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 had three Division III coaches breakdown the four teams and the match-ups for tonight’s Division III semifinal at Keene State College.

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 (4) Hopkinton vs. (1) Gilford

 Gilford team page

 Hopkinton team page

 Box score of the first meeting

  Hopkinton faces top seed Gilford for the second time this season and with a trip to the Division III championship game on the line.

 We asked three tournament coaches to breakdown both teams, starting with the Golden Eagles.

 “Of all four teams I feel like Gilford has the best sense of who they are as a team,” said one coach we spoke to. “Their match-up zone fits their personnel so well because they are so long. They have Adrian Siravo (6’3), Logan Hughes (6’3), Jalen Reese (6’4) and Malik Reese (6’4) closing off angles and then you add Cutis Nelson, who is a terrific athlete, and that makes up a defense that is going to give anyone problems.”

 “Gilford was never a team you had to game plan for because you knew exactly what they were going to run but they’ve changed under (first-year head coach) Rick Acquilano. He’s done a terrific job with this team.”

 A fellow coach talked about the Golden Eagles experience in close games. “They are 18-1 but they have had to either win in the last minute or come from behind in about six of those games.”

 “That tells you that they are not a dominant team but it also tells you they know how to close. Just from watching the highlights of the White Mountains quarterfinal game you could see there was no panic amongst those kids when it was a one-point game late. I think that is a really strong trait to have in the post-season.”

 So how do you slow down Gilford?

 “You cannot give them second shots. That’s where they kill teams, on the second shot, because they don’t have a knockdown shooter,” said one coach we spoke to. “They are the best team I’ve seen in a while at getting second shot opportunities and it starts with Adrian Siravo. To me, he was the most dominant player in our division this year.”

 Another coach talked about how to game plan against Gilford. “You have to take away the middle of the paint. That’s where they flash Siravo to the high post.”

 “I think the book on Gilford was to make them hit outside shots but Riley Marsh has really become a very good shooter and if you leave Connor Sullivan open early & he gains confidence he can kill you as well.”

 What about Steve Signor’s Hopkinton Hawks?

 “They are a senior-dominated team and those are usually the teams that win in March,” said one tournament coach we spoke to. “They have all been here before and they have a player in Kevin Newton Delgado that can carry them to two wins this week.”

 Another coach talked about the Hawks depth. “They aren’t as deep as they seem. I still think Steve (Signor) is looking for that 7th or 8th player that he trusts. Of the teams left Somersworth is the deepest, Mascenic is the most talented and Gilford & Hopkinton have the two best players.”

 Another coach talked about the Hawks personnel. “Kevin Newton-Delgado is a beast. Luke Reidy will hurt you down low if you leave him alone and I love Shepyrd Murdough as a point guard. He makes really smart decisions with the ball and is just so good at the point.”

 “Owen Milchik and Michael Baer can both knockdown shots and if Gilford can’t handle them on the perimeter I think Hopkinton wins it.”

 “Hopkinton will play a 1-2-2 full-court zone but it’s not as effective as it has been in the past for them because they don’t have a lot of speed. To me, it’s not the defense that will win it for Hopkinton but their shooters.”

 So who wins the game tonight?

 “I think if Gilford trails late they’re in trouble because you can pull the ball out and force them to play man to man defense, which they haven’t done all season.”

 “Their best assets are Adrian Siravo; I think he is the best player in the final four, and Rick Acquilano, who has done a terrific job with this team.”

 “ Hopkinton’s zone exposes the middle too much. It’s a zone that you can attack and Gilford is smart enough to know that.”

 “I’ll go with Gilford in a very close game.”

 “I like Hopkinton to win. I just think they are a better outside shooting team and that wins it for them.”

 “I think it’s a 50/50 game but I’ll go with Hopkinton.”

 

 (3) Somersworth vs. (2) Mascenic Regional

 Mascenic team page

 Somersworth team page

 Box score of the regular season meeting

  We asked our coaches to breakdown the hottest team in the division and a Somersworth team that has advanced to four consecutive final fours, starting with the Hilltoppers.

 “They are impossible to game plan for because they have six different players who can go for 15 points,” said one tournament coach we spoke to. “You never know night to night who their best player is going to be and in this division that is very unique.”

 A fellow coach agreed.

“Rob (Fauci) does such a good job mixing up their defensive looks and they have so much depth in their top six. They have two players who can hurt you off the dribble (Travis Wright & Jacob Hamilton), two players who can hurt you shooting the ball (Jeremy Levesque & Aiden Hefferon) and two players who can hurt you down low (Ethan Johnson & Luke Monesmith). To me they are the deepest team left.”

 “The first meeting was 77-69 (with Mascenic winning); I can guarantee you that the score won’t be that high the second time around. When you get to this point of the tournament the shooting percentages drop pretty dramatically, so when I look at not only this match-up but all four teams, I wonder which team is going to defend well enough to be the last team standing?”

 Another coach talked about the Hilltoppers personnel. “Travis Wright is the best perimeter defender in our division. I think Mascenic has been tremendous all year but Rob Fauci has been there and at the end of the day I think a team with all the experience they have wins it all.”

 What about the 17-1 Mascenic Vikings?

 “The difference between how they play now under Brandon Kear and how they played under John Langlois is they are playing freer. Sammy Stauffeneker has become more of a facilitator and sacrificed his scoring totals to help them win.”

 “Mascenic’s big men Zach Barthel and Gabe Turner are really underrated. They can control the boards, defend at a high level and they don’t need a lot of touches to get their points. Trey Shaw is a very good shooter and Dylan Vaillancourt does all the dirty work on both ends of the floor.”

 Another coach broke down the Vikings. “When we played them Sammy killed us, he was as good a player as we have seen all season. They have bought into the ‘Conant way’ defensively that (head coach) Brandon Kear has been preaching and they look to me like a team that can win two games in the semifinals. They are going to have a huge crowd playing over at Keene State and they are a team that really feeds off of that.”

 How do you game plan against Mascenic?

 “I think you take the middle away from Sammy and don’t leave Trey Shaw on the perimeter. Close out hard on him and make him finish with the drive. With Mascenic they have players who like their particular spots and as a defense you have to take that away and make them score from other positions on the floor.”

 So who wins tonight?

 “I think it will be very close but I’ll go with Mascenic.”

 “I think the experience Somersworth has wins them the game.”

 “I think Mascenic wins it in a good one.”