High school basketball returned to NHTI Friday night for the college’s new Community Classic initiative. It invited two local schools and their fans to experience basketball on the bigger college court and learn about the opportunities for further education and athletics.

The new athletics director, Annie Mattarazzo, is the former athletic director for Bishop Brady and understood that creating a stronger relationship with local schools is a win-win situation for all. Many of NHTI’s athletes come from New Hampshire schools and she wants students and parents to understand the breadth of pathways they offer.

“We are NHTI, Concord’s community college, and so that community piece is just such a big piece of the culture here, the innovation and the creativity, but the opportunity, and that’s all we that's all with this initiative,” she said. “What we really want is for people to see what we offer and to experience the feel. Culture is all about feel.”

NHTI’s entire women’s basketball team is composed of New Hampshire homegrown talent – as are many of its other varsity teams – and in part, the Community Classic games are an effort to recruit, but also to establish a stronger relationship with the entire Concord-area community. Mattarazzo said that NHTI will look to host a high school game in every sport and that baseball and softball are slated for the spring, but they will look to add more soon.

“One of the main reasons I entered here was because our fields are so amazing. We have this space, and that’s what you see when you first come here. Athletics is a big part of the tradition here, and we want to maintain that, but we want to build that. And you build that through community,” she added. 

In this first Community Classic, Pembroke Academy’s girls and boys both came away with two wins – that count toward their regular season record – over John Stark in the packed Paul Hogan court.

Girls

Pembroke ran away with the game early and kept its lead steadily to beat the Generals, 57-27.

Junior guard Kate Stephens paced the Spartans with 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. She was followed close behind by senior forward Kaitlin Arenella with 11 points and 10 boards, and by sophomore Anne Phillips who also had 11 points.

The Spartans were able to find their rhythm to start 2025, especially on the defensive end to force 30 turnovers, and now have a 3-1 record to start the season.

“We really worked on defense a lot yesterday. It’s the thing we want to improve on the most the rest of the year, our offense is pretty good most nights. They don’t always go in, like the beginning of the game today, but we usually get a lot of good chances that we score pretty well,” said the Spartans’ head coach, Steve Langevin. 

On the other side of the court stood a young John Stark team (0-4), with only two seniors on the roster, that’s beginning to find its identity. The Generals graduated their starting five this year and are in a rebuild to find new ways to win without them.

Sophomore guard Alexis Korbet shined for the Generals with good movement on-ball and long-distance shooting that earned her 22 points and five rebounds. Head coach Tiffany Warren said that her squad is working hard and improving every day, and although they may struggle against more experienced and older teams, they expect to start winning as the team continues to work together.

“I thought it was a great opportunity for us. I’m super happy that they were able to make this work. I always love playing against Pembroke, and it’s just a good atmosphere to play in a bigger size gym. Lights are a little bit brighter, a lot of fans turned out for today,” said Warren.

Boys

Pembroke Academy’s boys were coming off the Capital Area Classic Holiday Tournament win and continued to show why they’re one of the top teams in Division II this season. 

“It felt good to win on a college court. Definitely a different experience to play on, because it’s such a bigger court, more running to do,” said Pembroke junior forward Javien Sinclair. “We’re feeling good.”

The Generals (1-3) kept the game very close throughout until Pembroke finally pulled away late in the fourth to win the game, 57-51. The Spartans (4-0) remain undefeated through regular season and holiday tournament games, and have shown mental endurance in multiple close games.

Before halftime, John Stark’s junior forward Aiden Harris got a steal, hurled the ball from half court and hit a buzzer-beating 3 to tie the game, 24-24. He hit another buzzer-beating lay-up at the end of the third quarter, but his clutch factor was not enough to pull off the upset. Harris led the Generals with an incredible 16 points and 15 rebounds.

The Spartans played to their strengths and seemed unfazed by the Generals’ grit and effective offense. Senior Evan Berkeley led them with 21 points on 50 percent shooting while sophomore Andrew Fitzgerald found his spots for good jumpers to score 10 of his own.

“It's great for the college getting these kids to see this court, see the banners, and see the flags, see what college is all about,” said Pembroke head coach Mike Donnell. “So I think it was a great experience. And what I loved was that the fans came out. I had it out on social media everywhere. We filled the gym again tonight, and John Stark brought a lot of kids. So it was a festive game.”

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com