MANCHESTER — It was a busy night of basketball on Friday at Southern New Hampshire University, which played host to the Sam Carey NH Alumni Classic as well as the NNE-Summer Madness semifinal and championship games.

It was a five-hour marathon of hoops. Manchester Central was crowned champion of the NNE-Summer Madness tournament and thousands of dollars were raised for a worthy cause.

Central won the title by holding off a feisty Manchester West squad, 63-49. The Little Green led the entire way, but the Blue Knights wouldn't go away.

In the end, it was the Central combination of Troy Pelletier and Isaiah Joseph that was just too much for West.

“It's a statement saying we're ready for the season,” Pelletier said.

Central got off to a good start and led 9-2 when Joseph tipped in a miss on a break.

Then the Blue Knights used their athleticism to pick up the pace and they were able to slowly cut into the lead. It was a two-point game when Zack Jones scored in transition to cut the Little Green lead to 28-26 and Central held a 30-26 advantage at the break.

Central never relinquished the lead in the second half. Whenever the Blue Knights made a run, it seemed Joseph had an answer. West got within three points a couple times, but never closer.

“It's promising,” said West coach Danny Bryson. “Central is Central. We didn't run our offense.”

The Little Green put the game away at the line. Their last 11 points came via free throws.

Joseph scored a game high 24 points, and Pelletier chipped in with 13. Jocarl Bureau led West with 14 and Adrian Stillwell scored 10.

West started the tournament 0-4 but managed to put together a run that landed it in the playoffs. The team is young, and the additions of transfers Jones (Concord) and Stillwell (Central) should help the team in the long run.

“We're bigger, we're faster and we can run the floor,” Bryson said.

Meanwhile, it looks like Central has reloaded once again. Pelletier has good range and size, while Joseph can get to the rim, post up in the paint and shoot a mid-range jumper.

Earlier in the night, the Navy/Gold team made up of mostly SNHU alumni beat the Green/White team comprised of mostly Central alumni, 95-89, in the Sam Carey Classic.

The game was a fundraiser to benefit the Brayden Carey Fund. Brayden is the toddler son of the late Sam Carey, a basketball standout at both SNHU and Central who died in a car accident last October.

Organizers said they anticipated to raise between $5,000 and $10,000 through the event.

Scott Hazelton had a game-high 34 points to lead the Navy/Gold team to victory, while Chris Burns paced the White/Green squad with 26 points. Hazelton started off his career at the University of Connecticut and finished it at Rhode Island. Burns started at Providence College and ended at Bryant.

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Central 30 33 – 63
West 26 23 -- 49

CENTRAL (63) – Troy Pelletier 6-0-13, Isaiah Joseph 6-12-24, Mike Plentzas 2-5-9, Riley Cote 1-0-2, Dawson Dickson 3-2-9, Brett Henson 2-2-6. Totals: 20-21-63.

3-pointers: Pelletier, Dickson.

WEST (49) – Carl Jacques 3-1-8, Adrian Stillwell 3-4-10, Nolan Flynn 2-1-6, Jocarl Bureau 6-0-14, Zack Jones 4-1-9, Kahlil Bureau 1-0-2. Totals: 19-7-49.

3-pointers: J. Bureau 2, Flynn, Jacques.