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The White Mountains Community College Division IV Tournament Preview

By Dave Haley, 03/02/20, 6:15AM EST

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Will Lopus and Lisbon travel to Pittsfield (photo by Corey McKean)

 For the 12th consecutive year, we will preview every tournament game in the state, beginning today with Division IV.

 Our semifinal preview will again be written by the coaches, as I’ll speak to four coaches in the division and ask them to break down the two final four match-ups using blind quotes.

 We’ll be bringing you coverage of 31 tournament games in the next 21 days, culminating at UNH when the Division I & Division II championship games will be played on Saturday, March 21st.

 The following Saturday the NHsportspage senior and underclassman teams will take on BABC, one of the top basketball programs in the northeast, at NHTI in Concord.

 Today we will look at each of the seven first-round games in Division IV and our coverage is brought to you by our friends and partners at White Mountains Community College.

 On behalf of Jen, Lance, Justin, Pete, Austin, Nichole, Joel, Eliot & I we want to thank each of our 12 Gold Level Coaches and programs who supported our team while having access to each & every one of our full game videos from past years all the way to the championship game at Plymouth State.

Matthew McMenaman of Mount Royal

Dave Morissette of Gorham

Sam Natti of Lisbon

Buddy Trask of Colebrook

Mark Collins of Groveton

Carl Anderson of Hinsdale

Tom Bourdeau of Nute

Jamie Hayes of Newmarket

Jay Darrah of Pittsfield

Nick Fiset of Epping

Jamie Walker of Woodsville

Trevor Howard of Littleton

 As a free website we cannot survive without the support of coaches and parents, thank you to each of you!

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth, Allison Haley & I will be in Pittsfield tonight when the Panthers take on America’s Team….kicking off our boys’ tournament coverage.

 

  Final Division IV Standings

  Littleton earned a first-round by

 

 (9) Colebrook at (8) Mount Royal

 Colebrook team page

 Mount Royal team page

 These two teams did not meet during the regular season and if you’re looking for trends or momentum coming into their match-up tonight you are going to have to dig deep.

 For Buddy Trask’s Mohawks, their defense has been their biggest issue all season, and often the turnovers that lead to easy transition baskets. In games, this season against teams with a winning record Colebrook gave up an average of 75 points a game. That’s a whopper of a number for a program that is known for its tenacity and toughness under their Hall of Fame head coach.

 In Mount Royal, they face a team that has been weakened by the loss of all-state guard Andrew Normandin but continued to battle for a top 8 seed. Lois Larosiliere (17.2 ppg.) has had a terrific season while Jordan McDonnell & Brendan Moorehouse have both stepped up for Matthew McMenaman’s team.

 Guard play should be equal in this game; Larosiliere will be an even match-up with Colebrook leading scorer Carson Rancourt. The mismatch could end up being Colebrook's Malik McKinnon (13.4) who is one of the best offensive rebounders in the division.

 Buddy Trask is going to try to pound Mount Royal on the glass and force turnovers by applying pressure defense at times during the game.

 Teams were looking to draw Mount Royal in the first round but Colebrook hasn’t been consistent enough to be a heavy favorite against any team in the tournament. It should be a good one tonight.

 

 (13) Epping at (4) Sunapee

 Sunapee team page

 Epping team page

 After falling in a good quarterfinal game to Woodsville a year ago as the 5-seed Tim Putchler’s Lakers will have home court for two playoff games after a 14-4 regular season. First up are the defending champs.

 The Lakers were thought of as a final four favorite before point guard Brady Grzanna left for Kearsarge Regional over the off-season. That made the path a little harder but this has been a team that has used balanced scoring to finish in the top 5.

 The Lakers were the only team in Division IV that saw six different players score over 15 points in a game this season. Harper Flint (12.6), Jordan Chappell (11.6), Zach Belisle (10.3), Nick Pollari (8.6), Sean Moynihan (8.3) and Kevin Nolan (6.3) each went for over 15 in a game and that level of depth makes Sunapee unique in a division that lacks it.

 They’ll be tested against an Epping team that has looked every bit as inexperienced as they are. A year ago Nick Fiset was smart enough to put the ball in player of the year Hunter Bullock’s hands, spread the floor with very god shooters, allow space for Peyton Rivers to operate from the foul line in, run some good out of bounds plays and get out of the way. What it led to was a title and one of the best championship game performances in recent memory.

