We take a look at the eight first round games in Division I as the games tip off Tuesday night at 7 o’clock.
 

(16) Concord at (1) Manchester Central

 The coverage of Manchester Central is sponsored by 900 Degrees Pizzaria

 Concord earned their ticket in with back to back wins over Timberlane and Alvirne last month behind the scoring of Jacob Szulic (15.5 ppg) and shooting guard/wide receiver/band member Seimou Smith (13.8 ppg). They have a tall task ahead of them against a Manchester Central team that hasn’t lost since they tipped off in early December.

  We’ve talked a lot about Brett Hanson (21 ppg) and his abilities on offense but did you realize when Central plays a high scoring shooting guard (and about every team has one..) it is Hanson that gets that defensive assignment? There’s more to the kid than his scoring…I have a feeling we’ll have plenty of opportunity to break down Central in the next two weeks.
 
 (9) Nashua South at (8) Exeter

 The coverage of Exeter is sponsored by Chad Fletcher of Blue Water Mortgage

 Jeff Holmes’ team earned a home playoff game with a 75-69 road win at South back on February 14th that kick started a five game winning streak to close the season. The return of point guard Zack Holler (12 ppg) and the emergence of sophomores Ben Swett (8 ppg) and Bryant Holmes (8.1)  give Exeter an inside outside combination good enough to spend a little more time in March as the games become win or go home. Center Max Medley went for a career high 27 points in the final game of the regular season and his size will cause match-up issues for a Nashua South team better suited to get out and push it in transition.

 Nate Mazerolle has done a terrific job with his Nashua South club and has won behind the floor presence of Trevor Knight & Mike Osgood and the scoring of Yordy Tavarez (19.1). His team comes in having lost five of their last six games but I would advise you to throw all of that out the window. The simple explanation is that Exeter played a much tougher schedule earlier in the year and benefited when it evened out towards the end. Nashua South ran in that same track but faced their toughest foes at the end of the regular season when they played Central, Londonderry and Bishop Guertin in the season’s final weeks.

 Eight/nine games are designed to be the best match-up of the first round and this one should be no different. Expect a good one Tuesday night in Exeter.
 
 (12) Manchester Memorial at (5) Bishop Guertin

 The coverage of Manchester Memorial is sponsored by 900 Degrees Pizzaria

 These two engaged in a wild one back on January 24th in a game Rich Flerra and Jennifer Chick covered for us as a Game of the Week. The simple problem for BG that night was that defenders could not keep Trevon Moughn (23.5 ppg) in front of them all night long.  Jim Migneault’s team needed some big late baskets and even a break or two to sneak off with the 74-72 win.

 You cannot discount the recent success of Migneault’s clubs in March when you roll around to the post-season. He has the pieces to get back to UNH and with Central being the only Division I team he did not face this year as well as the team he knocked out of the tournament a year ago, a semifinal match-up between those two would be appointment viewing.

 Still to get there BG needs to prove they can get stops when they need it; they got those stops a year ago but only Nashua South gave up more points this year amongst the Top 10 Division I teams than Bishop Guertin. In round one they face an explosive offense in Manchester Memorial that features Moughn, Kabongo Ngalakulondi (17.7 ppg), Wade Gop and Craig Preston that tends to regard the defensive end of the floor as ‘That thing we do when the other team has the ball’ so expect Memorial to push for another shoot out Tuesday night.

 Memorial can score with anyone, can BG start a tournament run by slowing that high octane attack down?
 
(13) Salem at (4) Londonderry

 The coverage of Salem is sponsored by Merrimack Valley Sports

 The Lancers earn a pair of home playoff games under first year head coach Nate Stanton and now face Stanton’s old team the Salem Blue Devils in round one. Expect Salem head coach Rob McLaughlin to make Londonderry earn it in their first go around with a target on their back. Londonderry likes to spread out the floor with shooters like Max Coleman, Marc Corey, Drew Coveney, Caleb Green and point guard Cody Ball. This is a unit where all five guys on the floor are usually comfortable handling the ball out on the perimeter and when they are on from deep it only makes their ability to drive to the basket more of a weapon.

