BY SAPNA PATHAK
They watched as one of their own scored his 1,000th point. They spun and twirled through double- and triple-teams, finding the hoop for highlight-worthy scores. They flew around the court like madmen, stealing balls and wreaking havoc on defense.
Basically, it was just another night for the boys of Salem High basketball.
The Blue Devils kept their stellar season alive with a 74-56 win over Spaulding, the only team to hand Salem a loss this year, on Monday, March 12. The squads faced off at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym
for a Class L quarterfinal-round matchup.
The Blue Devils jumped out early on treys from Nick Loomis, Stephen Savage and Josh Jones. Spaulding never led against the team it beat 77-69 during the regular season.
“Now we’ve beaten every team in Class L,” said a smiling Blue Devils head coach E.J. Perry. “They really zoned us the first time, so we knew what was coming. We got them out of the zone by shooting from outside, we were 6-for-11 in the first quarter, and that really set the tone.”
Perry’s pack led 37-31 at intermission. The third quarter was an offensive battle between Salem’s Savage, who’s bolstered his case for Player of the Year, and Spaulding star Lucas Croteau, who compiled all of the Red Raiders’ 11 points in the frame.
Spaulding cut the lead to four points midway through the third, but a Savage 3-pointer and two foul shots from Jones gave the Blue Devils a 49-42 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
With 7:01 remaining, fans began the countdown to the senior point guard’s 1,000th point. A little less than two minutes later, Savage solidified his spot in the Salem High record books with a 12-foot jumper from the edge of the key.
“I didn’t know I got it,” said Savage, who entered the night 23 points away from 1000. “I didn’t realize until the bench jumped up, and I looked in the stands, and everyone was holding up signs.”
Savage finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Chris Voukides netted 16 points, while 6-foot-4 center
Brian White, averaging a double-double at 10.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, fouled out in the game’s final minutes.
Sophomore Mike Kimball and Shawn Stoodley provided solid performances off the bench.
“A kid off the bench who stood out who didn’t play against Spaulding (the first time) and can be an X-factor is Stoodley,” said Perry of his backup center. “Stoodley had six points in the second quarter and six for the game (against Dover), but they were a big six points.”
Sophomore starter Jones, playing with “ice in his veins,” according to Perry, finished with 12 points.
The Blue Devils are locked in for a semifinal game versus Nashua South, against which Salem erased an 18-point deficit for a win in the regular season. The game is scheduled for Thursday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m.
“South plays 99 percent man-to-man (defense), so we’ll prepare for that,” said Perry. “That first game was too close, we were at home and had to come back from a lot. These guys are great under pressure because of the five seniors and their great leadership.”
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In hosting and beating No. 16 Dover in the tourney’s first round, 69-41, Savage scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jones had 12 points and five rebounds. White added 10 points and 10 boards. Loomis scored nine points, Voukides had eight, and Stoodley finished with six.