DOVER — Tuesday was Must-Win Night at Dover High School.
Really, it was.
The Green Wave boys basketball team needed a win to kick-start a winnable stretch and they did it the hard way. Dover overcame a 12-point deficit early in the second half to upend one-win Trinity, 52-48.
Devin Cady led three Green Wave players in double figures wigth 18 points. Ty Vitko added 15 and John Cantwell returned to the lineup from an ankle injury to score 10 points, all in the second half.
"I'm pretty sure everybody in the locker room felt the same way," Cady said. "We needed this win. We couldn't lose a game like this. It would just put us in a bad spot. It just would have ruined a lot of things."
Dover shrugged off a two-game losing streak to improve to 4-7. Trinity is 1-11.
The Green Wave, who limited Trinity to 21 second-half points, trailed 27-17 at the half and 29-17 30 seconds into the third quarter on a layup by Athiei Bol, who led the Pioneers with 15 points.
Dover extended its defense to fullcourt and made a run late in the third to whittle the lead to 39-36.
The Green Wave ended the quarter on a 9-2 run, sparked by a Cantwell drive, a Nick Yerardi 3-pointer, a Cady layup and an inside bucket from Cantwell.
Cantwell's presence was certainly a boost.
"My ankle felt good," he said. "I was able to get in the post and get some easy layups."
Vitko began the fourth quarter by hitting two free throws. After a forced turnover, Yerardi hit another 3 and Dover had its first lead since the first quarter, 41-39.
A Cady 3 pumped the lead to 44-40 at 6:46, but Trinity answered with a 5-0 run — all five points from Joe Constant — to go up 45-44 with 5:17 to play.
Cady answered for Dover, scoring back-to-back hoops to regain the lead for good, 48-45, with 3:44 to go.
Vitko's follow shot made it 50-45 at 2:50, but Trinity got to within two (50-48) on a trey by Zach Dagan at 1:30.
Dover held the ball and Cady was fouled with 44.7 seconds to go.
He missed, Trinity rebounded and got a good look, Luke Duffley's open 12-footer that bounced away with 17 seconds to go. Dover grabbed the rebound, pushed the ball, and Griffin Carloni hit Cantwell open underneath. He laid it in with eight ticks on the clock to sew up the much-needed win.
"We've been doing this all year," said Trinity coach Jim Migneault. "We get close. I got a lot of kids who didn't play varsity last year and they're learning. But we played hard. We had some good shots at the end. They just didn't go."
The Pioneers basically played six players with two players in the rotation out with injuries.
Dover entered the night in 14th, one spot out of the tourney field of 13. With the win they are now in a three-way tie for 12th with Concord and Nashua South.
"The guys responded," said Dover coach Matt Fennessy. "I kind of challenged them at halftime to step up and tighten up on 'D'. They did that. I was proud of them. They did a nice job."
Dover plays at Bishop Guertin Friday.
NOTES: Dover's 6-foot-3 freshman Kingsley Breen did not play due to sicknees. ... It was Cantwell's first game back after missing four games with an ankle sprain at Alvirne on Jan. 16.
GREEN WAVE 52, PIONEERS 48
TRINITY (48)
Dagan 2-0-5, Athiei 6-2-15, Frenette 3-0-6, Duffley 3-0-6, Stacey 4-1-9, Constant 3-1-7, O'Sullivan. Totals: 21-4-48.
DOVER (52)
Coleman 1-0-3, Cady 8-0-18, Vitko 5-5-15, Cantwell 5-0-10, Yerardi 2-0-6, Lipinski, White, Carloni, Nkounkou, Stephens, Federico. Totals: 21-5-52.
Trinity 10 17 12 9—48
Dover 8 9 19 16—52
3-Point Goals—Trinity 2 (Dagan, Athiei), Dover 5 (Cady 2, Yerardi 2, Coleman).