After having a nine-game winning streak ended by a disappointing, 20-point loss to the Bedford High Bulldogs in Derry on Feb. 12, the Division I-leading Pinkerton Academy boys’ basketball squad leaped back onto the winning path last week with victories over Trinity of Manchester and Bishop Guertin of Nashua.
The Astros drove their divisional record up to 13-2 by besting the two sub-.500 opponents, snaring their 10th and 11th wins in their last dozen games in solidifying their standing in D-I.
Matt Anzivino makes his way to the basket during last week’s game against Bishop Guertin.
In the 66-52 downing of Trinity in Manchester on Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Astros raced out to a 20-11 lead in the first quarter and solidified it by outscoring their hosts by a 23-9 tally in the second quarter.
Carrying that 43-20 lead into the second half, Pinkerton was outscored by the Pioneers by a 32-23 margin in the latter half but still managed to win the contest quite handily.
The victorious locals received 22 points from Brennan Morris, 16 from Tommy Romick, a dozen from Ben Olson, and eight from Matt Rizzo.
Trinity slipped to 5-9 on the campaign – dropping its fifth decision in its last six games – despite working hard to stage a comeback in the second half.
The Astros faced another pesky opponent at home in Derry last Friday night, Feb. 19, but vanquished those BG Cardinals by a 71-57 score.
Guertin came into the evening with a 6-8 record, having lost three of its last four games. And at the end of the night, coach Jim Migneault’s mob sat three games under .500 at 6-9.
The first half was played relatively tightly, with the host Astros grasping a 16-11 lead at the end of one quarter and a 34-28 advantage when halftime arrived.
Veterans Romick and Morris then combined for 32 of their squad’s 37 second half points as Pinkerton powered its way to the win.
Romick netted 19 of those in the second half – including a dozen in the third period – in helping his crew outscore Guertin by a 20-12 margin to grasp a 54-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Astros claimed 12 of the first 14 points tallied in the third quarter to bounce their lead up to 16 points at 46-30. And the home-standing locals’ advantage never slipped below double-digits the rest of the way.
While more than pleased to take the win, Pinkerton coach Peter Rosinski expressed concern regarding his team’s relative inability to retain its focus and fire on defense in the win.
“We have to be more consistent on defense,” he said. “We need to be more intense, all the time, on defense.”
Romick finished the night with 25 points, Morris tallied 18, and Olson was good for 10.
The team entered this week facing a home game against Concord on Tuesday, Feb. 23, after Nutfield News press time, followed by a road trip to Exeter on Friday evening.
