Kearsarge’s Nate Camp has seen great success and an abundance of talent come through the Cougars’ program in his ten years as the varsity boys basketball head coach, but the group he has this year has come together like no other.
After a disappointing loss to Laconia to fall to 2-3 early on in the season, the Cougars had a talk after the game. Camp says that what was said in their home locker room after that loss changed the mindset of the team, and changed the course as to where this year’s Cougars were headed.
“I couldn’t tell you how disappointed I was after that Laconia game,” said Camp following Thursday’s practice. “From that point forward we were on the same page… we started playing for the name on the front of our jerseys.”
After that loss to a Laconia team that was 5-13 on the year, the Cougars rallied to win three of their next four and got their season back on track.
Now, more than two months later, the No. 9 Cougars head to coach Camp’s house for a team dinner tonight as they prepare to head into Saturday’s D-II state title game against No. 3 Pembroke Academy with their chemistry at an all-time high.
“These kids have really connected on and off the court,” said Camp. “Everyone has accepted their role on the team, and anyone can go get a bucket for us, which is special.”
The group of seniors on the team have seen the Cougars in the state title game three of the last four years, and perhaps it’s their experience that has propelled them to get to this point as an underdog.
When asked what it’s been like to fight through tough road games this postseason, Camp said, “I’d almost rather go on the road because I know how mentally tough we are. We had nothing to lose.”
Before beating No. 5 Merrimack Valley in the semifinals at UNH, Kearsarge beat No. 8 Souhegan and then No. 1 Oyster River, both on the road.
The 50-49 win over Oyster River was made possible because of a last-second game-winning 3-pointer from freshman Adrian McCarthy, which proved to give Kearsarge confidence going forward, as they dominated for much of their semifinal win.
“After beating Souhegan, Oyster River’s talent is right up there with Pembroke’s,” said Camp. “So when [Adrian] McCarthy hit that shot to beat them… you just knew there was something special here.”
The Cougars playing their best basketball at the right time of the year will come in handy as they await their matchup with talented Pembroke on Saturday, who they did not face in the regular season.
Pembroke is a team that has quality guard play, including senior Noah Cummings, the D-II player of the year in NH, and senior Sean Menard, both of whom are 1,000-point scorers for their career. They also have a junior guard in Shea Shackford who is a threat as a third option. Cummings scored 20 points in the semifinal win over ConVal while Menard added 15.
“They’re very good and they like to play up-tempo and push the ball… they have multiple scorers,” said Camp on the No. 3 Spartans. “Cummings is the real deal… he’s one of the best guards in the state regardless of division. Not only does he find ways to score but he facilitates as well.”
The Cougars have their own guards who are playing at a high rate. Senior Noah Tremblay is leading D-II in scoring at north of 20 PPG, and junior point guard Ben Carl is finding ways to put his fingerprints on many different aspects of the game.
The Spartans do have a 6’4” big man in Jack Lehoullier, but the Cougars will look to outplay Pembroke in the paint with the use of their two senior bigs, 6’6” Kyle Hernon and 6’3” Jak Jallah.
Tip-off is set for noon on Saturday at UNH’s Lundholm Gym.
NOTES: Coach Camp took over the program in 2010 and has three title appearances… before that, the Cougars’ last title game appearance was a runner-up finish to Goffstown in 1999 in Class I — — Kearsarge was bounced in the D-II quarterfinals last year as a favorite to make a deep playoff run with 1,000-point scorers Tayler Mattos and Tommy Johnson — — In 2017, Kearsarge beat Stevens in the D-III title game 51-46 — — In 2016, Kearsarge lost to Pelham in the D-III state final 43-39 — — Pembroke’s last titles came as back-to-back D-II champs in 2013 and 2014 — — Kearsarge is 13-8 on the year, while Pembroke is 20-1.
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