By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
HOPKINTON, N.H. — Following an unofficial loss to Hanover in the Upper Valley Holiday Classic, Kearsarge was eager to bounce back in its first contest since the calendar turned to 2025.
Despite a furious second half comeback from the Hawks, Kearsarge was able to hang on for a 55-52 victory on Friday night in Hopkinton.
Early in the contest it appeared as though Kearsarge would face little resistance on the way to its fifth win of the season. Each of Kearsarge’s starters scored in the opening frame as they opened up a 20-8 lead.
The Cougars came out cold in the second quarter, going scoreless for over four minutes before Eli Whipple drilled a deep two. Despite the slow start, Kearsarge barely lost any ground with Hopkinton also struggling to jumpstart its offense. Both teams were held to single digits for the period as Kearsarge entered the half with a 29-17 advantage.
The momentum began to swing in Hopkinton’s favor as they opened the second half on an 11-2 run. Hopkinton’s run culminated in a coast-to-coast drive by Noah Aframe that had the crowd in such a frenzy that Kearsarge was forced to call timeout midway through the quarter with only a three-point edge.
While Kearsarge maintained its three-point lead as they entered the fourth quarter, they were faced with the tough task of holding on without standout Noah Whipple, who left the game late in the third period due to an injury. Whipple’s teammates stepped up to fill the void and their lead seemed relatively safe until Hopkinton’s Kristof Cauley connected on two threes in a 20-second span to cut the deficit to 51-50 with 55 seconds remaining. Trailing by three in the final seconds, Hopkinton had one final chance to send the game to overtime, but their final attempt hit the back iron before crashing to the court as the buzzer sounded.
Eli Whipple paced Kearsarge (5-0) with 16 points, Austin Needham was next with 15, and Ajay Tremblay added 12. Needham and Tremblay combined to connect on 10 out of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory. Hopkinton (2-2) had seven players with at least five points, led by Will Chehade with 11.