 Salem needs to stay in front of the Lancers defensively and score enough to stay in it until late, when the pressure shifts to the higher seed. The Blue Devils get double digit scoring out of Michael Felix (12.7 ppg), Tim Dodier (11.1) and Jared Gott (10.6) and wants this one in the 52-48 range. Salem nearly took Nashua South out as a 13 seed a year ago and now tries to finish the job against a confident Lancers team looking for their first final four berth in over a decade.

 (11) Spaulding at (6) Winnacunnet

 Tim Cronin’s Spaulding Fighting McIsaac’s broke a four game losing streak with an impressive 65-62 road win over Bishop Guertin in Friday night’s season finale. Darian Berry scored 33 points in the win and that scoring will be vital to his team’s chances of getting back to the final four for a third consecutive year. It is Berry on the perimeter and Charlie Nevejans (14.6 ppg) on the low block as far as offensive threats. When one is shut down Spaulding has a hard time getting enough points to win, when both are shut down results like a 37-30 loss to Londonderry or a 49-32 loss to Pinkerton tend to occur.

 Winnacunnet beat Spaulding earlier in the season in a game Richie Ruffin left early with an ankle injury. These are teams that know each other well, playing during the summer as well as the holiday tournament and they are coached by head coaches that genuinely like & respect one another. It all makes for a very interesting match-up Tuesday night in front of what promises to be a very good crowd. Few teams travel better than Spaulding and you can expect the Winnacunnet student section to both loud & well prepared for their seacoast rival.

 Justin McIsaac & I will call all the action and you can listen live online atwww.am1270WTSN.com
 
(14) Manchester West at (3) Merrimack

 Danny Bryson’s team earned their post-season berth with three straight road wins to close the regular season, including a 75-65 win at Concord that clinched the 14 seed.

 Tuesday night they face a Merrimack team playing with a lot of confidence to close the season. Only top seeds Manchester Central and Trinity beat Tim Goodridge’s team during the season and Goodridge told us on Saturday morning’s Bracketology show that he likes the way his team matches up with the two Manchester schools. Defending Eric Gendron (21.7 ppg) and the high ball screens players like Shayne Bourque and Dylan Richardson will set for him will be Bryson’s point of emphasis. The Tomahawks offense flows from the movement they get at the top of the key and if you back off Gendron he will knock it down from deep. Merrimack beat West 65-47 on February 17th and a second win earns them another quarterfinal game on their home floor.
 
(10) Pinkerton Academy at (7) Bedford

The coverage of Bedford is sponsored by Bedford Dental Care & HK Photography

 Mike Fitzpatrick saw a February 19th game against a highly ranked Londonderry team slipping away when he used a timeout to lay into his Bulldogs. It was at that time everyone involved realized Fitzpatrick, a coach as respected as any in the state, was tired of expecting more from his team than they were expecting out of themselves. Bedford rallied back, won the game and has earned the seven seed in Division I behind ten consecutive wins.

 In Pinkerton they face a team they beat 50-48 just two weeks ago and a Jekyll & Hyde outfit that has been competitive with center Luke Rosinski (18.1 ppg) in the lineup and non-competitive without him. Rosinski is back after a bout with Mono and he leads a team that features guard Jeremy Dietzel and David Faulks (10 ppg).

 Pete Tarrier and The Great Jon Kesty will have all the video highlights & post-game interviews as our tournament coverage begins
 
(15) Alvirne at (2) Trinity

The coverage of Trinity is sponsored by The Auburn Pitts

 It was back on February 11th that Seth Garon’s Alvirne Broncos were on the wrong end of a 85-51 decision against Dave Keefe’s Trinity Pioneers and if we’re all being honest here, I’m pretty sure they would have been happy not to renew acquaintances. Alvirne though fought their way in, a win over Nashua North Friday night sealed their post-season berth. Garon will need a big scoring night out of Tyler Brown (15.2 ppg) & Sam Bonney-Liles (10.1) as well as a big night on the glass from forward Alex Wetmore to pull off one of the biggest upset of the year.

 Trinity just has so much depth on the wings with Patrick Keefe (9 ppg and much improved from behind the three point line), Ryan Otis (8.7 ppg), Brad Rhoades (7 ppg) and Luke Testa (5.1) that they can spread you out and create room for Carmen Giampteruzzi and Wenyen Gabriel in the post. In what might be Dave Keefe’s last season as head coach Trinity has all the pieces to get back to the final Saturday of the season for the third time in four years, that road begins tonight at seven o’clock at McHugh Gymnasium.