This is an annual column where we stop to take a look around each of the four divisions at the midway point of the season. The purpose is to analyze the first half of the season to tell you where the teams stand today and where they are likely headed over the second half of the season.

 As always I pick the two teams most likely to meet in the championship game, hand out mid-season all-state picks as well as our mid-season player & coach of the year.

 If you are reading this article you have chosen to support the coverage of high school sports and our seven person team which is happy to bring it to you.

 On behalf of Pete, Jen, Jon, Justin, Reed  & Eliot I say thank you!

 Thank you to our Division III Gold Level Coaches who are a big part of our NHsportspage team:

 Jim Cilley (Belmont), Mike Rathgeber (Inter-Lakes), Jim Hill (Monadnock), Eric Saucier (Conant), Nate Camp (Kearsarge) and Steve McDonough (Laconia)

 

  If forced to pick the two teams that will meet in the final:

  Kearsarge Regional vs Hopkinton

  Two teams that advanced to Southern New Hampshire University for the final four last March.

  This is a wide open field as I could see 10 different teams advancing to the semifinals, but let’s focus first on the two teams I expect to be there at the end.

  Nate Camp’s Cougars were our pre-season #1 and after a brutal opening schedule that saw them play six of their first seven games on the road they are starting to settle in and playing better by the week.

 They’ll finish up with five of their last eight games in North Sutton and a game vs Hopkinton (who beat them earlier in the season in Hopkinton) is likely going to have tie-breaker implications.

 It all begins with our co-player of the year in the pre-season, 6’7 Tayler Mattos. In order to defend him you need to dedicate two defenders to him while also not leaving all-state shooting guard Tommy Johnson and his 20 points per game average alone. Campbell decided Harrison Vedrani (6’2) could guard Mattos one on one and with little help weak side he went for 49 points.

 Ray Critch is doing all the little things to help you win; defense, rebounding & setting screens, but no third scorer has emerged. That’s a role we expected Joe Storozuk to fill but teams are covering him closer than they did a year ago when he was clearly the fifth option in a very good offense.

 Does that make this team vulnerable? Mattos missed seven games with an injury a year ago but the Cougars were led by Trent Noordsij & Zach Mattos and hardly missed a beat. Are they equipped to survive that again?

 Hopkinton is your most complete team because they are one of the best defensive teams in the division and between Henry Yianakopolos & Freshman center Kevin Newton-Delgado they match up well with Mattos and can protect the rim.

 The book on Mattos, like a lot of bigs who like to shoot jumpers, is if you push them away from the paint they’ll start settling for 15 footers. That’s where Hopkinton head coach Steve Signor wants him and what Nate Camp has to fight against.

 The Hawks have very balanced scoring, a deep threat you have to attend to 22 feet from the basket in Cam Cyr (11.5 ppg.) and enough glue guys to fill a starting lineup, beginning with Kevin McGrath (10.8).  Will a lack of a go to guy hurt them? I don’t think so because you can run sets for Cyr to get open 3’s and use Yianakopolos as the screener rolling to the rim. Kids react poorly when they have their shots blocked in big games, there is a hesitancy to be aggressive again. Delgado brings that asset to this team.

 Let’s take a look at the teams I consider true contenders for the final four:

 

 Inter-Lakes: The one point win over Moultonborough was a head scratcher (The Panthers lost to Lisbon and to Profile by 41 points just days earlier) but this is far from a perfect team and they need to play hard every night if they are going to earn a Top 4 seed. The Lakers only face two teams with plus .500 records the rest of the way; (6-3) Gilford and (5-4) Winnisquam.

 Is this a good basketball team? Yes, and well coached too by veteran head coach Mike Rathgeber, but they are going to have to hear that they play an easy schedule and there will be doubts until they get an out of Lakes Region win like Belmont did last week against Campbell. Zach Swanson is a big time factor; he outworks the guy guarding him and is the rare back to basket threat in an age where players don’t know how to defend the post. Ryan Kelly does a nice job on entry passes and Davis Jollimore & Eli Swanson are two players who should get a lot of attention with a run in March. Two home games would make this a very tough out and a good bet to land in Manchester in mid-March.

 Belmont: The pieces are there for Jim Cilley’s team and I came away from covering the Red Raiders last Wednesday very impressed by Trevor Hunt (16.2 and 10 boards a night). Hunt gets the most out of his ability and works very hard on the offensive boards. He had four or five rebounds snatched away from him by Campbell all-state forward Harrison Vedrani (16.0) or he may have ended up with 20 rebounds in a game Belmont had to have.

 Derek Stevens is a gutsy point guard, Matt Pluskis may be streaky but his confidence never wanes and Doug Price sacrifices some of his offense to move the basketball. Dylan Gansert made plays plus a smart adjustment to get out on Campbell shooting guard Matt Gagne and head coach Jim Cilley has a good read on a group he has spent the last three seasons with. Belmont is going to be tested at Mascoma, against Monadnock & Somersworth and at Gilford. Their road to a Top 4 seed is tougher than Inter-Lakes and don’t forget the Lakers own the tie-breaker. For Belmont a home playoff game should be the goal and a quarterfinal round that could see plenty of upsets.

