As we do for each of our semifinal previews we hand it over to the people who know these teams best; the coaches that face them during the season.

 We have opposing coaches’ breakdown the four teams and the match-ups for tonight’s Division IV semifinals at Plymouth State University.

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth, Lisbon head coach Sam Natti & I will bring you coverage of both games with all the play by play, highlights and the post-game interview with the entire winning team,

 Our coverage is brought to you by our friends and partners at White Mountains Community College, with locations in Berlin, Littleton, and North Conway.

 Take a look at the White Mountains Community College video with Division IV highlights produced by Jennifer Chick-Ruth with voice over from Justin McIsaac.

 

 (1) Epping vs. (4) Woodsville

 Epping Team Page

 Woodsville Team Page

 The top seed faces a young Woodsville team no one expected to get to Plymouth State when the season began. We asked our coaches to breakdown the match-up, beginning with Nick Fiset’s Blue Devils.

 “ It all begins with Hunter Bullock,” said one tournament coach. “ He does so many things for them and he is so hard to defend. You game plan for him, you dedicate extra defenders to the paint to stop his penetration and he still ends up getting where he wants to go.”

 A fellow coach agreed. “ He creates so much, as far as kicking out to shooters or finding Peyton River cutting in from the baseline. He likes having control of the offense and he makes your defense collapse around him.”

 Another coach we spoke to thinks he will be a big problem for Woodsville. “ They haven’t seen anyone as good off the dribble as him all year and they don’t have that plus-defender who can stop him. I think Bullock will have his way with Woodsville.”

 What about the team as a whole? “ You cannot leave Shawn Hill or Adam LePage open, they’ll bury you with 3’s and Rivers is very good rebounding when he crashes from the weak side. You can game plan to keep Bullock out of the paint but he does such a good job finding the angles to the basket and when he has that push shot going in the paint they become an elite team offensively.”

 Coaches talked about the job Nick Fiset is doing in his 3rd season. “ I think Nick is doing a very good job. He has exceeded expectations from the pre-season when everyone thought this was a two-team race, he has proven that wrong.”

 Another coach talked about Epping’s secret weapon. “ They execute very well on their out of bounds plays under their own basket. They get about 8 points a game from them and that sometimes is the difference in these games.”

 What about Woodsville?

 “ They are going to shoot a bunch of three’s, whether you are in zone or man, they are going to spread you out and shoot it. 40% of their shots are going to be 3-pointers.”

 “They do a very good job of moving the ball and if they can, they like to get Billy Green matched up in the paint one on one so he can drive to the rim.”

 “ Jamie (Walker) will throw a few different defenses out and go with what works. He does a nice job reading the game and figuring out what the most effective defense is,” said another coach. “ Two years ago when they got to the Final Four they had that really good 2-3 zone but they don’t have the size anymore to be as effective with it.”

 Another coach talked about Coach Walker. “ I saw that team early in the season and they were nowhere near a Final Four team. They have gotten a lot better and Jamie is doing a really good job with them.”

 What are the keys for the Engineers?

 “ It boils down to whether they allow Bullock to get into the paint. If he can do that consistently it’s over.”

 “I think you’ll see them pack it in because of their lack of size, they will try to negate Bullock getting to the paint & Rivers rebounding and take their chances with LePage & Hill. They’ll try to make Epping one-dimensional. I’m not sure it will work because those two can really shoot but with first time teams at Plymouth it is worth a gamble.”

 Another coach talked about the importance of Billy Green. “ I think if he gets in foul trouble they are in big trouble because he opens up looks for other players. You have to get out on Brendan Walker but he isn’t going to hurt you off the dribble, and Corey Bemis can be contained as well. It’s Green that can create his own offense and that opens things up.”

 “The player on that team that has really improved over the course of the season is Connor Maccini. He has really come a long way since the start of the season and as he has gotten better the team has gotten better.”

 So who wins the game?

 “Epping and I don’t think its close.”

 “ Epping.”

 “ Epping, but I think it will be closer than people think.”

 

 (2) Littleton vs. (3) Newmarket

 Littleton Team Page

 Newmarket Team Page

 The pre-season #1 and #2 meet a round earlier than expected but their match-up remains the most eagerly anticipated game of the tournament so far.

 Trevor Howard’s Crusaders beat Colebrook in the quarterfinals Thursday night without first team all-state forward Danny Kubkowski, who injured his knee in a team shoot-around before the game.

 Kubkowski’s status for tonight remains up in the air but even if he can go he won’t be at 100%. All of which makes it tougher on Littleton to win but not impossible. Coaches we spoke to all agreed that the Crusaders have enough to beat Newmarket.

 We asked the coaches to break down the teams and the match-up, starting with Littleton.

 “They have enough to beat Newmarket without Danny (Kubkowski). The issue for Littleton will be that they’ll be smaller,” said on tournament coach. “I don’t think you’ll see Trevor go with Christian Silviera or Josh Finkle (a pair of bigger forwards) for long stretches, I think he’ll go with a smaller lineup and try to spread Newmarket out.”

 “The loss of Kubkowski isn’t as big as people might think because they have enough around him to win and Kubkowski gets a lot of his points off of steals at the front of their press,” said another coach we spoke to. “Jason Brammer is their most important player tonight because he is capable of scoring 20 points and they will need it. If not they still have guys who maybe score 6 points a game who now have to score 12,,, someone like Todd Krol-Corliss.”

  What about the Newmarket Mules?

 “ What they do better than any other team we played all season was apply pressure,” said a tournament coach of Jamie Hayes’ team. “ They are so good at hounding the ball for 80 feet and all five guys seem to be in the right spot all the time.”

 Another coach talked about the Newmarket offense. “ They are very balanced but at Plymouth State, you’re going to need your best players to produce and that’s Jared Woodman and Simon Cote. I’ve seen Cote be very assertive on offense and I’ve seen him take a back seat and really let other guys make the plays. He has to be a focal point of everything they are doing tonight.”

 A fellow coach agreed. “ In Division IV more than any other division your best player really sets the tone for the game. So who is their best player?”

 Another coach talked about what Newmarket has to do if they get an early lead on Littleton. “ There have been too many instances with Newmarket where they get up big and next thing you know it’s a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. Maybe that’s being conservative, maybe that’s something else entirely but it happened against Derryfield this season, against Epping in the game they lost and has happened at Plymouth more than a few times. If Newmarket gets up by double digits they have to go for the knockout and not let the other team back in the game.”

 Can Littleton win without Kubkowski?

 “ I am interested to see what Trevor comes up with for a game plan because he has to come up with something. Their press is not as effective on the big college floor (at PSU) and Kubkowski is their best defender when it comes to pressuring the ball. They play zone so it is hard to see them switching to man against a team like Newmarket that runs a motion offense.”

 “ Jason Brammer is the key…he has to be the second scorer because we know Parker Briggs is going to produce. Briggs will shoot it well at Plymouth and he will score more than usual because he is getting more touches with Kubkowski out.”

 Another tournament coach weighed in on Littleton’s chances. “ They need to find a way to create easy points. Maybe that’s off turnovers, maybe that is in transition, or by looking to push the ball off of makes, but they need to come up with something.”

 “I think they need to pull Jared Woodman & Logan Willey away from the basket. It’s not the craziest idea that their offense might play faster and move the ball well without Kubkowski. I think you will see them run through a wall to start the game. They will be ready to go.”

 So who wins tonight?

 “ I have to go with Newmarket with Kubkowski possibly out.”

 “ I’ll go with Newmarket but it will be close.”

 “ Newmarket will win.”

 

    Tomorrow: Division III