BEDFORD, NH – Some might say, “be careful what you wish for.”
Sudi Lett got exactly what he expected.
Taking his 15th-ranked Manchester Central boys basketball team (7-11) to second-seeded Bedford for a preliminary-round matchup in the Division I boys basketball playoff tournament Wednesday night, the sixth-year Little Green head coach knew his team was going to have to be in top form to knock off the Bulldogs.
They were not.
“I can tell you a little bit about it. We just missed some layups, and you can’t really combat that. You’ve got to make layups,” said the Lett following the 88-55 season-ending loss. “Honestly, we liked (coming to Bedford) better because we didn’t want to go to the seacoast, so this was probably as good as it was was going to get. We played them close in in the first game (Bedford pulled away late for a 85-59 game in the season opener), but I told the kids very simple, ‘you have got to make shots because they’re going to score,’ and we didn’t, so we lost.”
Still Central’s season – which began and ended against the same foe – was not without its share of successes in between.
In fact, the Little Green won five of their last eight contests, including three victories against playoff teams – Goffstown, Merrimack and Londonderry – as well as an 81-76 Queen City rival Manchester Memorial on Jan. 19, which ultimately ended up being the tiebreaker between the two teams for the 15th and final playoff spot.
“I don’t know how we made it here, to be honest,” said Lett. “We were 2-7, and I think we lost our next game to make us 2-8, so it’s miraculous to say the least. I told the boys they had nothing to hang their heads over. At the end of the season, there’s only one team with a happy locker room, so we just joined the rest of the teams that didn’t have one. No worries.”
The late-season success, however, may have provided a glimpse into the future for the Little Green.
“I always have super high expectations I think we’ve done a lot of great work this year. You know, you don’t talk about it, but none of our kids had any academic problems which plague some of the Manchester schools, so I think we’re going in the right direction.”
Indeed, the Central boys freshman and JV teams both had deep runs in their postseason runs, and while the future looks bright with some of those young up-and-comers, Lett noted that his current group seniors is leaving an impressive set of footprints from which to follow.
That list includes Treyshaun Dunn, Dawson Tyler-Fulse, Tavon Whitted, Wesley Olmeda and Yorrie Abrahams, as well as four-year players Mohammed Mohammed and Asher Zegno.
“Super sad and sorry to lose them,” said Lett. “They’re awesome people.”
See a photo you like, visit Lavigne’s Live Shots to view or purchase these photos and more.