skip navigation

The NHTI Division II Boys Semifinal Scouting Report

By Dave Haley, 03/09/21, 12:00PM EST

Share

Demarco McKissic will get a lot of attention from Lebanon in the semifinals (photo by: Alexandra Ridings)

 Twelve years ago, in my second year of high school coverage, we started the tradition of handing over the semifinal previews to the people who know these teams better than anyone; the coaches who have faced them during the season.

 The Division II, being played at Exeter high school, features two of the preeminent programs in the division, Lebanon & Pelham, along with two surprise teams; Sanborn and the Laconia Sachems, who make their first Final Four appearance since a loss to Pelham in 2009.

 We asked four head coaches to breakdown the two semifinal match-ups using blind quotes.

 Our semifinal scouting report is brought to you by NHTI. Click on any of the banner ads on our homepage to visit the NHTI homepage, a terrific option for students looking to earn a degree or transfer to a four-year college!

 Here are the scouting reports from our coaches:

 Pelham vs. Sanborn

 Pelham Team Page

 Sanborn Team Page

  Never in my thirteen years of running this website have I said these words…these two teams meet for the fourth time this season tomorrow night.

 Mike Larson of Pelham has very quickly become one of the most respected head coaches in all of Division II, and he is assisted by former head coach and good friend Matt Regan who won back to back titles in 2015 & 2016.

 Sanborn and their veteran head coach Bob Ficker (my two greatest accomplishments so far in 2021: I’ve lost 6 pounds and I finally am getting stats from Sanborn…not in that order by the way) leads a very talented and flat-out fun to watch team into the semifinals.

 Our coaches broke down the teams and the match-ups, starting with Sanborn.

 “ Boy if they get it rolling they are very hard to stop,” said one coach we spoke to. “More than any team we played all year, Sanborn is that team that erases an 8-point lead in two minutes.”

 “ They will pick you up defensively on the in-bound. They pressure you to try to pick up a quick steal and they’ll do it man to man. Once you get the ball in they fall back into their man defense. They’re very fast and they play very well together.”

 Another coach spoke about Division II leading scorer and player of the year candidate Dylan Khalil. “ He is a terrific player. We defensively pride ourselves in keeping our man in front of us and the one guy we played this season where it didn’t happen was against Dylan Khalil.”

 Part of the problem is the unpredictable nature of the Sanborn offense.

 “ I don’t think they ran a single play against us. They basically will shoot it if you lay off them and if you don’t they use the two brothers (Dylan & Jared) to drive & kick to open shooters. It’s difficult to prepare for because there are no real tendencies and they don’t even know what they are going to get when they come down the floor.”

 A fellow coach agreed. “ When we played them for a second time we concentrated on walling off the Khalil brothers, which we did a pretty good job of, but then Jason Allen & James Bush killed us. If you leave guys open those guys can knockdown shots.”

 " Mike Larson scouts teams very well. That doesn't help you as much though when you are watching Sanborn because they do so much off the creativity of their two guards. That's hard to scout because, what are they actually running?"

 So how do you hold Sanborn in check.

 “ We had success against them when we denied the Khalil brothers on the wing. We just made sure to deny them the ball on the wing and that seemed to throw their rhythm off. Andrew Pugh can handle the ball for them but he isn’t looking to score.”

 “ They also will let you catch it in the post. I can’t see how Zach Jones doesn’t have a good game against them. If you just try and run & gun to out score them I think you are setting yourself up for failure. Even a team as good as Pelham.”

 What about the Pelham Pythons?

 “ The number one thing with Pelham is that they pressure the ball really well. They try to throw off what you’re trying to do offensively with pressure and those two guards (Jake Herrling & Jake McGlinchey) feed off it. They will work very hard to take the ball from you.”

 Another coach talked about all-state big man Zach Jones. “ To me he is their X-factor. He gives them a weapon down low that they didn’t have a year ago. I know he was a junior on that team but he has improved and he can beat you with his low post moves. When we played them I thought we held their shooters in check, it was Jones that killed us.”

 Another head coach talked about the Pelham offense. “ I would say Pelham & Lebanon are the two best teams I’ve seen in terms of running their offense. Pelham runs more sets than Lebanon and they run them very well. They run a lot of plays for their shooter (Jake Dumont) and they run them effectively. When you jump the play and take him out of it they hit one of the screeners going to the basket. They do a really nice job.”

 “ They screen a lot and it’s basically a motion offense with wrinkles thrown in to get a look they want.”

 “ They are a lot like Sanborn in that they will pick you up full-court to try and get the quick steal but once you get it in safely they’ll back off into their half-court defense.”

 “ Their strength is that they have three of the best offensive players in our division; McGlinchey, Dumont & Jones.”

 How do the two teams match-up after Pelham won two of the three games in the regular season?

 “ I give Sanborn a good chance because they’ll love that bigger floor at Exeter. It’s going to come down to who makes shots. If you look at Pelham’s season it was the smaller faster teams like Sanborn & Manchester West that they had trouble with.”

