Luke Soden, Aiden O'Connell the key ingredients to Bedford's winning recipe
Mar. 13—DURHAM
WITH THE NHIAA Division I championship on the line, the Bedford High School boys basketball team knew where to turn.
Bedford led by two points entering the fourth quarter of Sunday's Division I title game, and gave the ball to senior guard Luke Soden and senior guard/forward Aiden O'Connell as much as it could over the game's final eight minutes. The strategy paid off, as top-seeded Bedford pulled away for a 66-56 triumph over second-seeded Pinkerton Academy at the University of New Hampshire's Lundholm Gymnasium.
Soden scored nine of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, and O'Connell tossed in 10 of his 22 points in the fourth.
"We had 25 points in the fourth," O'Connell said. "During one of the timeouts (Bedford coach Frank Moreno) said, 'We're gonna play five out and give the ball to Luke and Aiden every possession. That's what we did."
O'Connell transferred from Goffstown to Bedford after his junior year. He led Goffstown to the Division I championship game last year, but the Grizzlies came up short against Trinity.
Bedford (20-1) made 19 of its 21 free throws, including 10 of 12 in the fourth quarter.
"That's always been our identity," Moreno said. "We lock down in the fourth quarter, turn up the volume on defense a little bit, see if we can get to the rim and hit free throws. (O'Connell and Soden) have been our horses all year long."
Pinkerton (20-2) trailed 41-39 after three quarters, but Bedford shot 70% from the floor (7 of 10) and outscored the Astros 25-17 in the fourth. The Bulldogs wanted to play fast and ended the game with a 14-0 edge in fast-break points.
"We just started having a hard time stopping them," Pinkerton coach Dave Chase said. "They kind of exploited us a little bit down the stretch. They're a good club and we really just could not defend the two kids (O'Connell and Soden). They got to the hoop at will and made shots.
"At the end of the day, like I said to (the players) ... 20-2, 23-2 if you count the Christmas tournament — that's a record at Pinkerton as far as wins in a season. ... I thought going into that last quarter we were right there."
Jackson Marshall, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, had 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Astros. Pinkerton received 13 points and seven rebounds from Anthony Chinn, and 11 points (three 3-pointers) from Sean Jenkins.
Marshall entered the game as one of the state's leading scorers.
"He's a beast inside," Soden said. "We (fronted) him and had help on the other side. We had to rotate quickly if they kicked back out to shooters. It's hard to stop him. Proud of our defense."
Sunday's victory handed the Bedford program its first championship. Moreno was an assistant at Bedford under John Langlois when the Bulldogs lost to Portsmouth in the 2012 Division II championship game, and was an assistant under Mark Elmendorf when the Bulldogs lost to Portsmouth in the 2017 Division I championship game.
"I told the kids before we left (Sunday), 'Look at the gym because I want this to be the last time you ever play here or practice here without a banner that has our name on it,'" Moreno said. "Really, really proud of them."
NHIAA Division I Championship Game
Bedford 66, Pinkerton 56
Pinkerton (56): Anthony Chinn 5-3-13, Tyrone Chinn 3-3-9, Sean Jenkins 3-2-11, Ethan Johnston 2-0-4, Jackson Marshall 7-1-16, Tyler Herland 1-0-3. Totals 21-9-56
Bedford (66): Caden Brown 2-0-4, Luke Soden 8-7-26, Dylan Lafferty 0-2-2, Aiden O'Connell 6-9-22, Brady O'Connell 4-1-10, Austin Kasyjanski 1-0-2. Totals 21-19-66
