CONVAL HOOP HERITAGE

W e took this pic this week just to test the lighting in the PES gym, but turns out it tells a great story. While our CV high school teams fight for a playoff spot, our middle school boys and girls represented really well at this weekend’s Winter Slam at SMS, while some of our grade school teams did the same at a tournament in Keene. Looks like another generation is falling in love with this great game, which means our CV hoop heritage has a promising future indeed. Let’s go!!

B ack in the summer of 2013 and 2014 , the Steven W. Crowe Foundation along with area businesses and alumni sponsored a. Conval Alumni Basketball Tournament. (Pictured is the program cover.) Featuring boys’ and girls’ teams players from Conval’s hoop history, games were played at the high school and South Meadow School in the morning with championship games played in the afternoon. In this "passing the torch" event, all proceeds were used to benefit Conval’s current and future hoop program, including uniforms, basketball camps and scholarships. Just about every generation of Cougar bball was represented in this fun event, and Mike Crowe (‘75) remembers, “We went through a lot of ice for the older players!”

A faded scrapbook photo of the 1932-‘33 Peterborough High boys’ basketball team (front, from left): Kenneth Bishop, Dusty Gautreau, George Hafeli, Verne Tuttle and Eddie Blanchette. Back row (from left): Manager Peasley, Robert Fortier, Sandy Thomas, Clifford Davidson and Coach John Clark. T he 1932-’33 season was a great one for Peterborough High School , with both the boys and girls winning the Monadnock League Championship that year. (More on the girls’ season later this month.) While it marked another state tournament for the defending Class B champs, the boys' regular season was most memorable for two hotly-contested games against neighboring Appleton Academy of New Ipswich! In their toughest battle of the season on Feb. 10, 1933, the Peterborough Transcript reported that “the Appleton boys received coaching reinforcements from Fitchburg, Mass. for a week or more, and a large crowd of Greenville and New Ipswich fans came over hoping to see Appleton wr...

A buzzer-beater to remember in Lebanon. A nother great game to remember!... After more than 15 difficult seasons, signs of a revival of Conval boys’ basketball's storied tradition began in earnest on January 5, 2018. The up-and-coming Cougars defeated defending state champ Lebanon on their home court where they hardly ever lose, 40-37 in OT! (Shout out to @hwdball for the reminder.) "Lebanon had not lost at home in 3 years before that game," remembers former head coach Leo Gershgorin . "Even Leb's coach knew he witnessed a resurrection!" Connor Buffum ’s sixth “3” of the night was the difference, in an unforgettable ending. You can watch it here... https://fb.watch/ixde2gbsC4/

Coach Chick Hamel maps out the strategy in a 1969 game against unbeaten Hollis that helped lead to an ending few in Antrim would ever forget. I n the 1960s, Antrim High was a perennial force to be reckoned with in Class S. The Warriors were regular participants in the state tournament   from 1962 to 1970, missing out on only the ’64 and ’65 event. Many memorable games were played in the old town gym over those years, and one of the biggest and most exciting of them all took place in late January 1969. Powerful Hollis High (long before the days of becoming Hollis-Brookline) rode into town with a 33-game winning streak. Earlier in the season, the Cavaliers had eked out a slim victory over Antrim on their home court, and many expected another down-to-the-wire finish.   They were not disappointed. After delighting the home crowd with a surprising 11-point halftime lead, Antrim suddenly went cold in the third period. Hollis reeled off the first eight points of the second half, and...

A big road win last night (Jan. 31) at Sanborn Regional, and a bit of history, too, as Joe Gutwein became the first Conval player to score 40 points in a game since Brett LeFlem tallied 42 vs. Milford in 1997! From our viewpoint, however, it seemed like a “quiet” 40 because of the tremendous team effort from start to finish that led to a 61-49 win.  

Peterborough High dominated the 1940-'41 Class B all-tournament team: Front: William Turner of Groveton. Second row: Paul Valla of Lebanon and Rusty Ames of Peterborough. Back row: Bob Gooch and Clarence “Boomer” Brenner of Peterborough, and Donald Lambert of Lebanon . I n the first week of March 1941, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” starring Carol Lombard and Gene Raymond, along with a Disney cartoon, were playing at the Gem Theater in downtown Peterborough (what is now the Coopershill/Peterborough Community Theater building). A new Buick could be yours for just $915. Various citizens were advertising why they were running for town office (Overseer of the Poor seemed to be a hotly contested one). The upcoming Town Meeting dinner at the Town House would get you potato and egg salad, sliced ham, baked beans, and choice of bread, pies and coffee—all for 35 cents. An oh by the way, the Peterborough High boys’ basketball team won another state championship! Buried among several other front page ...