(16) Winnisquam at (1) Kearsarge Regional

 Kevin Dame’s Bears lost six of their last seven games heading into last night’s play-in game but Winnisquam has played one of the tougher schedules in the division and as far as 16 seeds go, this is a pretty strong outfit.

 Winnisquam has been able to shake off suspensions and players leaving the team to the point where they own wins over tournament teams Mascoma & Franklin. Logan Morrison (14.1) had an all-state season while Isaiah Singleton and Kyle Mann have been solid in logging a lot of minutes for a team with a short bench.

 Winnisquam is going to have to be able to handle Nate Camp’s half-court 1-3-1 pressure (they’ll also slide into a 2-2-1 half court trap as well). The toughest part of Kearsarge’s half-court trap isn’t breaking the pressure itself, it’s the fact that when you do break it there is a 6’7 center protecting the rim at the back end.

 The key player for Winnisquam will be Thomas Marchese, and not because his name is fun to mispronounce.

 Marchese has scored in double figures in eight games this season, including his 29 point performance against Fall Mtn. in the play in game, and Winnisquam is 7-1 in those games Marchese scoring chart.

 His ability to knock down three’s in going to be a key because you don’t get a ton of production in the paint against Kearsarge. If Winnisquam can stretch out that defense it will result in better looks.