Since 2008 we have turned our semifinal previews over to the people who know these teams better than anyone; the coaches that faced them during the season.

 We asked four Division II coaches to break down the four teams and two games using blind quotes. We’ll have full coverage of all three final four games, all the highlights as well as the post-game interview/celebration with the winning teams.

 Our semifinal preview is brought to you by our partners at River Valley Community College!

 

 (1) Souhegan vs. (4) Lebanon

Souhegan team page

Lebanon team page

 

 We asked our coaches to break down both teams and tonight's match-up, beginning with the Sabers.

 "Their strength is that they play as a team," said one opposing coach. "They are very unselfish, and they have bought into whatever role they fill for the team."

 Another coach talked about the Sabers style and pace of play.

 "They are very methodical on offense. They run their sets and wait until they get the look they want. Their point guard (Joe Bernasconi) does a nice job handling pressure and getting them into what they want to run."

 "They play hard. They switch on defense and communicate well," said a coach we spoke to. "I like their center (Johnny) McBride a lot. He protects the rim and will call out back screens or backdoor Princeton cuts.”

“ They have good size with Keegan Burke playing alongside McBride so they can switch big to big.”

 "They are a well-coached team. When we played them, we got them on a backdoor cut. After that, they called it out every time. I was impressed with how quickly they were able to recognize it."

 Coaches spoke about the job head coach Peter Pierce has done.

 "He has them playing very disciplined. You can tell there is a message, and they've listened to him. None of us saw them having this kind of a season, but week after week, they have gotten it done."

 "Matt Canavan runs hot & cold for them. He's a good scorer, but we were able to slow him down when we played him. At the same time, he's come up big for them against some very good teams."

 Another coach talked about the Sabers leading scorer. "I like his game a lot. He has a good wingspan and is a skilled player. He's the one person who can get them 25 in a final four game. He has to be a focus of your defense."

 How about the defending champion Raiders?

 "They run their offense very well, and there are three or four variations that they know like the back of their hand. Everything goes through Braeden Falazarano and Jackson Stone."

 The coaches we spoke to were unanimous in their opinion of Kieth Matte's team; everything runs through their all-state duo.

 "They know their strengths, and those kids fill their role. Players like CJ Childs and (Nyeoti) Punni give them a lot as far as their on the ball defense and intangibles."

 "Falzarano is the one player who makes it all work. He can get to the paint anytime and finishes through contact. Your player moves his feet to stay in front of him and he beats you with that spin move to either side."

 "Lebanon has two players on the floor who won't score; Nyeoti Punni and CJ Childs. They are good defenders and rebounders, but you can leave them defensively and focus all your help on Falzarano and Stone."

 "The Bates brothers (Dawson and Sam) are square up shooters with size. Each can knock down shots. Kieth tends to play Childs & Punni together and then sub in the Bates brothers instead of mixing the players up. The Bates brothers make it harder to double team other players."

 Another coach talked about how to defend Lebanon.

 "We put a bigger defender on Cole Fabry to take away his drives to the basket. With Punni, he can hurt you on the boards and off the dribble. You just have to stay off of him."

 What about the Lebanon defense?

 "They are similar to Souhegan in that they will pretty much guard you from the three-point line in. They will extend pressure when they think they can turn you over, but they will mostly pack the paint in man to make up for their lack of size."

 What are your thoughts on the match-up?

 "I really like McBride a lot. He is their best player, and he has improved as the season has gone along. I saw him on film and thought he was decent, but he was a much bigger factor when we played them. He can step out & hit shots and is very good defensively."

 "Lebanon is easy to game plan for. They don't have a lot of depth. There are only two players who really hurt you offensively, and you know what they are going to run."

 "Then they still go out and beat you. They are so well-coached, and those kids are winners. They know how to close. They are not the team they were a year ago. Lebanon lost their two leading scorers, yet here they are again in the final four."
 

 What is your prediction for the game?

 "It's hard; I could go either way. I'll go with Lebanon."

 "I think Souhegan beats them the second time around."

