50th Anniversary: When Conval Slayed a Giant
Our Conval Hoop Heritage has had more than its share of highs and lows come tournament time, but in the history of the Regional, few tournament games will ever match the 50th anniversary drama of the 1974 Class I (D2) quarter-finals against Lebanon.
The 1973-’74 Cougars, coming off a 12-8 season in which the returning players felt “never gelled,” was loaded with speedy, athletic, good shooting veterans: Ray Abbott, John “JD” Davies, John Cuddihee, Ed Lennon, Paul Krulis, Joe Reilly, Mike Crowe and Marshall White.
But small—very small.
Among the starters, senior Ray Abbott was the tallest of the bunch at 6’2” and sharp-shooter John Davies was next at an even six feet. Newcomers to the team were Ted Davies, Mark Sizemore, Peter Jennson and Doug Smith.
The task ahead against a brutal Class I schedule seemed formidable, but Coach Ray Richard’s team quickly let the rest of the state know that they meant business. Conval sent the message quickly and loudly in the first game of the season with a 98-51 rout of Exeter, leading 12-0 before the the Blue Hawks could find the basket.
Featuring what was described as a “running, stealing, pressing, generally harassing” type of play, the Cougars won eight of their first nine games—including an eye-opening 72-65 win over Class I favorite Goffstown and a repeat victory over the same team while winning the Cougar Christmas Classic.
In early January, Conval briefly held the top spot in the division before a disastrous night at the foul line (8 for 23!) at Milford saw the Spartans upend them, 61-60 in overtime. “I don’t think we have to lose to learn but I think we learned something,” said Coach Richard afterwards. And learn they did—the Cougars didn’t lose again until six games later at Goffstown.
The in-between was highlighted by a 63-62 double OT win at Monadnock where Joe Reilly sank two foul shots with one second left, earning Coach Richard his 100th career victory. That milestone was officially recognized last season when Coach Richard (pictured with former players Paul Boule and son Kent Richard) was presented with the autographed ball, which now resides in the school's trophy case.
But from as high as a kite one night to a shocking crash the next, lowly Newport upset the Cougars on the final game of the regular season and knocked Conval out of the top four and into a first-round playoff with Kearsarge. Even so, the fifth-ranked Cougars routed their Cougar counterparts from North Sutton, setting up a huge quarter-final match-up at Portsmouth High School with highly ranked Lebanon on Saturday, Feb. 23, 1974.
Few gave small Conval much of a chance against the much taller Raiders, who were led by leaping 6’4” center Doug Murphy. And for much of the first half, those predictions looked spot on. In fact, at one point early in the second period, Lebanon scored 17 unanswered points for a 25-8 lead. The Goliath-like Raiders could not be stopped and the Cougars could not get anything going. John Davies finally began to heat up, sinking four long-range jumpers to cut into Lebanon’s lead, but the Raiders counterpunched with a 9-0 run for a 35-16 lead.
Game over?…No one told Ray Abbott and the Cougars.
Abbott was an immense force in battling the much bigger Murphy, and when the Lebanon standout picked up his third foul and had to go to the bench, it proved to be the opening the Cougars needed. With Abbott, Reilly, John Davies, Crowe and Lennon (pictured going for a layup) leading the way on offense, and an incredibly quick team defense frustrating the Raiders, Conval went on a 14-1 run to suddenly make the game close at halftime, 36-30.
The upstart Cougars had only begun.
During one stretch in the third quarter, Conval had hundreds of fans who made the journey to the seacoast on their feet with a 14-0 run and a stunning 51-42 lead. Murphy still made his presence known, however, and Lebanon twice in the final minute of the game cut the Conval lead to two points. The tension and noise in the gym were over the top. But on each occasion, Abbott came through with huge hoops, and when the buzzer finally sounded, fans rushed the floor as the Cougars emerged stunningly victorious, 67-63.
In addition to Abbott’s heroics against Lebanon’s Murphy, Conval was aided by a harassing defense by diminutive 5'5" guard Doug Smith that continually frustrated Lebanon playmaker Gary Tremblay, and by the surprising hot shooting of guard Joe Reilly, who led all CV scorers with 21 points.
“Contoocook Valley staged one of the most miraculous comebacks in the 11-year history of the Class I tournament,” wrote the Keene Sentinel’s Dick Comerford. “Few would have cared if they had left in the second period, but the Cougars had the necessary motivation to turn apparent defeat into victory.”
“We knew right along that our best chance to win was with him [Murphy] out of there,” said Coach Richard afterwards. “We had heard that he liked to block shots and hoped that Ray could get the ball inside to draw some fouls. It was, without a doubt, the key to the game.”
The ecstasy of triumph and momentum, however, wasn’t enough to overcome Hanover High in the semi-finals, where the Cougars never got untracked and couldn’t slow down the taller Marauders (now Bears), bowing 71-59.
“They didn’t quit—we thought we could wear them out,” said a disappointed Coach Richard.
But in addition to holiday tournament play, the 50th anniversary 1973-’74 team finished an amazing 20-5. As irony would have it, Goffstown—the team Conval had worn out twice during the regular season—went on to win the state title over Hanover. For their efforts, Davies (first team) and Abbott (second team) were voted to the Class I all-tournament team.
The Transcript said of this great team in our Conval hoop heritage:
“They proved that guts, desire, enthusiasm, quickness and style could overcome many obstacles, including lack of height. They captured our heart, soul and voices with their scrappiness that consistently showed the little guy fighting to overcome the big men. Twenty out of 25 times, the little guy came out on top."
(Photos: Ernie Hebert, Keene Sentinel; Article updated from 2/6/23)
