NASHUA — There was a sense of concern for Jay McKenna and the Winnacunnet High School boys basketball team as they stepped on the floor for Wednesday night’s Division I contest at Bishop Guertin.
For one, the two teams had their game postponed on Tuesday and did not practice. Secondly, with the Exeter game looming on the horizon, McKenna was hoping his team wasn’t looking ahead to Friday’s night game in arguably the state’s most storied rivalry.
The concerns were quickly alleviated as the Warriors stormed out to a 15-point advantage after the first quarter and rolled to 76-56 win.
“Our kids were very focused tonight,” McKenna said. “One of the fears you have (as a coach) is they will look past what is right in front of them and toward that (Exeter) game, but I thought our guys were really focused tonight. After the game we were already talking about Exeter on Friday. They are excited about it and being able to play it at home. I know our senior class is very excited about the opportunity.”
Senior Zach Waterhouse scored a game-high 24 points and Winnacunnet improved to 6-1 with this Division I win.
Jack Schaake added 17 points for the Warriors, while teammates Ben Allen, Travis Arsenault and Matt Doyle all had eight.
“I was very pleased from the effort,” McKenna said. “Offensively, I thought we looked really sharp, especially coming off a snow day with no practice; you never know how that day off will show but the kids executed really well. We didn’t settle for the outside shots; we went to the basket strong and made our free throws. I thought we played a good game. I thought we did a nice job defensively. We switched up our defenses pretty efficiently and I thought it was a very well-played game on our part on both sides.”
McKenna was impressed with the play of seniors Wesley Falzarano and Evan Welch off the bench. Falzarano scored five points, while Welch had six.
“(Falzarano) played some good minutes for us, and (Welch) played well, particularly in the second half,” McKenna said. “Both guys contributed.”
State of Division I
Just a little more than a third of the way through the season, there are nine teams above .500, eight teams under .500 and two at the breakeven point.
Exeter leads the way at 7-0, followed by Winnacunnet (6-1), Manchester Memorial (5-1), Portsmouth (6-2) and Alvirne (6-2). Salem, Manchester Central, Bedford and Londonderry are all at 5-2 heading into Friday’s slate of games.
Merrimack (4-4) and Nashua South (3-3) are the two .500 teams.
Trinity (0-8) and Keene (0-7) are still looking for their first wins, while Concord (3-4), Dover (3-5), Spaulding (2-6), Nashua North (1-5), Pinkerton (1-6), and Bishop Guertin (1-7) round out the 19-team standings.
Home sweet home
Friday’s game against Exeter kicks off four straight home contests for the Warriors, who enter the Blue Hawks game with just one home game so far this season.
Winnacunnet will host Concord on Tuesday, Manchester Memorial on Thursday and Pinkerton next Saturday before visiting Londonderry on Tuesday, Feb. 6.