By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

Manchester Central head coach David “Doc” Wheeler couldn’t blame Salem’s boys basketball team for slowing the pace in the teams’ second matchup.

“We handled them pretty well the first time,” said Wheeler, whose team beat Salem in an up-tempo contest on Feb. 17, 101-56. “The way the rules are written right now, that’s probably the plan – to try to limit our possessions during the game.”

Salem’s stall tactics hardly slowed the powerful Little Green machine inside the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym on Monday, March 13. Central turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 53-24 Class L quarterfinals triumph.

The Queen City club showed no sign of slowing down even though Salem brought the game’s pace to a crawl.

“We’ve faced somewhat similar tactics before,” Wheeler said, “and we just try to get up on guys and pressure their passes.”

According to Blue Devils head coach EJ Perry, Salem’s plan included playing a Princeton-style offense. Still, slowing the tempo, draining the clock, and looking for back-door cuts to the hoop couldn’t keep the state’s top seed from racing out to a 6-0 edge.

Defensively, Central prevented its eighth-seeded opponent from scoring until 2-minutes, 25 seconds remained in the first quarter.

Shaky ball handling hurt Salem in the second stanza, too. Entering the frame trailing, 9-7, SHS fell prey to an 11-0 Central run sparked, once again, by the Little Green’s defense.

An SHS layup with 1:20 left before halftime were Salem’s first points of the quarter.

Exiting the locker room for the second half, Central increased its defensive intensity and continued to contest shots and force turnovers.

Timely hoops from Central’s host of weapons resulted in 11 more CHS points; Salem’s first bucket of the third didn’t come until midway through the frame.

Central junior Josh Last led the Little Green second-half attack. The 6-foot-3 guard was hot from beyond the arc, connecting for four treys and a team-high 16 points.

Last was a solid option for Wheeler, who watched as two of his three senior stars, Tyler Roche and Joe Fremeau, were held in check.

“I think his senior year, he’s gonna be one of the guys that leads the league in scoring,” Wheeler said of Last.

Like Last, freshman point guard Will Bayliss played a key role in helping Central advance, impressing Wheeler with his ability to direct the offense.

Comparing his current crop of players to last year’s title team, Wheeler gave high praise to the 2005-06 edition standing two wins from bringing the school a second consecutive crown.

“I think we’re a better team, we’re more skilled,” he said. “Hopefully we’re starting to get as tough as we were last year.”