 “ I would mix up looks on Sanborn to throw them off. It feels like straight man defense plays to their ability to create off the dribble.”

 So who wins tomorrow night?

 “ I like Sanborn in the upset.”

 “ I think Pelham gets by them and then beats Lebanon or Laconia for the title.”

 “ I go with Pelham in a high-scoring game, Dumont wins it.”

 

 Lebanon vs. Laconia

 Lebanon Team Page

 Laconia Team Page

 Kieth Matte returns to the final four for the 8th time and will take on Steve McDonough and the Laconia Sachems who return to the semifinals for the first time in 12 years.

 We asked our coaches to breakdown both teams, beginning with the Raiders.

 “ Out of all the teams I scouted this season Lebanon was the most difficult because when you go back to your team there isn’t that one player, that one set or one aspect of the game to focus on. They have four guys who can all do similar things in their offense and so you can’t focus on any one aspect of their team.”

 Another head coach who faced Lebanon agreed. “ They have five starters who all contribute in different ways. Jack Stone, Karsten Hansen and Caleb Bates look like they were produced in the same laboratory; all about 6’4, can shoot it and handle the ball while their point guard Braeden Falzarano is the guy who really steers that ship.”

 “What stood out to me when we played them twice was how good of decision makers they were. They don’t make the typical mistakes most teams do. You can beat them but they are not going to beat themselves.”

 Another coach we spoke to raved about Kieth Matte’s point guard Braeden Falzarano.

“ He’s the man for that team. One of the things kids have really struggled with this season is finishing at the rim. They just haven’t gotten the reps in practice to do it well, but Falzarano does and he finishes with both hands. He changes the game with the way he gets to the basket and scores.”

 “ When we played them we left either Nyeoti Punni or CJ Childs alone and guarded against the drive to the basket by leaving their man in the middle of the paint. Matte adjusted though and had either player who was in set screens for the other four players and they were wide open.”

 How about the Lebanon defense?

 “ They can close out high on your shooters because of their length. They also can switch on everything because they have three guys 6’3 or taller.”

 “ They are a sneaky good rebounding team. You think that’s where you’ll beat them and then when you play them they do a very good job on the glass.”

 What about Steve McDonough’s Sachems?

 “ Obviously it starts with their size. Demarco McKissic is a straight out problem. He is huge, has a nice touch around the basket and moves well for a big man. Keaton Beck is just as big and maybe more agile. The first thing you realize with Laconia is their intimidation is going to cause some kids to settle for jumpers.”

 Another coach talked about the underrated aspect of their team.

 “ I think their guards, Kayden Roberts, Logan Dee & Logan Paronto, are very underrated. When we played them we told the kids in the huddle, ‘Make their guards beat us’ and next thing we knew Roberts had three 3-pointers.”

 “ Logan Dee is just very solid for them. You’ll take your chances with him shooting it but he takes care of the ball, handles pressure pretty well and defends at a high level. You can tell Steve trusts him.”

 Another coach mentioned the make up of the Laconia team.

 “ They have 12 seniors on that team. That changes things. Those kids know every playoff game might be the last high school basketball game of their career so they leave it all out on the floor.”

 All three coaches we spoke to thought officiating will be a key tomorrow night.

 “ Big men get officiated differently in New Hampshire, I’m not sure why and it has always frustrated me but its true. If they call a couple of quick fouls on McKissic Laconia is in big trouble.”

 “The game is being played at Exeter high school, if they get local seacoast officials who usually call Division I games, they’ll let them play. That’s something to look for though.”

  What about the Laconia defense?

 “ They will play a 3-2 zone and it’s an active zone. They make the middle look open but then as soon as you get the ball in there they swarm with all that size, remember with Dylan Dickey they start three players 6’4 or bigger.”

 “ What their defense does is they make it difficult for you to get comfortable. That’s the best way to describe it. You never feel comfortable against them when you have the ball in the half-court.”

 How do the two teams match up?

 “ You can run on Laconia and on that big floor I would get out and push it at every opportunity. Make the Laconia big men run because McKissic will get tired.”

 A fellow coach agreed. “ They can be run on if you have the guards to do it. They will get Kayden Roberts and Logan Dee back but Lebanon is too big for them, at least five inches taller and they can finish over them.”

 “ I would force Roberts to his right hand. He’s a lefty and likes that side of the floor, make him use his weak hand.”

 “ If I’m Steve I make Lebanon shoot it and pack the middle. I have seen Lebanon on film quite a bit and they don’t usually shoot over 33% from 3-point range. If they don’t shoot it over 35% at Exeter I think Laconia has a good chance to beat them.”

 So who wins it tomorrow night?

 “ Lebanon and they’ll play Pelham for the title.”

 “ I think Laconia holds them in check and wins the game.”

  “ Lebanon will wear them down by pushing the ball. I think its close and then Lebanon pulls away late.”

Most Popular

Tag(s): Home  Boys Basketball  NHIAA Division II  Lebanon  Pelham  Laconia  Sanborn