AMHERST, NH — Freshman Jayden Guzman scored on a putback with four seconds left in regulation to lift Manchester West to a thrilling 58-56 win over Souhegan, Friday night in Amherst.
Souhegan (5-4) gave first-place West all it could handle and led throughout most of the game.
With the score tied at 56 and just 11.2 seconds remaining, West’s Brayden Mariano took a inbounds pass and slashed hard to the hoop but was unable to finish the play. The rebound bounced around a bit and ended up in the hands of Guzman, who dropped in a floater from six feet.
Souhegan never got the chance for a “buzzer beater” to win force overtime because Guzman deflected an inbounds pass and Mariano dove to the floor to take possession, as time expired.
With the win, West improved to 9-0 at the halfway mark of the regular. Blue Knights’ Head Coach Rich Otis was pleased with his team’s performance but admitted the second half of the season will be rife with challenges for the Blue Knights.
”Heading into this game, I’d been looking at our schedule and I think nine of our last 10 opponents will be in the tournament,” said Otis. “After tonight it’s eight of the last nine. There will be some tough games. But these types of games are fun. Souhegan is a really good team — very well coached.
Max Houde led West with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. He had 12 points and drained three 3s to help West rally from a six-point deficit (44-38) early in the fourth quarter.
“Max hit some big shots for us,” said Otis. He’s a great player and works really hard at his game. I’d say he’s one of the five best players in the state.”
Jayden Tate added 14 for the Blue Knights, including four from beyond the arc.
Souhegan was led by Wes Hickman’s game-high 24 points. Joe Mayo chipped in with 14.
West was playing catchup throughout the fourth quarter, with Souhegan answering every time the Blue Knights looked to be gaining momentum.
A traditional three-point play by Mariano (8 points) was followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Houde and Tate, pulled West to within 48-47 with 5:25 to play.
Souhegan fired back with a pair of baseline drives by Hickman and a jumper in the lane to push their lead back to five, 54-49, with under four minutes remaining.
That’s when Houde took over, draining consecutive 3-pointers and adding a free throw to tie the game at 56 with 1:12 left.
With a chance to play for the last shot, Souhegan turned the ball over when Sean Zerego (10 points) lost the ball out of bounds in the low post with 43.1 seconds remaining.
That set the stage for Guzman’s heroics.
West got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-0 and not scoring its first points until a 3-pointer from Houde midway through the quarter. Both teams played tight, physical defense throughout and, for the most part, the referees let them, as very few fouls were called.
Souhegan led, 13-12 after the first quarter and the teams were tied, 24-all, at intermisson