By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

Manchester Central had just knocked off No. 2 Nashua North in the Class L boys basketball semifinals, 47-38, sending the third seed to its first title game since 2001.

Central senior point guard Matt Lemieux slashes through the lane for a layup just before halftime. He missed the shot, but contributed seven points and four rebounds during the Little Green's championship win over the Dover Green Wave on Saturday, March 19, in Durham. (Marc Thaler Photo)

While celebrating, Central's student body voiced its desire for redemption against the top-ranked, two-time defending champion Tomahawks of Merrimack - a team that trounced CHS by 20 points late in the regular season.

Unlike Central's students, head coach David "Doc" Wheeler knew better than to dismiss No. 4 Dover, the 'Hawks Final Four foe, with such ease.

"Dover scares the (heck) out of me," Wheeler said of the Green Wave team that eventually dethroned Merrimack in the second semifinal, 84-72, sending the favorites home for the season with their only loss of 2004-05.

Two days later on Saturday, March 19, with the state title in the balance and less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Central learned why its coach was concerned about the Seacoast competition.

The Little Green locomotive very nearly succumbed to the strength of the Green Wave undertow, but the locals prevailed in front of a raucous crowd inside the University of New Hampshire's Lundholm Gym, 48-43.

"That final minute was the most intense minute I've ever played in basketball," said Central senior point guard Matt Lemieux, the net draped around his neck, clutching a basketball in one hand and the championship plaque in the other. "They're a great team and we knew it was gonna come down to a oneor two-possession game. That's what we were told and we knew it. We didn't come in taking them lightly at all."

With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Central fell behind, 43-41, on a slicing layup by Dover senior Adam Lirette. The bucket capped a tremendous Green Wave comeback, which saw the underdogs erase a 38-28 fourth-quarter deficit.

Inbounding the ball under Dover's basket with 1:28 to play, Central sought the services of its junior star, Hooksett's Tyler Roche. Just left of the top of the key, the 6-foot-7 standout, who finished with a gamehigh 15 points and eight boards, received a pass from Lemieux, who was guarded well on the left block.

In perfect shooting position to nail the biggest shot of his high school career, Roche squared his shoulders to the hoop, released the ball, and watched it tickle the twine for a 44-43 CHS edge.

"I was feeling a little bit of pressure, but I was just trying to be as confident as I can," he said of his titanic trey. "I was trying to step up and stick it for my team."

The junior - garnering serious attention from several major college hoops programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East - also stuck it to half the fans in the gym, whose cheers reached a fever pitch in support of Dover.

"To take the lead and to be right there - we tasted it a little bit," said Dover head coach Mike Romps, a Central alum. "But Roche made a tough shot. Good for him ... They looked for their best player and their best player made a shot. That's why he's a great player. That's what great players do."

"Tyler Roche plays the game of basketball with great courage and great daring," Wheeler said. "Quite frankly, the focus is such that (he doesn.t) even know people are in the gym. Tyler Roche is doing something that he's practiced thousands of times. And through that type of work ethic, that's what allows him to make that type of shot - not many kids hit that shot."

Up by a point with less than 30 seconds separating the Little Green from state title No. 16, the locals still had to defend against Dover's go-ahead attempt.

A tough try at a layup in traffic for Dover's Lirette ricocheted high off the glass and into the arms of Central junior Joe Fremeau.

With the ball and the lead, CHS increased its cushion to 46-43 with 21.6 to play, after Roche drained a pair of pressure- packed free throws at the other end.

According to Wheeler, he wanted to call a time out up three points to tell his group to foul, ensuring the Green Wave couldn't stick a game-tying three-pointer. But without the ball in Central's possession, that strategy wasn't an option.

As a result, Dover drained the clock inside 10 seconds, when the Green Wave's Lirette launched a trey from the top of the key that looked true. The senior's shot was most of the way down, then circled out of the cylinder.

One year earlier, it was Roche walking in Lirette's shoes. Then a sophomore in the semis against Merrimack, Roche watched a potential game-tying triple spin out in the waning moments.

"I have no problems with my team," Romps said. "They played with no fear. They did the right things. And sometimes the ball's not gonna go in. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We did it right. We didn't come out hesitant. We didn't choke. The ball just didn't go in."

Two more shots, however, dropped for Central. After knocking down four triples in the first half, Ben Gilde stepped to the stripe for a pair of free throws with 1.6 to play. The senior swished both attempts without ever grazing the iron.

"We take hundreds of free throws during the year, thousands probably. It all comes down to this. Free throws are huge," Gilde said. "You just try to clear your mind. You don't even hear the crowd. You just focus on that front of the rim and make sure you get the ball over it."

"To win the state championship hasn't sunk in yet," said Wheeler, whose boys finished with a 20-2 record. "But the thing I do feel is relief for not having to go into the locker room with 14 kids that I love and have to pick them up and console them. It's a heck of a lot better to go in and hug them, enjoy it, and honor our seniors who can go out the right way."