 The Blue Devils have often competed for three of the four quarters with good teams but been blown out in the other quarter. They don’t have the shooting to get them back into games when they get down by big margins and they haven’t been good enough defensively to let their defense create offense.

 What they have done is played the single toughest schedule in the division, a schedule which saw them play 14 of their 18 games against tournament teams, including two against a much rejuvenated Division III Raymond playoff team.

 So they are battle-tested but have they gained enough experience to beat a good team like Sunapee on the road?

 That remains to be seen but what absolutely has to happen is Peyton Rivers needs to be the best player on the floor. He doesn’t have to force the issue to do that, he simply needs to get the ball in a good position to attack the basket (Nick Fiset’s job) and finish at the rim or from medium range while being the best rebounder on the floor (Peyton’s job).

 Rivers has come on strong in the second half of the season as he has adjusted to life without Sean Hill, Adam LePage & Hunter Bullock and the focus that comes with being the #1 option for your team.

 Peyton averaged 9.1 points per game through the first 9 games of his senior season but over the second half, as he adjusted and has taken on a bigger role, he has averaged 16.2 ppg.

 If the Blue Devils are going to keep their title defense going they are going to have to get enough shooting from Owen Finkelstein to space the floor and point guard Mike Picard has to take care of the basketball against the Lakers defense.

 The path to the upset is more possessions and a ton of second shots coming from the offensive glass. Otherwise, the Lakers are hosting the quarterfinals later this week.

 

(12) Lisbon at (5) Pittsfield

 Pittsfield team page

 America's team page

 Box score of the first meeting

 The Panthers handled the Panthers easily…..oh wait………..Pittsfield handled Lisbon easily the first time around and now get a second crack at them with a trip to the quarterfinals for a 3rd straight season on the line.

 Devin Bedell (17.2) might be the most underrated player in Division IV (it’s either Devin or Todd Krol-Corliss of Littleton) and he is the engine for Jay Darrah’s team. Bedell is a decent outside shooter but he is excellent at getting to the rim off the dribble and finishing through contact.

 When you add a 6’8 center in the post in Quinn Bissonnette to both run your offense through (everything goes through the post with Jay Darrah’s team this season) and clean up the misses at the rim…that’s a pretty strong combination.

 The first time around Lisbon was overwhelmed by the ability of Pittsfield to beat them up in the trenches. If they are going to pull the upset Jared Jesseman & co. are going to have win the paint, or at least walk away with a draw.

 Tyler Prentice works very hard as does Jesse MacGlashing so Sam Natti’s team is going to have limit their multiple shot possessions and force Bissonnette to work his way to the post with the dribble. Darrah will run a lot of sets that either end with Bissonnette getting the ball in the post on a curl across the paint or a lob pass over the top when you front him.

 Lisbon struggles to score points but they won 9 games by outworking the other team, limiting their multi-shot possessions and with their shot selection. The Panthers will work the ball for a good look and unlike a year ago, they aren’t as prone to shoot the first look they get.

 Will Lopus has played well late in the season while Austin Fisher has been steady for Natti’s team at guard. Lisbon has to avoid the 15-4 quarters in the wrong direction that have plagued them against good teams.

 This is a really hard-working team that has gotten the most out of their ability this season. Having played one of the toughest schedules in the division and already having faced Pittsfield once they should be ready to compete tonight in a game ‘The Franchise’ Jennifer Chick-Ruth & I will bring you full coverage of.

 

(15) Wilton-Lyndeborough at (2) Newmarket

Wilton-Lyndeborough team page

Newmarket team page

Newmarket team page

 A very solid season for head coach Malin Segal and Wilton-Lyndeborough, highlighted by guard Jack Schwab who led Division IV in scoring at 22.3 ppg. and scored his 1,000th career point.

 Schwab has not been a one-man army though as Segal’s team has gotten production out of Kyler Tremblay, Jacob LeBlanc and Sean Brennan who have each gone for over 17 points in a game this season.

 Wilton-Lyndeborough earned their way into the field with a 66-61 win over Nute in the last week of the season, completing a season sweep of Justin McIsaac’s Rams.