 "I like Souhegan in a close one."

 "It'll be a very good game, but I think Lebanon wins it late."

 

 (2) Pelham vs. (3) Con Val

 Pelham team page

 Con Val team page

 

 We asked our coaches to break down the first game tonight and the season's third meeting between Pelham and Con Val.

 Beginning with the Pythons.

 "To me, they are the best team in the division," said one coach we spoke with. "They are certainly very beatable, but their two losses this season came with Mike (Larson) being out and during a stretch where they played a ton of games in a short amount of time."

 "They seemed to have found another gear since he came back."

 We asked another head coach what the team's strengths were?

 "They shoot the ball very well, and they can score better than other teams in our division. I would put Con Val right there with them, but Pelham is a team that can beat you in a shoot-out."

 "Jake McGlinchey was my player of the year vote. He makes it very difficult to stay in front of him, and he has a good sense of when to shoot it and when to dump down to one of their forwards or kick it out to a shooter."

 "Zach James is the X-factor for that team. You cannot leave him open because he is a knockdown shooter, and when he plays with confidence, they are tough to beat."

 Another coach talked about head coach Mike Larson.

 "He's very steady. They don't try to confuse you as much as they get the ball to their players in a good position and defend hard."

 "They will pick you up full court and make entry passes very difficult. Their lack of size can hurt them; they don't have a player like Zach Jones (who started at center on last year's runner-up team), so they make your guards uncomfortable and unable at times to make an entry pass or reverse the ball cleanly."

 A fellow coach talked about the team's mental toughness.

 "They have been there before and been through a lot. They play together, and they won't back down. Jake Cawthron is an excellent defender, and so is Dom Herrling."

 "Their ability to defend takes a lot of pressure off of McGlinchey and James on the defensive end of the floor. They are not a big team, so putting pressure on the ball and sliding over weakside becomes that much more important."

 "Mike does a nice job coaching them. He's very even-keeled, and he knows those kids very well. They respond to him, and you can understand why they struggled without him."

 What about the Con Val Cougars?

 "Their balance is what stands out. They are not very deep, Jay (Starr) only plays about six guys, but they all can step up and make a play."

 Another coach talked about the Cougars offense.

 "They do an excellent job of moving offensively, and because they can each hurt you, that taxes your defense. They keep the ball moving, and to me, Joe Gutwein is their most dangerous offensive player."

 Another coach talked about how Starr's team shares the basketball.

 "They are very unselfish. When we played them, their pace wore us down. We were in the game until our starters got gassed, and they just rolled offensively late in the game. Christian Buffum, in particular, was tough for us to stop."

 "They only care about winning, and from following their box scores, they have different players step up whether it's (Joe) Gutwein, (Malachi) Page, (Austin) Knight, (Owen) Michaels or (Christian) Buffum."

 Another coach talked about the Cougars unselfishness.

 "Gutwein was the player that really hurt us. You have to close out high on them because if you leave them to shoot stationary threes, they will knock them down all day."

"They shoot the ball extremely well, and they don't care who is taking the shot as long as it's a good one."

 What about the Con Val defense?

 "They don't have much size, so they try and take a lot of charges. They'll sell it too. They are looking for whistles because they don't have anyone to protect the rim."

 "They switch on everything, so we tried to get our bigger guards switched on to Austin Knight so we could take him to the post," said a coach who faced the Cougars. "If you are patient offensively, you can get them switched into mismatches."

 Another coach talked about why Con Val is so good late in games.

 "Jay is doing a good job with them. He's a veteran coach."

 "They have a couple of different guys they can go to late in games, and they are an excellent free throw shooting team. We were close late, but they hit their free throws and put us away. That's something to watch late in games."

 

 So who wins tonight?

 "I am very high on Con Val, but I'm going with Pelham in a good one."

 "Pelham is the best team. I see them winning the whole thing."

 "I'm going with Con Val in the mild upset."

 "Pelham will beat them by about ten or eleven."

 

 Coming tomorrow: Division I