After the last round of holiday tournaments on Monday, multiple local teams crowned themselves champions in style across New Hampshire.

These tournaments don’t count toward regular-season records, but closing out the year by running the gauntlet against tough competition in a single-elimination playoff format can go a long way.

From gritty performances to highlight moments, the Monitor asked athletes what it takes to win a holiday tournament. One by one, we will revisit what made these teams extra special and how their performances can carry over into 2025.

Basketball: Capital Classic

Girls: The Bow Falcons beat a tough and physical Merrimack Valley team, 43-41, to win the Capital Classic. Freshman guard Peyton Vaughn led the Falcons to victory with 25 points and showed off her skills, creating good chances inside.

“We started off with a bunch of nerves. Everyone was a little nervous. But as the game was going on, I think we just fell into our flow and started playing Bow basketball,” said Vaughn.

“I think the pressure definitely helped us mentally, what to do when it’s 20 seconds left on the clock,” added senior captain Kate McGovern. “We’re gonna work on that in practice, probably for the rest of the year, because Division II is such good competition this year.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair that featured a lot of fouls. Both teams neared the limit and had players foul out in the fourth quarter. Merrimack Valley senior forward Kayla Smith, who had kept the Pride in the game, fouled out late after leading the team with 15 points.

After 11 lead changes in the game, Bow’s ability to create shots and take fouls helped the Falcons narrowly pull ahead with less than a minute to go. They remain undefeated on the season through three NHIAA games and three tournament wins, and their performance were a testament to the promising program that head coach Cassidy Emerson is building in her second year.

“They’re hungry. This is a hungry group. We take it game by game. We take losses, we take wins, and we learn from our mistakes. We learn from what we do well. So right now they’re pumped. They deserve this win. They worked their butts off to get it. However, now our next focus is Derryfield,” said Emerson.

Boys: The Pembroke boys ran away with the championship on their home court against ConVal. The Spartans led by 10 points at the half, did not look back and won, 66-47. The Cougars fought valiantly but were up against a perennially well-coached Spartans team led by coach Mike Donnell.

The Spartans had narrowly escaped Bow in the semifinals by three points and found their flow much easier in this game. Ten different players got on the scoresheet for Pembroke. The Spartans’ depth and solid fundamentals have kept them rolling through an undefeated start to the year.

“I told the boys before the tournament started, ‘Winning this didn’t mean anything, because it doesn’t count for the year, but what matters is how we play,’ ” Donnell said. “That was the case for the first two games and tonight. We’re at Pembroke. We’re at home. No, we’re here to win. The guys, I thought, did a great job. We were able to get everybody in the game.”

Senior guard and captain Evan Berkeley moved the ball well and scored 14 points. Senior captain Devin Riel led the team in scoring with 18, and junior forward Javien Sinclair rounded out the top offensive players with 11 points.

“I’m focused on the rest of the season. It’s just another win; it doesn’t really count towards the regular season. But I’m so thankful for everything, and I’m ready to get back to work,” said Berkeley after receiving Tournament MVP honors. “We got a packed gym here, so I mean it definitely will help us with our experience in a playoff situation.”

Basketball: Mike Lee Holiday Bash

The crowd roared for the most competitive game of the entire tournament. Belmont fell to Coe-Brown, 66-64, in a crazy, back-and-forth, overtime game with tons of tough buckets and great defense.

“I think it, it’s meaningful; in fact, the way it was won in the quality, intensity of the game,” said Coe-Brown coach David Smith, who is also the school's headmaster. “There’s a lot of things that show what we can work on. We got a little things to polish up on and decision-making and the critical situations. You can’t make that at practice, that has to come in actual games. I was very proud of them for that.”

Belmont’s Keegan Martinez had a monster first half with 21 points, was held to none in the second and, despite his efforts, could not tie the game in OT. Treshawn Ray also had a great game with 18.

Coe-Brown sophomore guard Grant Hayes hit a huge three in the last two minutes to tie the game and led the Bears with 18 points. He was followed closely by senior center Jack Matson with 15, who was also named the tournament’s MVP for his work on the defensive end.

“The only reason I got the MVP is because I have a great point guard here and the rest of the other team getting me the ball. I couldn’t do it by myself. I definitely need a facilitator. But we did great. We’re a great team. We’re so selfless, and that’s what I really love about this team,” Matson said, holding his trophy.

Hockey: Brian C. StoneMemorial Tournament, Kingswood Girls Holiday Tournament

The Concord boys’ hockey team appears to be experiencing a resurgence as it remained undefeated in NHIAA games and earned a great 3-1 win over Exeter this past Saturday in the Brian C. Stone Memorial Tournament in Manchester.

“Last time we won this tournament three years ago we won the state championship, so hopefully we can kind of recreate that,” said senior forward Trevor Craigue after the tournament.

“This tournament brings a lot of morale as a team together. It doesn’t count, but it’s a confidence-booster in a sense. I mean, we can hang with these teams. Like Trevor said, last time we did win this we were freshmen, and we did end up going to win the state championship,” added senior forward Cam Chandonnet, who scored one of the Tide’s goals.

Concord High continued to show promise in girls’ hockey and became champions of Kingswood tourney by beating Exeter, 6-4. The Tide girls are starting to come together and build chemistry with a lot of new faces and different play styles on the ice, but head coach Kate Billings is beginning to see growth and improvement in her team.

“We played some of our best hockey in that championship game against Exeter. They’re a strong team, and it proves we can play with some of the best in a more high-pressure situation. I’m so proud of my team, and it makes me happy to see them excited and come together the way that they did,” said Billings. “In this tournament, we got plenty of work with five-vs.-five, our power play and our penalty kill – it looked good. We’re in a good spot right now, and I can’t wait to see how we continue to put the pressure on other teams this year.”

Hockey: Brady-SullivanChristmas Tournament

Belmont-Gilford showed why it is one of the top teams in D-III hockey. The team, led by head coach Josh Parent, beat Monadnock-Fall Mountain, 8-0, in the championship game and played well throughout.

“I think it gives us confidence coming off of this extended break of time. We aren’t playing any NHIAA events; it gives us, these players, some confidence. Maybe a player can score a couple of goals or can be effective during a game and get himself some confidence,” said Parent. “I thought this was a big stepping stone for us through the holiday tournament.”

 

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.