Today we will take a look at the four quarterfinal games taking place tonight across the state.

 We will have coverage of two games tonight and all three Final Four games next week at Keene State College.

 Pete Tarrier & Joel Johnston will be at Mascenic Regional tonight when the Vikings host 7th seed Mascoma and I will be back at the alma mater with Austin Grass when top-seeded Gilford hosts 8th seed White Mountains Regional.

 As always we will have all the highlights and the post-game celebration with the entire winning team of both games.

 On Monday look for our semifinal scouting reports where we will have four opposing coaches break down the four teams and two match-ups in the semifinals using blind quotes.

 Today’s quarterfinal preview is brought to you by Adrenaline Fundraising!

 

 (8) White Mountains at (1) Gilford

 Gilford team page

 White Mountains team page

 Box score of last week's regular-season meeting

 The Spartans went back and forth with St. Thomas Tuesday night until taking the lead for good with four minutes to go behind the shooting of Brody LaBounty and the playmaking of Jack Curtis.

 They’ll face Gilford seven days after losing on the same floor 76-48.

 Expect White Mountains head coach Mike Curtis to mix up his defenses and show the Golden Eagles more zone looks. Gilford’s first-team all-state forward Adrian Siravo went for 35 points in that game and is a match-up nightmare for Curtis’s team.

 6’7 center Avery Hazelton, who was a factor in the win over St. Thomas, doesn’t have the speed to match-up with Siravo while forward Tyler Hicks doesn’t have the size. The Spartans are going to have to go 1-3-1 or other zone looks. You can expect them to send a couple of bodies at Siravo and take their chances with Connor Sullivan & Riley Marsh shooting the ball from the outside.

 The problem with sending multiple players at the 6’4 Siravo, because other teams have tried it, is that leaves one less player to keep Jalen Reese, Malik Reese, Logan Hughes, and Curtis Nelson off the glass. This Gilford team doesn’t care who beats you and all four of those forward have the size and athleticism to crush you on the glass.

 I wrote about it a month ago but coaches have noticed how good Gilford is in transition and it begins with Siravo and 6’4 freshman Jalen Reese, who both can dribble out of the paint and start the break without an outlet pass.

 Gilford is going to use their depth to try to wear down a White Mountains team that only plays seven or eight guys. The Spartans will certainly adjust and Mike Curtis, making his third straight quarterfinal appearance, will have them well prepared.

 Gilford though has been as good as any team in Division III all season long and one step away from their first final four appearances since 2008, which also happened to be the first year of this website, they’re going to be fired up to make a statement tonight.

 

(5) Winnisquam at (4) Hopkinton

Hopkinton team page

Winnisquam team page

 The Bears survived a tough and at times controversial overtime win over Belmont on Tuesday night when their all-state forward Phil Nichols saved their season by knocking down two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to force the extra session.

 Their odds against Belmont and tonight against Hopkinton were made tougher when forward Gunnar Horman (12.8) went down with an ankle injury in practice. With Horman out of the lineup until at the least the final four that puts more pressure on Caleb Bushway, Jared Seavey, and Anthony Robbins to step up as scorers.

 The Bears lack size in the middle so expect them to send multiple players at Hawks all-state forward Kevin Newton-Delgado (15.6). Hopkinton has a distinct advantage in the paint but Winnisquam head coach Kevin Dame will apply pressure and try to force the Hawks into quick shots and turnovers.

 Raymond came in with a very good game plan on Tuesday night and stayed with Hopkinton all the way to the final 2-minutes. Steve Signor’s team is deep and if they can contain Nichols and control the boards they have a very good chance to advance to Monday night’s semifinal against the winner of Gilford & White Mountains.

 

 (7) Mascoma at (2) Mascenic Regional

 Mascenic Regional team page

 Mascoma team page

 The Royals advanced to the quarterfinals after coming back from an early deficit against 9-seed Monadnock and winning on an out of bounds play with 2.1 seconds left.

 Tonight they face a Mascenic team that hasn’t lost since January 3rd or since Brandon Kear took over as the team’s head coach. The Vikings are sharing the basketball going to the beat of their all-state point guard Sammy Stauffeneker (15.7).

 Trey Shaw (11.3) has played well and stretches the floor for Kear’s team while Gabe Tuner and Zach Barthel have done a nice job in the paint. Dylan Vaillancourt gives them a third guard who can handle the ball while Shea Zina is very good at getting his spot in the paint and pushing you off of yours.

 That will be where Mascoma has to effective tonight, keeping Zina, Tuner & Barthel from creating multiple shot possessions with their offensive rebounding,

 Mascenic is going to find sophomore Ben Seiler (22.9) defensively and try to keep Silas Ayres’ team from getting out in transition.

 Mascenic likes to play at a slower pace and control the tempo. Seiler, Connor Thompson, Ben Schwarz, and Gabe Rock want to push the tempo and get the Vikings into a shoot-out to pull what would be a huge upset tonight.

 

 (11) Conant at (3) Somersworth

 Somersworth team page

 Conant team page

 Box score of the regular season meeting

  The Orioles battled Campbell for 32 minutes before pulling out a 30-26 victory that sends them to Somersworth tonight for a title game rematch.

 Anthony Gauthier (21.9) was quiet for three quarters but took over late. Somersworth’s zone defense will focus on stopping him so Eric Saucier’s team is going to need Connor Hart to score in his match-up against Ethan Johnson & Luke Monesmith.

 The Orioles could score enough to get ahead and defend at a high enough level to whittle the game away late last season. Their margin of error is razor-thin this season because of their lack of scoring.

 That’s why they have lost so many close games. A year ago you had Gauthier along with Peyton Springfield & Jake Drew. A year later Conant has to win games in the ’30s and low 40’s like they did on Tuesday night.

 Rob Fauci’s team had an easy time with Inter-Lakes on Tuesday night and earned it after a 14-4 regular season.

 Jacob Hamilton, Jeremy Levesque, Ethan Johnson, Luke Monesmith and Travis Wright all played big minutes in last season’s championship game loss. They get their shot at revenge tonight with a trip to Keene State on Monday night on the line.