DERRY, N.H. — If there was any question if Pinkerton would crack, just minutes away from a return to the Division I semifinals, under one final barrage from Bishop Guertin, Joshua Phanor had one final, dominant response.
Just as the super sophomore hit center court, he went on the attack, flying to the basket and tossing in an acrobatic layup while absorbing contact that then sent him to the free throw line for the last — and perhaps the loudest — of his game-high 30 points.
“We were prepared for this,” said Phanor. “We knew that, if we played our game, that we could do this. We stayed disciplined, didn’t do anything crazy, and now we’re going to to the state semis.”
Phanor and the star senior duo of Wilson Youssef and Brady Sullivan were all immense as No. 4-seeded Pinkerton took down No. 5 Bishop Guertin 89-84 in the Division I quarterfinals on Saturday at the Astros’ Hackler Gym.
“This feels amazing,” said Youssef, who finished with 24 points. “This is what we’ve been preparing for. We put in the work, and we dedicated ourselves to getting here. It feels so great to be one win from the state championship game.”
Pinkerton (17-3) will next travel to top-seeded Portsmouth (18-1) for the Division 1 semifinals on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) at the Rochester Rec. Center.
The Astros dealt Portsmouth its only loss of the season, 83-75, on Feb. 21.
“We know that Portsmouth is going to be a dogfight,” said Sullivan, who scored 22 points. “But we have to play the same game we did today. When we get out and run, we’re a hard team to beat. When we show up and play defense, we are one of the best teams in the state. Teams are going to go on runs, like BG did today, but you just have to keep fighting.”
Pinkerton led Bishop Guertin 38-32 at halftime, then extended the advantage to 64-50 after three quarters.
But the Cardinals did muster a final surge, cutting it to 69-64 midway through the fourth.
Youssef, however, knocked down a 3-pointer, Sullivan hit a layup and a short jumper, then Phanor went to work with seven straight points, capped by his strong drive to put the Astros in charge to stay.
Now, Pinkerton will look to earn its third state title berth in four years.
“They were just awesome today,” said Astros coach Mike Dunham. “Phanor, Sullivan and Wilson have been our Big 3 all year, then guys like Ryan Bonilla, Brady Spellman and Elliot Ingraham really stepped it up on defense. I’m very proud of the guys.”
Pinkerton 89, Bishop Guertin 84
Division I Quarterfinals
Bishop Guertin — Luca Fabrizio 4-0-10, Sam Prescott 2-1-5, Connor McGowan 10-6-28, Andre Steinbrueck 3-1-7, Eli Youssef 9-3-23, Sam Woodward 2-6-11. Totals 30-17-84
Pinkerton — Ryan Bonilla 0-0-0, Wilson Youssef 8-4-24, Josh Phanor 11-3-30, Brady Sullivan 8-4-22, Ryder Hawkes 1-0-3, Brady Spellman 2-2-8, Adam Ajouz 0-0-0, Elliott Ingraham 1-0-2. Totals 31-13-89
Threes: PA — Youseff 4, Phanor 5, Sullivan 2, Hawkes, Spellman 2; BG — Fabrizio 2, McGowan 2, Woodward, Youssef 2