 Stevens: A very talented team where point guard Noah Spaulding (16.1) has emerged as the go to guy over Parker Smith. The O’Brien brothers Zach & Nick bring toughness & attitude while Richard Bell and Henri Bourque are two very nice complimentary players who can defend and provide a spark. A four game stretch to close the season against Kearsarge, Mascoma and Hopkinton is going to determine where Matt Baird-Torney’s team will rank but Stevens has the look of a Top 8 team after a quarterfinal appearance a year ago.

 Somersworth: First of all Rob Fauci is doing a really nice job with this group. We’ll know more of where they rank after facing Campbell because this is a hard team to read. They beat Gilford at home and Berlin on the road, a win over Winnisquam at home looks solid but Winnisquam is also 1-4 away from Tilton. Bryton Early (16.3) has had an all-state season and Vincent Loho does a lot of the little things that help you win games. Going to Somersworth in the first round would be a tough test, can Fauci’s team get wins over Campbell and Belmont to earn a home game? They may be able to get there at 14-4 and with only three teams with winning records remaining on the schedule Somersworth may sneak into the mix.

 Campbell: Interesting team who plays the style head coach Sudi Lett has used for years with his AAU program Bishop Elite. Campbell is going to press you 90 feet and look for three pointers or Harrison Vedrani in the post. They take a lot of chances going for steals, that’s why they get four to five baskets a game on steals. They also leave themselves vulnerable on defense and struggle to rotate weak side.

 I’m a huge fan of Vedrani (opposing coaches called him the best player on the 2015 semifinal team that took Pelham to the wire) and I like point guards Joaquin Heller (who isn’t afraid to mix it up) and Jake Scafidi. Matt Gagne and Sean French are your shooters out on the wing and Spencer Stanium is a good Division III forward. Can Campbell strengthen their weak side defense and will a flurry of deep jumpers shoot them to an upset or out of a  game they could win? This will be an interesting team to watch.

 Mascenic Regional:  I broke the Vikings down a few weeks ago so I won’t go deep into them again because the same strengths and issues remain; they can outscore anyone but can they play enough defense to win the kind of 48-44 tournament games that are commonplace? This will be a battle tested team as they play a tough schedule and any team with Daimon Gibson & Brett Stauffeneker leading them has a chance to win it all. Does Jay Starr start looking for a unit on the floor that is his best defensive unit or does Mascenic continue to try to outscore you every night? Teams like Conant and Hopkinton can defend at an elite level and both remain on the schedule.

 Conant: Always lurking. Do I think Conant can win the title this season? No, but I think they’ll be a scary match-up for someone in the quarterfinals with their ability to play defense and the fact that head coach Eric Saucier will have you scouted to the point where he is calling out your sets and out of bounds plays (ask Matt Regan..). JP Record (20.0 ppg. ) has been very impressive and Drew Marro (12.7) is starting to step into the secondary scoring role plus Peyton Springfield (of the Conant Springfield’s..) going off for 29 points against Raymond is a very good sign.

 Conant will need to win tournament games in the forties, but are you about to bet against them doing it?

 Lurking outside of the contenders I have Monadnock (we need to get out and see them soon) and Gilford ( beat Inter-Lakes and I’m in).

 

 Your lower seeded team that will be a nightmare in Round 1:   Berlin

 It’s all about match-ups and Dave Morissette’s team is capable of being physical and having the best closer on the floor in Evan Arsenault (14.6). Arsenault can control the tempo of the game, he rarely turns it over and if Seth Balderrama (12.1) gets hot & Joey Fodor controls the paint this is a team that can come in and beat up on you. Just ask Inter-Lakes.

 

  Player of the Year at the mid-point of the season:  Alex Schwarz of Mascoma & Tayler Mattos of Kearsarge

 My two picks in the pre-season look pretty strong at the mid-way point….I think I’ll stick with them.

 Runner-up: Zach Swanson of Inter-Lakes

  Coach of the Year at the mid-point of the season:  Rob Fauci of Somersworth

  There was a lot more to this job than X’s & O’s when Fauci took over. The second year head coach has held his players accountable and the result is an 8-2 start.

  Runner-up: Jim Hill of Monadnock

 

  First Team All-State (First half of the season)

 Alex Schwarz of Mascoma

 Tayler Mattos of Kearsarge

 Daimon Gibson of Mascenic

 Zach Swanson of Inter-Lakes

 Harrison Vedrani of Campbell

 Trevor Hunt of Belmont

 Comments: I’m going with six for now on First Team today with Tommy Johnson and JP Record narrowly missing the cut. This will play itself out over the second half of the season.

 

 With apologies to: JP Record of Conant, Tommy Johnson of Kearsarge Regional, Henry Yianakopolos & Cam Cyr of Hopkinton,  Brett Stauffeneker of Mascenic, Ryan Kelly of Inter-Lakes, Evan Arsenault of Berlin. Mason McGonagle & Ethan Carrier of Gilford, Bryton Early of Somersworth, Noah Spaulding of Stevens, Joe Minson & JT Cloutier of Monadnock, Thomas Marchese of Winnisquam (still looks like Mar-cheeze to me),  Matt Pluskis of Belmont,  Jayden Torres of Franklin