being intimidated by Pelham’s past success and holding off its runs.

“Pelham is not as strong as they were last year, and they’ve kind of come down into the pack, and I think we’ve kind of gone up a little bit,” said Winslow, whose team lost to Bow in last year’s quarterfinals. “They’re the defending state champions, but when we ran our offense and made them play longer defensive stretches and really earn it, I think they struggled.”

In the loss, sophomore Justin Hojlo, 19 points, and junior Ricky Costa, 16 points, led Pelham in scoring.

Fournier, who contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and some timely blocks, fouled out midway through the fourth.

“Kris all year has been the kid that we’ve been able to accept the fouls and tonight, really for the first time all year, we really needed him to score, and not having him in the game the last five minutes, certainly on the boards, I think really hurt us,” said Kress.

Ugly win – Title game rematch is a sloppy affair

Salem Editor — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:48:00 GMT

BY RYAN O'CONNOR

When the Pelham and Bow High School boys basketball teams met during the 2006 regular season, both teams entered the contest undefeated.

Though Pelham lost, 74-59, it avenged its lone defeat in a 66-53 triumph over Bow in the Class I title game.

This year’s game in Bow, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, featured two drastically different teams, but the result was the same – a Pelham victory, 49-43.

Bow entered the contest at 6-6 after losing much of its starting line-up from last year.

Pelham, which lost all five starters from last year’s championship team, won eight of its first nine games, then lost two in a row.

Last week, however, Pelham defeated Con-Val at home, 68-66, and trumped Hollis-Brookline on the road, 71-45, to improve to 10-3.

“On the road, being a young, inexperienced team, we have to do a better job of realizing, especially in the tournament, it’s four big efforts in a row in order to win a state championship,” said Kress.

The Pythons’ lack of experience showed early against Bow, which outsized them at virtually every position.

Bow took a 7-1 lead in the opening minutes, but Pelham’s up-tempo play allowed the Pythons to literally run away with the contest.

The hosts came back from 15 down to draw within five points during the fourth quarter, but faltered in the final minute of the game.

Though the Pythons were held to a season low 49 points, they, in turn, held most of the Bow players in check. Junior guard Brian Chergey and 6-foot-8 D.J. Poitras combined for 36 of the Falcons’ 43 points.

“It was definitely going to be a game of pace. Their only chance to be in the game was to slow us up, and they did a great job of doing that,” said Kress. “They were able to take us out of our running game, and they didn’t turn it over out on the perimeter, which is usually a key for us to take it the other way.”

Jamie Vaiknoras, a junior, came off the bench to contribute 11 points in the win.

Strong play has Pelham girls near the top of the standings

Salem Editor — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:29:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

After their male counterparts capped off a memorable season with a Class I championship last year, the Lady Pythons are planning – and playing – to be the team that adds another plaque to the Pelham High trophy case.

“With five seniors who know this is the last time, there’s a lot of team leadership,” said Pythons head coach Tim Powers. “Team leadership dictates the team, so every girl is in the mindset she wants to go out on top.
We need to win our last games so we’ll be in good shape for the playoffs.”

Winning their last four games might not be as tough as Powers expects, as Pelham has rattled off three straight wins against teams under .500 and face two more in Con-Val and Hollis/Brookline.

Against Milford on Jan. 23, the Pythons scored 73 points, the highest output of the season. Their 56-20 win over Monadnock on Jan. 26 showed off Pelham’s defense.

Led by seniors Rebecca Greenwood, Kathy DaSilva, Catherine Sullivan, Brianna Caira and Caitlin Sawicki, PHS held Monadnock to one field goal in the first half. Six of Monadnock’s eight first-half points came from the foul line. Pelham continued in the second half, allowing three field goals in the victory.

“Our defense is definitely better, so we’re getting better looks on offense,” said Powers. “It’s a combo of the two; we’re getting more transitioning, more half-court sets and can take the shots we want.”

With its final two games coming against Class I contenders Bow and Coe-Brown, Powers said the timing of his team’s cohesiveness couldn’t be better.

“Now’s the time to get hot,” said Powers. “We finished around .500 last year and lost in the first round, and we want to change that outcome this year. There’s such a logjam near the top [of the Class I standings], these final games are gonna mean the difference between being at home or on the road in the playoffs.”
Pelham hosts Hollis/Brookline on Friday, Feb. 2.

Repeat performance?

Salem Editor — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:33:00 GMT

Pelham holds court with new cast of characters

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Defending a high school basketball championship is never easy.

When a team loses all five starters, the task can be downright treacherous.

But according to Pelham head coach Todd Kress, the pieces are still in place for the Pythons to make another title run.

“Obviously, as far as oncourt experience, we have very little, but what these other young men have been able to do is sit back and observe how to be successful,” said Kress.

While small and fast is their makeup and game, with only two 6-footers, the Pythons aren’t afraid to get physical, as they proved in their opening game on Dec. 12, a 77-73 win against Hollis-Brookline, the 2005 Class I champs.

Pelham went to the free throw line 37 times compared to 17 H-B attempts, though the Pythons were undersized at nearly every position.

“You can basically look at any of our teams the past couple of years and that’s something different,” said Kress.

A seesaw second half finally went Pelham’s way behind the three-pronged attack of Justin Hojlo, Mark Catalano and Ricky Costa, who combined for 52 points.

In their second game, on Friday, Dec. 15, the Pythons hit the accelerator early, taking a 32-14 lead after the first quarter, then coasted to a smooth 72-56 victory over Laconia.

Hojlo scored 15 of his game-high 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting in first quarter before Kress decided to play his starters sparingly for the rest of the contest.

“Once they got down by 18 it was in our control from that point on. It was just a back-andforth game, ho hum game that was never really that close,” said Kress.

Hojlo’s unselfishness and maturity were on display, said Kress, noting the sophomore’s willingness to take a back seat in a blowout.

“Justin, as far as I’m concerned, is one of the best players in Class I basketball because he makes teams adjust to him. But the greatest thing about Justin is he makes other players better because they feed off of him.”

Though Hojlo was the team’s secret weapon in last year’s postseason, he is no longer an unknown.

Kress does have another one lined up, though.

“Hojlo and Catalano are going to show up on a lot of radar screens, but I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by Ricky Costa,” said the coach.

The 5-foot-10 junior, whose older brother Tim starred for the Pythons two years ago, is expected to be one of the team’s top three scoring sources.

“Ricky can (shoot well from the perimeter), but he loves going to the basket and loves the game to get physical,” said Kress.

Catalano, a 5-foot-7 guard, and 6-foot-4 center Christ Fournier, both four-year members of the program, are team captains.

“I know what goes on on the floor, but a lot of times you worry about what goes on off the court, especially with a young team, so I’m really looking for them to exert their influence in both areas,” said the coach.

Fournier, ranked among the top five in the senior class academically, came into the program four years ago knowing little about basketball, said Kress, though he has since become a great student of the game.

“He now has to take all the stuff he has absorbed at practice and take it onto the court, and what I have to do, as a coach, is be very patient with him,” said Kress. “Hopefully by the postseason, he can be someone for us that a lot of coaches aren’t keeping in mind.”

Kress added he needs Fournier to adapt to his runoriented schemes.

“As we’re trapping and gambling along the perimeter, it will be very big for us to have him down in the inside intimidating the other team,” said the coach.

The team’s speed and winning mentality will make the Pythons dangerous should they reach the Class I quarterfinals and larger court at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium.

“I know I wouldn’t want to play us once we get to the tournament,” he said.