MANCHESTER, NH – The Holy Family varsity boys basketball team is headed to the Division I-IV quarterfinals.
That, after the seventh-ranked Griffins (13-5) fended off a late charge from No. 10 Moultonborough (11-7) to earn a 56-46 victory in the opening round of the playoffs Tuesday night.
The visiting Panthers didn’t make it easy, however.
After trailing, 32-23 at halftime, the Moltonborough went on a 6-1 run to start the second half before Holy Family finished out the third quarter on a 10-4 run of its own.
The fourth quarter followed a similar trend, with the Panthers scoring seven of the first eight points to close the gap to three. After a few back-and-forth baskets, Moltonborough drew within one, 47-46, with 3:14 remaining in the contest.
“Their press is very good. Their press is what got us,” said Holy Family Head Coach Samy Abdalla of the pesky Panthers. “They were trying to speed us, and we were trying to match their speed, so I told the guys to try to slow the game down, make the smart decisions, make the smart passes, and they were able to respond.
Indeed, the Griffins locked in on offense, locked down on defense and scored the last nine points of the game to secure the 10-point triumph.
Senior standout Enzo Yonkeu led the contest with 19 points, while Elijah Pimentel, Elian Pena and Jose Rojas contributed 9, 8 and 7 points, respectively.
The Griffins now prepare for significant road challenge when they travel to second-ranked Hinsdale (15-2) for a 6 p.m. tipoff Thursday night.
The squads split their home-and-home series during the regular season, with Holy Family winning 76-51 on Jan. 28, at home, and Hinsdale taking their home matchup as well, 61-50, on Feb. 11.
Though Abdalla acknowledged the challenge that awaits, he said his team has been working to move the ball around, especially on the offensive end.
“Most teams have kind of figured out that Enzo’s a great player, so right now, we’re just trying to expand the game more and get the other guys involved as well,” he said. “You know, if Enzo is having an off night, some of the other guys need to be able to step up, so it’s an all-around team approach for us right now.”
