MANCHESTER, NH — Sophomore guard Colin Charbeneau hit six 3-pointers, helping Trinity High pull away from Windham, 54-45, Tuesday night.
Charbeneau overcame foul trouble to finish with a game-high 19 points for the Pioneers.
Trinity squandered a 12-point lead in the third quarter and found itself trailing, 43-42 with just over two minutes left in the game. But the Pioneers regrouped and closed the game with a 13-2 run to improve to 12-4 on the year.
Senior guard Shawn O’Neil (5 rebounds) and sophomore forward Jordan Torres added 10 points each for Trinity, which won its fourth straight game and is now tied for fourth in the Division I standings.
”This was huge. Windham has been playing really well, with a five or six-game win streak,” said Trinity Head Coach Ray Farmer. “They made us work for everything.”
After a tough two-week stretch in January, during which it dropped three of four games, Trinity seems to have regained its footing.
”The biggest difference is that we’re healthy,” said Farmer. “We’ve had walking pneumonia going through the whole team. We’ve gotten some guys back but we still have Derrick (Erilla) out. Hopefully, we’ll be getting him back and be fully healthy for the playoffs.”
Windham, which saw its five-game win streak come to an end, dropped to 9-7. Senior guard Jack Koutrobis led the Jaguars with 15 points. Senior forward John Murphy added 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The game featured a playoff-type atmosphere, with both teams playing aggressive defense and the referees content to let them play. There were just nine free throws attempted through the first three quarters.
Trinity’s tight man-to-man defense and 2-1-2 press held Windham to its lowest point total of the season. But the Pioneers weren’t having any more success against Windham’s relentless 2-3 matchup zone. The Jaguars did an excellent job rotating on the perimeter and collapsing in the paint. Trinity’s 54 points were it’s second lowest total of the season.
With offense at a premium, Trinity got a strong boost from its bench. Junior Xander McBournie and junior Jaydan Auguste combined for 14 points and gave the Pioneers a needed burst of energy at both ends of the court.
Sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Charbeneau and one from O’Neil, Trinity opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to go up 34-22.
But Windham, the hottest team in Division I in the month of February, refused to be blown out and slowly clawed its way back into the game.
A putback by Murphy, as the third quarter came to an end, cut the Trinity lead to 36-31.
The Jaguars used a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to pull to within 41-40. And when Koutrobis drained a straightaway three with 2:10 remaining, Windham had suddenly taken a 43-42 lead.
Rather than call a timeout, Farmer chose to let his club play its way of the jam and the Pioneers responded.
Torres stuck an elbow jumper on the next possession to grab the lead back for Trinity. McBournie then drained a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 47-43 with 1:31 remaining.
But this game was all about defense and it was a defensive play that sealed the win for Trinity.
With Windham down by four, Murphy took a pass in the low post and went up for what looked to be an easy hoop. But Trinity forward Connor Bishop met him in the air and got a clean block to keep it a two-possession game.
Trinity didn’t allow a field goal over the final two minutes and the Pioneers made 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch.