CONVAL HOOP HERITAGE

At left, the 1993 Conval boys' team holds its breath as Jaime LeFlem steps to the line to tie the Class I finals at the end of regulation. At right, Madi Hatt of this year's Cougar girls' team concentrates on her free throws. E veryone likes the thrill of the “three” but hoop history has shown that teams and players who make their free throws in the heat of a close game or playoff atmosphere can make the difference in helping their team either move on or make an earlier than expected exit. In the earliest days of basketball, foul shots were considered so valuable that a “specialist” was allowed to come off the bench and go to the line. (That’s crazy!) The NHIAA demonstrated its belief in the power of the free throw by holding a state tournament contest from 1949 through 1971. Among the winners was a certain pro baseball prospect from Charlestown High School named Carlton Fisk !   Making clutch free throws with hundreds and even thousands of fans screaming in your ear has a...

  The first-ever Conval High boys' basketball champs of 1986 (caption below). Bottom row, Sean Crowley, Chris Merrifield and Al Johnson H ardly anyone saw this one coming—the stunning, first-ever boys’ basketball state championship for Conval High in the 1985-’86 season.   A young team with just two seniors—co-captains Chris Merrifield and Sean Crowley —the Cougars began the season stumbling at 1-4 and trying to find their bearings. The inauspicious beginning was marked by the first-ever loss by a Conval team at Kearsarge, and home games in cold December and early January played before sparse crowds.   But something clicked during a January home loss to powerful Fall Mountain. Turnovers diminished, the offense became more cohesive, and the defense ramped up with tremendous intensity. Suddenly, the team few had noticed reeled off nine wins in its final 10 games to finish the season in fifth place with a 12-6 record. Quiet confidence building among players and coaches prom...

Dick Blood, Bill Bishop, Tod Silegy and Paul Boule...Making headlines in the winter of 1971. T he 1970-’71 basketball season will long be remembered for two things—it was the first year that the name Conval Regional High School made its presence felt throughout the state, and it was arguably one of the greatest teams from top to bottom in the 50-plus years of CV history. It was a team many were convinced could run the regular season table and take on the Class I (D2) giants of the North Country, defending champion Littleton, in a state title showdown. That tantalizing prospect, even before the days of social media, was the talk of the towns and even in knowledgeable basketball circles around New Hampshire as the pre-season got underway in late November. The “where is that?” team from Conval featured a veteran, skilled roster pulled mainly from the ranks of the final Peterborough High team, plus the valuable addition of a smooth junior playmaker from Antrim High who had seen varsity ex...

W hen the invitational state tournament at UNH was divided into two divisions in 1930, Peterborough High was selected by the tournament committee every year but one in the 1930s and through the 1941-’42 season —a remarkable string of 12 of 13 seasons as being recognized as one of the top hoop programs in all of New Hampshire! From the 1930 to 1937 seasons, Peterborough High held the best record of anyone in the state in Class B, won the championship four times, and claimed runner-up twice.  Wow! Because of gas rationing due to the war effort, no tournament was held in the 1943 season, but Peterborough High was again among the elite invitees in 1944-’45. Two seasons later, the New Hampshire State Athletic Association, now the NHIAA, took over administration of the tournament that we know today.   One of the many elite teams from Peterborough High during the golden hoop era of the 1930s and 1940s was this one from 1936-’37 that had a surprisingly successful season after returnin...

M any veterans of Conval Nation remember taking business law, bookkeeping or typing (yes, typing) classes with Ron Crowe over the first 30 years of the high school. What many forget is that “Mr. Crowe” is a legend in our hoop heritage! From the 1964 season at Peterborough High through the 1994 state championship run at Conval, Ron was the official keeper of the scorebook—30 years! In paying tribute to Ron’s dedication to youth, the community, and basketball as he prepared to pass the scorebook onto the next volunteer, the Peterborough Transcript wrote: “With endless enthusiasm brought on by love for the game, and the young people who came through the school system over the years, Ron was a fixture at home basketball games—logging in the names, keeping track of time outs and personal fouls, tallying up the scores. When the team went on the road, Ron and wife Priscilla became loyal fans in the stands. Later all three boys—Mike, the late Steven, and Rick—would star for the varsity, and d...

  O ur Conval hoop heritage includes 11 Cougars who have scored more than 1,000 points in their career. But did you know there is one more in our midst? In the 1998-’99 season, a senior center at Mascenic High School named Jason Starr scored his 1,000th career point, becoming only the third player in Viking history at that time to accomplish the feat! We’re grateful Coach Starr has brought that kind of leadership to Conval Nation! Good luck, coach and team, tonight at Hanover, and in the upcoming D2 state tournament!

T he 1968-’69 Antrim High Warriors were one of a string of AHS teams to post highly successful seasons in the decade of the ‘60s, finishing 13-4 and earning a first round bye in the Class S tournament. Old nemesis Henniker (now John Stark), which nipped Antrim twice during the regular season, ended the run in the quarter-finals with a tight 57-54 victory. But not before Antrim made a heroic comeback! Down 20-9, the Warriors rallied late to tie the game at 38-all before the taller Henniker team nudged back in front until the final buzzer. Senior Fred Doleac was a scoring machine for Antrim that season, finishing his senior year with 349 points. Pictured (front, from left): Kurt Schacht, Richard Brzozowski, Gary Cole, Paul Boule and Bruce Chesson . Back row: Bruce Davies, Dennis Huntington, John Phillips, Fred Doleac, Jack LaMonda, Ken Wood and Coach Chick Hamel . Missing from photo: Jeff Barsanti.