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DURHAM ­­— After his team’s semifinal win on Tuesday night, Pinkerton Academy coach Pete Rosinski wondered aloud what would happen in the finals if the Londonderry High shooters went cold.
The answer? A wild, defensive classic would evolve.
In the end, It was Londonderry overcoming that tough night from the floor to make history, edging the Astros, 47-46, before a full house of 3,500 here yesterday at UNH’s Lundholm Gymnasium.
The Lancers, playing in the first state boys hoop title game in the school’s 37-year history, finished the campaign perfect in New Hampshire Division 1 at 22-0 and 24-1 overall.
“We’ve talked so much about how resilient this team is,” said Lancers coach Nate Stanton. “We have so many guys who are willing to step up when it counts. I think we saw that tonight and all season. Tonight, this was awesome.”
Nothing came easy for either team. In a fourth quarter that saw six lead changes and a pair of ties, the winning hoop came from the least likely of sources, Lancer sophomore Brandon Radford, off a wild defensive scramble with 50 seconds to go.
The hoop, a semi-breakaway lay-in – left-handed – came on a heady outlet from fellow sophomore Jake Coleman, who had just picked up the steal.
“As soon as I got the ball, I looked up,” said Coleman. “We talk about getting out and running, and getting it up the floor all the time. He was there.”
Radford, who had missed his previous two shots from the field, sent it up with a lot of guts, from the left.
“I just ran downcourt. I’ve been struggling all year with my lay-ups, and all I could see is winning and this moment right now. It’s amazing,” said Radford, who calmly banked in the game-winner under pressure with his off hand. “It was instinct. I’m righty. I caught the ball on that left side, so I put it up.”
Pinkerton would have its chances late. The best was an off-the-dribble three-point try by Matt Rizzo which just rimmed out as the final buzzer sounded.
“I’m proud of the way we played defense tonight,” said Rosinski. “We were right there, and we had a shot at it. It just didn’t go in. Go back to 2010 when we won it. Sometimes, they go in. This time it didn’t.”
After a feeling-out first quarter, each team took its swings with Londonderry dominating the second (26-12) and Pinkerton owning the third (13-5).
In the fourth, Stanton brought his leader, Cody Ball, back with four fouls and the Lancers holding a 37-35 advantage.
“I know he’s smart. He’s very smart,” said Stanton. “That’s why he’s scholarship player (St. Anselm). I put him on the side of the zone, and he played very well when we needed him there.”
Ball stayed on the floor and it was huge as each team swung with nothing but haymakers in the final eight minutes.
Geo Baker-Occeus’ sidestep three gave the Astros their first lead of the fourth at 42-41. The incomparable Coleman’s steal and lay-in made it 43-42.
Drew Green had the Astro answer with a baseline 15-footer, and the teams swapped two free throws each, setting up the final minute at 46-45 Pinkerton.
Marc Corey (6 of 7 from the field) paced the Lancers on a night when Ball (2 of 12) struggled. The St. Joseph’s of Maine-bound senior tossed in 17 points before fouling out in the final minute. The sophomore Coleman added 16 points and grabbed 11 huge defensive rebounds.
Rizzo led the Astros with a dozen points. Thomas Romick came off the bench to chip in 11 points in 22 minutes. Baker-Occeus, who had 30 in the semifinal win, added 10 on 4 of 12 shooting.

Londonderry 47, Pinkerton 46
N.H. Division 1 Final
Londonderry (47): Cody Ball 2 0-0 5, Joseph Kwiatkowski 2 1-3 6, Marc Corey 6 3-5 17, Nate Gaw 0 0-0 0, Jake Coleman 6 2-3 16, Cole Britting 0 0-0 0, Brandon Radford 1 1-2 3, Totals 17 7-13 47
Pinkerton (46): Drew Green 3 0-0 7, Caleb Godin 1 0-0 2, David Faulks 1 0-0 2, Matt Rizzo 4 2-3 12, Geo Baker-Occeus 4 0-0 9, Thomas Romick 4 1-3 11, Brennan Morris 0 0-0 0, Ben Olson 0 0-0 0, Thomas Olson 1 0-1 2, Totals 18 3-7 46
3-pointers: Londonderry (6-20) — Ball 1-8, Kwiatkowski 1-2, Corey 2-3, Gaw 0-1, Coleman 2-6; Pinkerton (7-27) — Green 1-8, Godin 0-1, Rizzo 2-5, Baker 2-4, 2-5, Morris 0-4
Londonderry (24-1):      6 26  5 10 — 47
Pinkerton (20-4):     10 12 13 11 — 46

All the points Cody Ball has piled up in his Londonderry High career. All the jumpers knocked down. All the physical rebounds.

And the biggest play of his life might end up being a dive on the floor.

LONDONDERRY, N.H. — Cody Ball's steal and breakaway dunk with 3:02 remaining was rather cool and meaningful at the same time.

1). It put Londonderry up three points over Merrimack.

2). Ball was in the midst of a scoring frenzy after Merrimack's triangle-and-two defense held him without a single point until 3:58 remaining in the third period.

Top seeded Londonderry ripped No. 16 Winnacunnet 71-44 in its Division 1 tourney opener.

Cody Ball scored a game-high 21 points, Jake Coleman had 15, Marc Corey 14 and Brandon Radford 11. Coleman also had six steals for the Lancers (21-1, 19-0 D1) and Joey Kwiatkowski pulled down eight rebounds.

Sophomore Jake Coleman scored 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and Londonderry downed Spaulding, 77-60, to complete perhaps the first unbeaten regular season in program history. Marc Corey added 22 points and Cody Ball 20 despite foul problems.

Londonderry's unbeaten boys basketball team pulled away from Alvirne in the third quarter for a 74-54 victory on Senior Night, clinching the No. 1 seed for next week's Division 1 tournament. Marc Corey led the Lancers (17-0) with four 3-pointers and 22 points.

Marc Corey scored in the paint with 10 seconds left to give Londonderry a 65-64 win over Memorial.

On Tuesday, Marc Corey scored in the paint with 10 seconds left to give Londonderry a 65-64 win over Memorial. The Lancers (16-0) remained unbeaten by whipping North Friday 79-50 as Cody Ball had 26, Jake Coleman 13, Corey 12, and Joey Kwiatkowski 11.

Cody Ball scored 30 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead Londonderry boys basketball 92-55 over Dover. 

Londonderry pulled ahead early, leading 34-17 at halftime, on its way to a 65-56 win over Winnacunnet, to remain unbeaten (12-0) in New Hampshire. Jake Coleman had all five of his 3-pointers and 17 points in the first half.