DURHAM, N.H. — With a state title on the line, Pelham had its shots in the final minute.
But nothing fell the Pythons’ way.
Pelham had three possessions with under a minute to play and the chance to take the lead or tie, but two shots just rimmed out, there was a turnover and a desperation steal bounced in the wrong direction as the No. 2-seeded Pythons dropped an absolute heartbreaker to top-seeded Hollis Brookline 42-37 in the Division II boys basketball state title game on Sunday afternoon at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym.
“That’s really all you can ask for, a chance to win late,” said Pelham head coach Joe Morin. “Our guys absolutely battled until the end, but it didn’t go our way. I’m proud of them. There is not another group of guys I would rather have than our team. I would pick them over anybody.”
As the clock ticked below a minute remaining, and the score 38-37, a Pelham layup to the tie the game circled the rim, then rolled out and into a Cavalier’s hands. After Hollis Brookline hit a pair of free throws with 0:41 left to make it 40-37, the Pythons had a strong look to tie the game, but again it rimmed out.
Pelham then forced a turnover with 0:15 left, but a pass up court ended up out of bounced. The Pythons nearly stole the ensuing inbounds pass with 0:06 left, but the ball just deflected off their fingers and into the hands of a Cavalier, who was fouled and iced the game with two free throws.
“They just made one more play than us,” said Morin. “They got one more shot to fall. We knew one of the big things we had to focus on was second-chance points, and we did well. Our guys fought until the end. It just didn’t go our way.”
This marked Pelham’s third state title game appearance in four years, after winning back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024. The Pythons are now 5-5 overall in championship games.
Pelham (16-5) also dropped its regular season matchup to Hollis Brookline (21-0) this winter by a 69-60 score, at home way back on Dec. 16. The Pythons suffered just two more losses before the title game.
“Pelham is one tough team,” said Hollis Brookline head coach Ryan Kelley. “We feel like our height and length is our greatest strength, and Pelham is one of the few teams in Division 2 that we felt could match that. Their best player, Brady Hegan, is not only tall (6-foot-4) and long, but he is also very talented. They had a few other guys like No. 11 (6-foot-3 Nachi Nwabueze) that could also contest. But our guys worked so hard.”
The Cavilers started fast on Sunday, but Pelham closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run — highlighted by two baskets for Nick Giuffrida — to take a 16-12 lead after the first quarter.
Hollis Brookline then amped up the defense, allowing the Pythons just a single basket in the second quarter. But thanks to some gritty defense, Pelham trailed just 23-19 at the half.
The Pythons grabbed the lead twice in the third quarter, 26-25 on a Luke Estell free throw and 29-27 on a transition 3-pointer for Gavin Hastie.
Pelham took the lead one more time, 35-34 with 5:06 left in the fourth quarter, on a layup by Nwabueze — the Division II state champion in the long jump this winter. Brady O’Connor hit a 3-pointer to make it 38-37 Hollis Brookline, but that was as close as the Pythons would get.
O’Connor finished with a team-high 11 points, Hegan added nine points and Estell grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
The Pythons defense held Hollis Brookline to just 16 of 53 shooting, including 1 of 16 from 3-point range.
“We battled hard and we fought through adversity,” said Morin. “I just want to thank our seniors for an amazing run. I’m very proud of this group.”
Hollis Brookline 42, Pelham 37
Pelham: Gavin Hastie 3-0-7, Luke Estell 1-1-3, Brady Hegan 3-1-9, Troy Fornah 0-0-0, Brady O’Connor 5-0-11, Nick Giuffrida 2-0-4, Nachi Nwabueze 1-1-3, Quinn Blanchette 0-0-0. Totals 15-3-37
Hollis Brookline: Renzo Bergskaug 5-3-13, Dylan Kelley 4-0-8, James Arthur 2-0-4, Marco Bergskaug 1-0-2, Alton Williams 4-5-14, Will McCoy 0-0-0, Bennett Torgersen 0-1-1, Ben LeClerc 0-0-0. Totals 16-9-42
Threes: P — Hastie, Hegan 2, O’Connor; HB — Williams
TWITTER: DWillisET