Newmarket boys basketball team hopes summer title experience will roll into winter
The Newmarket High School boys basketball got a small glimpse of what it will take to win the Division IV state championship when the winter rolls around.
The Mules hit the courts hard this summer, and recently competed in the Portsmouth Christian Academy Summer League from June to early August, which saw the Newmarket summer team capture the championship with a win over Concord Christian Academy.
"It was great, it's the best way to end the summer," Newmarket head coach Brian Cronin said on the conversations with the team about this being the last playoff experience before the winter 2022-23 season.
"Just seeing everyone figure it out for themselves and get some more motivation from the team rather than trying to dig it out from the coaches," Cronin added. "The team kind of grew together and made something happen. That was the highlight."
Newmarket beat Somersworth in the first round on Monday night, and then defeated Farmington in the semifinals early Wednesday before its win over CCA.
The Mules played in a number of tournaments this summer which includes a 4-2 record in the Great Bay Community College summer league, as well as making it to the semifinals in the 11th annual Battle of the Crossroads in Epping.
The extra reps on the court could serve the Mules well when the 2022-23 season begins.
"That is another huge added benefit that we had an amazing turnout for the summer program," Cronin said. "The majority of the guys who were there for the summer are on the roster for the season."
Cronin added, "Just throughout the summer, just being able to play with each other as much as they did, they were able to learn each other's strengths and weakness throughout all of that. The added benefit of playing all summer is just that. We had so many games that it makes it very easy to iron things out and figure things our when you're repetitively playing."
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Newmarket boys basketball hopes summer title experience will pay off
