After winning its first five Division I contests of the 2014-15 season – as well as a holiday tournament title quite impressively – the Pinkerton Academy boys’ basketball squad was dealt its first loss by the defending D-I champions from Manchester Central High School in the Queen City two weeks ago.
But after a competitive layoff of a week to take care of mid-term exams, coach Peter Rosinski and his PA charges rediscovered the winning path Friday, Jan. 23, with a 50-39 besting of the winless but pesky Dover High Green Wave in Derry.
Standout sophomore guard Geo Baker-Occeus paced the Pinkerton charge by netting 18 points, leading a crew of nine Astro scorers in the double-digit victory that made the locals a strong 6-1 in their strong league.
The hosts won every quarter but the third, grasping a 12-6 lead at the end of one period and a 24-13 advantage when the two sides adjourned for halftime.
The 0-6 Green Wave managed to stay in the fray by obstinately outscoring its host by a 14-11 tally in the third period, but the Astros enjoyed a 15-12 advantage in scoring in the final stanza in collecting the 11-point win.
Along with Baker-Occeus’ noteworthy 18 points, Pinkerton received eight from Matt Rizzo and five apiece from Drew Green, Caleb Godin, and Brennan Morris. But the victors didn’t have their usual bang-up success from behind the three-point stripe, sinking just two treys with Rizzo and Morris each nailing one.
But the Keene High Blackbirds wound up being no impediment at all to further Pinkerton success as the Astro guys made a snowy bus trip to Keene and back Monday. The team made it worth the trip with a 80-35 throttling of their hosts.
The academy cagers advanced their 2014-15 record to 7-1 with that lopsided win while Keene crashed to 2-5.
