Boys’ Basketball

Coe-Brown 78, Bishop Brady 36

Key players: Coe Brown – Jack Matson (16 points, 14 rebounds), Matt Flanagan (12 points), Grant Hayes (10 points), Bruce LaPierre (8 points, 7 rebounds), Ryan Kouchoukos (6 points, 9 assists, 6 steals), Colby Taylor (6 points, 4 rebounds), Tyler Fuller (6 points); Bishop Brady – Ryan Casey (19 points)

Highlights: Coe-Brown pulled away in second half to hand the Giants a season-opening loss.

Coaches’ quotes:  “There was defensive contribution from all 12 players.” – Coe-Brown’s David Smith

“On to ConVal. ” – Bishop Brady’s John Billings

Records: Coe-Brown 2-0; Brady 0-1

Oyster River 52, John Stark 45

Key players: John Stark – Hayden Pond (18 points), Cam Carpenter (11 points), Aiden Harris (7 points), Cedar Beaupre (7 points)

Highlights: A back-and-forth contest was a one or two possession game throughout, but the Bobcats eventually came out on top.

Coach’s quote: “Oyster River has some really good athletes and they played us really tough. Unfortunately, we squandered a few opportunities that really cost us. We’ll learn from this moving forward.” – John Stark’s Mike Smith

Records: Oyster River 2-0; John Stark 1-1

Merrimack Valley 85, Kingswood 61

Key players: MV – Ethan Dukette (25 points, 6 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, Thatcher Stearn (23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists), Brady Smith, Boston Bradicich, Nic Oglesby

Highlights: MV led 42-39 at halftime, thanks to five 3-pointers from Dukette in the second quarter, and pulled away in the second half.

Coach's quote: “Both teams got out to hot starts … MV stepped up the defensive effort in the second half.” – MV’s Kelly O’Brien

Records: MV 2-0; Kingswood 1-1

Pembroke 39, Hanover 31

Key players: Pembroke – Evan Berkeley (10 points)

Highlights: This was a gut game for two very good defensive teams.

Coach’s quote: “Hanover is a team that wears out offensive scoring teams on a regular basis, but tonight we showed with hard work that we can also be that defensive minded team. We are a team that loves to run, but to win the big ones you have to be able to slow the pace.” – Pembroke’s Mike Donnell

Records: Pembroke 2-0; Hanover 1-1

Hopkinton 66, Hillsboro-Deering 37

Key players: Hopkinton – Brayden Crawford (12 points), Chase Lawler (11 points), Jackson Westover (8 points); H-D – Ethan Franklin (18 points), Chase Owen (6 points)

Highlights: The Hawks jumped out to an early 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and continued to build their lead throughout the night. Hopkinton scored double digit points in all four quarters.

Coach’s quote: “On a night where the outside shots weren’t falling, the guys did a great job driving to the hoop and cleaning up the offensive glass to put points on the board. I was impressed with Hillsboro’s tenacity all night, they have a young team that works hard.” – Hopkinton’s Liam McNicholas

Records: Hopkinton 2-0; H-D 0-2

Concord Christian 71, Pittsfield 31

 Concord Christian – TJ Charbono (14 points), Jaden Young (12 points), Jack Owens (10 points), Isaac Kirby (9 points), Ben Whitten (6 points), Luke Farland (5 points), Logan Duffy (5 points); Pittsfield – Brayden Pelletier (2o points)

Highlights: The Kingsmen jumped out to a 25-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and never trailed.

Records: Concord Christian 3-0; Pittsfield 0-4

Girls’ Basketball

Bow 48, Souhegan 26

Key players: Bow – Bry Szepan (12 points), Peyton Vaughn (11 points), Audrey Glennon (11 points), Gabby Tarsa (4 points), Reis Domini (4 points), Lauren Longley (4 points)

Coach’s quote: “We had multiple players score tonight, helping us take back the lead after a slow start. Reis Domini, Ella Gray and Audrey Glennon came off the bench and changed our momentum tonight. It was a great team win.” – Bow’s Cassidy Emerson

Records: Bow 2-0; Souhegan 0-2

Coe-Brown 49, Bishop Brady 33

Key players: Coe-Brown – Hannah Meehan (15 points), Bella Wiggin (13 points), Jennifer Noni (7 points), Madison Taylor (5 points); Bishop Brady – Claire Jackson (18 points), Payton Bryson (8 points)

Highlights: The Bears led 29-18 at halftime, but went on a 14-2 run in the third quarter to put the game away. The Giants outscored Coe-Brown in the fourth quarter, 13-6, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.