 

 (10) Derryfield at (7) Woodsville

 Derryfield team page

 Woodsville team page

  You may see more 3-point attempts than shots inside the arc. Both teams have very good shooters and both like to space the floor to find the mismatch.

 Woodsville has the most upside of any team outside the top 6. They have balanced scoring (Connor Maccini, Connor Bemis, Camden Burt, Brendan Walker, and freshman Cam Davidson combine for 46.1 points per game), a distinct home-court advantage and a head coach in Jamie Walker who knows how to win in the post-season.

 Maccini does a nice job running the offense and having cousin Michael Maccini as his back-up gives the Engineers a pair of point guards Walker has confidence in.

 Bemis is capable of a breakout game while Burt will get the most looks offensively. With Patrick Reardon-Estes ineligible to play this season they’ve needed Cam Davidson (younger brother of Cooper) to step up. He has played very well for a freshman and will be a key player tonight.

 Derryfield is going to shoot a lot of 3-pointers and try to get as many as possible in transition. Playing and winning earlier this season on Colebrook’s small floor should give Ed Meade’s team confidence going into this game.

 Max Byron is a terrific outside shooter, it’s either Byron or Parker Briggs of Littleton when you’re talking about the best in the division, while Ridge Gonzales has the ability to take his defender down on the block and cause problems for the Engineers.

 It’s a tournament cliché but the team that takes care of the basketball will win this game. Derryfield looks to get the ball up the floor as quickly as possible after both misses & makes and lives with the number of turnovers that come with it.

Woodsville is trying to find Brendan Walker in the corner and will go with the hot hand from game to game. Bemis, Davidson, Maccini, Burt, and Walker have all led the team in scoring at different times during the season.

 If they can stop point guard Colin McCaigue and Byron from hurting them in transition and make Derryfield play defense for 20 seconds a possession they have a good chance to advance to play Newmarket in the quarterfinals.

 

(14) Farmington at (3) Groveton

Groveton team page

Farmington team page

Box score of the regular season meeting

 The Jekyll and Hyde Farmington Tigers head to the North Country tonight.

 Adam Thurston’s Tigers began the season with what was thought as a season-defining win over Derryfield, but they proceeded to lose 10 of their next 12 games. In that stretch, Farmington allowed nearly sixty points per game (58.3).

 In winning three of their last five games they cut that number down to 42 ppg. and that stretch included games against Newmarket and Epping. Credit Thurston with keeping his players focused and his players for buying in.

 Brian Weeks has been very good this season and particularly down the stretch while Keagan Adams has played well at point guard. Scoring a career-high 19 points in the win over Epping.

 Farmington will be without Jordan Berko, who is part of a good young nucleus for Thurston’s program but Marcus Berko will be a key player for the Tigers tonight.

 Can they go up to Groveton and stun the Eagles?

 The issue with Groveton is their depth. If you get either Josh Wheelock (19.6) or Julian Kenison (13.6) in early foul trouble it changes the complexion of the game for Mark Collins’ team because they cannot be as aggressive defensively.

 In the first meeting Groveton got up big at Farmington before the Tigers came back in the fourth quarter to force overtime. It’s going to be a lot tougher to come back on the road and against a team with their eyes on getting to Plymouth State next week.

 Farmington needs to stay in this one until the pressure turns to the home team in the second half.

 

 (11) Lin Wood at (6) Portsmouth Christian

 Portsmouth Christian team page

 Lin Wood team page
 Nice job by Matt Manning & company getting back into the tournament behind a very talented young group.

 Cam Clermont (14.0) and Jake Avery (12.6) have been very good for the Lumberjacks all season while Max LeBlanc and Jourdon Stevens have both gone for over 18 points in a game.

 Their task tonight is to try to contain PCA all-state forward Bryson Lund (17.8).  The book on Derek Summers’ team is to pack the paint around Lund and make them beat you from the outside but a 13-5 record tells you they are more than just their best player.

 Lin Wood will gain valuable experience by going on the road against a PCA team that has been here before, after advancing to the quarterfinals a year ago.

 Winning on the road is going to be a very tall order.

 

Coming tomorrow: Division III

 

 

 

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