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Londonderry Lancers Boys Basketball '07-'08

Thu, Mar 06, 2008 07:00 PM @ Londonderry
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Playoff Game Class L Tournament - Round 1
Bishop Guertin 10 14 12 21 57
Londonderry 19 12 10 25 66

Travalini (25 points), Londonderry hold off BG

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Friday, March, 07 By James Healey
Staff writer

Londonderry gave its fans what they wanted | a win and a chance for redemption in the Class L quarterfinals.

The fifth-seeded Lancers held off upset-minded No. 12 Bishop Guertin, 66-57.

Matt Travalini (25 points) dumped in four 3-pointers to open the first quarter and gave Londonderry a 19-10 lead after one. Those baskets set the tone for the rest of the night.

"It gave me a lot of confidence," said Travalini. "Well, I was confident anyways, but in front of the big stage, it just reassured myself that I could do it."

Londonderry (14-5 in Class L) led by as much as 17 in the first half, but it was just 31-24 at the half. The lead dwindled to two points twice in the second half as Oliver Hunter (33 points) was unstoppable. But the hosts held on.

"It wasn't a pretty win," said Lancers head coach Jim Zorbas, whose club was again without injured 6-6 senior Ryan Griffin. "But we made plays when we had to."

Londonderry regained control in the fourth quarter, but with only three minutes to play, the score was just 51-49.

Travalini drew two key fouls, hitting 3-of-4 from the line to give Londonderry the lead for good.

"We battled back and showed the mental toughness to get the win," said Travalini.

Londonderry will now travel to the University of New Hampshire for the fourth year in a row. Only this time, the Lancers are looking to advance further than the quarterfinals, where they have been eliminated the last three years.

"I am happy that we are going," said Zorbas. "But I want to win when we get there."

Londonderry will be facing No. 4 Manchester Central, which beat Nashua South 72-40 to improve to 15-4 in Class L. Central handed Londonderry a 58-45 loss in their last matchup, which ended the regular season for the Lancers. The Lancers, however, believe in themselves.

"We're not going to be intimidated like we were before," said Travalini. "We have a lot of confidence and we feel like we can get the job done."

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