Coaches’ quotes: “Brady is a hard working team. They never gave up in this game. Nice second win for us.” – Coe-Brown’s Joe Vachon

“We just couldn’t get shots to drop tonight. I thought our defense played great. Going 8-for-15 from the foul line hurt. We could have made it a game if made them.” – Bishop Brady’s Steve Aubertine

Records: Coe-Brown 2-0; Bishop Brady 0-2

Oyster River 64, John Stark 49

Key players:  John Stark – Lexi Korbet (16 points, 12 rebounds), Kylie Dinan (13 points, 7 rebounds), Haley Stafford (8 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists)

Highlights: The Generals stayed with the Bobcats for three quarters and were just one point behind heading into the fourth, but Stark struggled to score over the final eight minutes.

Coach’s quote: “The girls played a great game tonight. It was a true team efforts with seven different girls scoring. We are a young team that is working out the kinks.” – John Stark’s Tiffany Warren

Records: Oyster River 1-1; John Stark 0-2

Merrimack Valley 67, Kingswood 31

Key players: MV – Kayla Smith (20 points, 12 rebounds), Izzy Navoy (12 points), Syd Bailey (8 points)

Highlights: The Pride dominated the first quarter, taking a 26-3 lead, and led 43-11 at halftime.

Coach’s quote: “I thought we did a great job to start the game pressing. We built a big lead and worked on a few other things defensively. Kingswood went zone and we did a good job making the extra pass knocking down shots. Tough one vs. Laconia on Thursday.” – MV’s Bob McNutt

Records: MV 2-0; Kingswood 0-2

Pembroke 54, Hanover 28

Key players: Pembroke – Kate Stephens (14 points), Ava Strazzeri (11 points), Bailey Gatchell (8 points)

Highlights: Pembroke jumped to a 19-4 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Ten different players scored for the Spartans as they were able to get everyone time on the court.

Coach’s quote: “We took control early with strong play from our starters, especially Bailey Gatchell, and then Ava Strazzeri came off the bench and did a great job. It was a good bounce back for us in our home opener.” – Pembroke’s Steve Langevin

Records: Pembroke 1-1; Hanover 0-2

Belmont 49, Somersworth 22

Key players: Belmont – Madison Carrier (15 points), Lyla McSheffrey (9 points)

Highlights: The Raiders opened the game with a 12-5 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 23-7 at halftime.

Coach’s quote:  “Madelyn Besegai was an unsung hero. She did a marvelous job distributing the ball where it needed to go and keeping up the defensive pressure. Good overall team effort.” – Belmont’s Roger Carroll

Records: Belmont 1-1; Somersworth 0-2

Hinsdale 36, Pittsfield 29

Key players: Hinsdale – Gemma Doty (26 points); Pittsfield – Addison Clark (9 points), Alivia Lavigne (9 points)

Highlights:  The Panthers didn’t have an answer for Doty and the Pacers on the road.

Records: Hinsdale 4-0; Pittsfield 1-3

Boys’ Swimming

Nashua North 5-0, Pinkerton 4-1, Oyster River 3-2, Coe-Brown 2-3, Newmarket 1-4, Derryfield 0-5

Key players: Coe-Brown – Tucker Raymond (1st 100 back, 1st 50 free), Shea Raymond (1st 100 free, 2nd 50 free), Brayden Behr (6th 200 free, 8th 100 free), Clemens Remi (5th 100 back, 11th 50 free)

Highlights: The Bears won a pair of duals and went 2-3 in Sunday’s swim meet at the University of New Hampshire. Coe-Brown, with only four swimmers on its roster, took second in the 200-yard freestyle relay and third in the 200 medley relay.