Conant’s Dylan Adams, center, goes for a rebound with Kearsarge’s Parker Goin, left, and Eddie Kinzer, right, during the first half of their Division III state semifinal at Bow High School Tuesday night. Conant won 35-30.
Kearsarge’s Noah Whipple tries to keep the ball from Conant’s Ben Sawyer during the second half of their Division III state semifinal game at Bow High School Tuesday night. Conant won 35-30.
Conant’s Jared Nagle, right, and Kearsarge’s Andrew Huff scramble for a ball during the second half of their Division III state semifinal at Bow High School Tuesday night.
Conant’s Dylan Adams, center, goes for a rebound with Kearsarge’s Parker Goin, left, and Eddie Kinzer, right, during the first half of their Division III state semifinal at Bow High School Tuesday night. Conant won 35-30.
Conant’s Dylan Adams, center, goes for a rebound with Kearsarge’s Parker Goin, left, and Eddie Kinzer, right, during the first half of their Division III state semifinal at Bow High School Tuesday night. Conant won 35-30.
Conant’s Dylan Adams, center, goes for a rebound with Kearsarge’s Parker Goin, left, and Eddie Kinzer, right, during the first half of their Division III state semifinal at Bow High School Tuesday night. Conant won 35-30.
Kearsarge’s Noah Whipple tries to keep the ball from Conant’s Ben Sawyer during the second half of their Division III state semifinal game at Bow High School Tuesday night. Conant won 35-30.
Conant’s Jared Nagle, right, and Kearsarge’s Andrew Huff scramble for a ball during the second half of their Division III state semifinal at Bow High School Tuesday night.
BOW — Even with an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s Division III state semifinal, Conant High School boys basketball coach Eric Saucier knew that it would be a tough task to finish off a Kearsarge team that gave the Orioles their only loss this season.
And sure enough, the No. 4 Cougars went on a 10-0 run to close to within three points late in regulation.
But the cushion Conant had built was too much for Kearsarge to overcome and the Orioles prevailed 35-30 at Bow High School. They’ll play No. 2 St. Thomas on Saturday (8 p.m.) in the championship at Keene State College. The Saints advanced by beating Mascoma Valley earlier in the night.
“We definitely panicked the last three minutes. I had to call two timeouts just to calm them down and they’ve never been here before,” Saucier said. “There was a little panic and nervousness, but to their credit they stayed with it and we guarded. We made stops when we needed to.”
On Saturday, the Orioles (18-1) will be chasing their fourth Division III title and 13th overall.
“I’d always hoped we’d be here (in the championship game). I never knew because there are always ups and downs,” Conant senior Manny Hodgson said. “This is where we wanted to be. This was our target and this was our goal.”
Kearsarge (17-4) began its surge after Conant’s Jared Nagle (13 points) opened the fourth quarter with a hoop to give the Orioles a 33-20 lead. The comeback started with a 3-pointer by Andrew Huff, and Noah Whipple (20 points) followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to bring Kearsarge within 33-29.
After Kearsarge regained possession again, Whipple drove to the hoop and was fouled, making one free throw to pull the Cougars within 33-30 with 17.5 seconds left.
“We’ve done that all season and we’ve got a bunch of kids who make good decisions down the stretch and (are) able to grind games out,” Kearsarge coach Nate Camp said. “I loved their intensity and I loved their no-quit mentality.”
Kearsarge was forced to foul, and Lane LeClair sank both free throws for Conant before Hodgson grabbed the final rebound and tossed the ball in the air in celebration.
“It’s very, very anxious and stuff, but you’ve just got to focus and get stops,” Hodgson said. “I was so happy when it was over.”
Now Conant has its hands full on Saturday against a St. Thomas team that Saucier says has the two best players in the division in Will Mollica and Cole McClure. The Orioles traveled to Dover in December and won, 39-35.
“They have the two best players in the division and the first time we played them it was a battle and they’ve gotten exponentially better,” Saucier said. “It’s going to take everything we have Saturday.”
