With Divisions III and IV a few weeks into their season, we thought we’d look at the biggest impressions we have gleaned.

 First impressions are exactly that: a reaction to what we have seen early on in the season.

 There are still over two full months to go, but we have seen enough to make two early calls, and today we’ll talk about the first impressions both divisions have made.

 Our column today is brought to you by our great friend and Lakes Region partner, Kevin Shaw at Roche Realty.

 Check out the Jennifer Chick Ruth produced the video above featuring Liv & Tenner Keenan, Gracey LeBlanc, and Keaton Beck!
 

Division III

Division III Standings, Scoring Leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

Gold Level Supporters/Coaches: Nate Camp of Kearsarge, Justin DiBennedeto of Campbell, Dave Morissette of St Thomas, Rick Acquilano of Gilford, Tony Martinez of Belmont, Jim Hill of Monadnock, Eric Saucier of Conant, Matt Dancosse of Stevens, Jim Gallagher of Raymond and Matt Miller of Hopkinton.
 

 I can see three…maybe four teams winning the Division III title this season…….I cannot see five.

 The season's first three weeks have revealed a glacier-sized gap between the top four teams in the pre-season and the rest of the division.

 St Thomas has looked terrific early on. Their ability to score, rebound, and defend at a high level makes them a good bet to win multiple playoff games.

 Will Mollica (15.5 ppg and spending a lot of time on the bench as head coach Dave Morissette manages the score) has been the best player in the division. At the same time, freshman point guard Cole McLure (23 points in a win over Winnisquam on Tuesday) plays with a poise few freshmen possess.

 James Allen gives you three & D and more on the wing, Anthony Settineri can handle the ball and knock down shots, and Carson Couperthwait has already submitted his resume for the all-glue guy team.

 Morissette was the longtime head coach at Rivier College, and the Saints' habit of blowing teams out is giving key rotation players like Fin De Tolla and Declan Healy more playing time.

 Conant moved to 4-0 after a 29-28 win over Hopkinton (I'm good with watching that game film, thank you) and remains the co-favorite in the division.

 You know what you will get from Eric Saucier's team; they'll be well-coached and highly prepared, get in your shirts defensively, and take care of the basketball.

 Can Conant score enough to beat teams like St Thomas, Mascoma, and Gilford?

 I believe they can.

 We'll get a good look at them on January 5th when Pete Tarrier heads to Mascoma to cover that showdown.

 Silas Ayres is still working the Mascoma Royals into form, and Rick Acquilano's Gilford Golden Eagles will get their measuring stick game on January 2nd against St Thomas (I'll be there for that one), but can anyone outside the top four push for a spot in the final four?

 Kearsarge has been one of the positive stories of the new season, going 2-1 under Nate Camp, including an opening night upset of Campbell.

 The Cougars, though, look a level below the top group, as evidenced by a 68-48 home loss to Mascoma on Monday.

 Campbell has the pieces, and head coach Justin DiBennedeto will put those pieces together, but the Cougars lost to Kearsarge (no shame there) and gave up 54 points to a Somersworth team that lost by eighteen to Hillsboro-Deering and scored twenty-four against Gilford.

 Let's talk about Hopkinton, who is 1-3 on the season.

 The Hawks miss Will Tanuvasa (now playing at Manchester West), but they also miss Marek Joppa, who averaged 14.8 ppg last season and gave them a reliable scorer and someone who could space the floor.

 Matt Miller knows his team can't score right now (he's going to figure it out; he s done a great job since taking over), hence the 29-28 'this is the only way we can win against good teams' pace against Conant.

 After those teams, you have White Mountains (who lost to both Division IV Littleton by twenty and Colebrook by three), Belmont (who lost to White Mountains and needs to get more scoring from the perimeter), Winnisquam (who trailed St Thomas 25-0 on Tuesday and is going to struggle to rebound), Stevens (who is coming together under new head coach Matt Dancosse but lost to Conant 55-26) and Raymond (Drezell Duffaut is very good but he needs more help).

 What we have seen is a division with four teams that have separated themselves by a wide margin.

 It's not only early, it's very early, so no one is writing off anyone or ordering the final four t-shirts, but this is a gap that did not exist last year (see Gilford 54, Conant 52 in last year's one vs. eight quarterfinals).

 The holiday tournaments will be huge for many of these teams, not for the wins or losses, which ultimately do not matter, but for coming together and finding their rotation.

 It's St Thomas, Conant, Mascoma, Gilford, and everyone else…but we will check back in mid-January to see if the gap has closed.

 

Division IV

Division IV Standings, Scoring Leaders, and Gold Level Coaches/Programs

 Gold Level Supporters/Coaches: Jamie Walker of Woodsville, David Bedard of Franklin, Nick Tzannos of Mascenic Regional, Jay Darrah of Pittsfield, Greg Farland of Concord Christian, Mark Collins of Groveton, Matt Manning of Lin Wood, Mitchell Roy of Profile and Josiah Riley of Pittsburg Canaan

 I’m not sure if you have picked up on it, but the North Country is dominating the Southern teams….

 One of the best aspects of Division IV basketball has always been the fact it’s comprised of your north country teams (teams north of the Lakes Region) and the southern teams (Moultonborough and below).

 Where Division II football breaks up the teams into two conferences, Division IV has always put all the teams under the same roof.

 We outlined in our preview how the North Country has gotten the better of the match-up over the years, and the early 2023-24 returns point to that trend continuing.

 The top three teams in the pre-season preview (Woodsville, Littleton, and Profile) are a combined 12-0) while Ryan Call’s Colebrook Mohawks join them at 4-0.

 Every year, two cross-over games between the two regions are played across the state on the same weekend.

 Last Friday was the first night, and the results were pretty emphatic:

 The North Country went 8-0 with an average score/margin of victory of 63-42

 Gorham beat Epping by 22

 Lin Wood beat Franklin by 3

 Littleton beat Portsmouth Christian by 6 (Crusaders leading scorer Kayden Hoskins did not play)

 Profile beat Farmington by 43

 Colebrook beat Newmarket by 3

 Groveton beat Pittsfield by 39

 Pittsburg Canaan beat Nute by 20

 Woodsville beat Concord Christian by 28

 In the words of smilin’ Jack Ross, ‘ These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed.’

 Does this mean the hopes and dreams of anyone south of Plymouth are dead, gone, and buried? Of course not; we have fourteen games to go.

 BUT…the north country teams will be more battled tested come February. A team like Gorham might be the second-best team in the south, whereas today, they would rank fifth in the North.

 Derryfield is the team to watch. The Cougars do not play a cross-over game this season but face Division III title contender St Thomas and Belmont.

 They have a team capable of beating one of the top three teams but likely will not see them until the final four, which I’m guessing will be played again at a high school too small to fit everyone in the gym, which seems pretty ridiculous but also doesn’t look like it will change because you know people kind of like standing out in the cold in February and missing the first semifinal game which by the way went to double overtime last year not that people from Woodsville or Littleton saw it because they were standing in the parking lot of Merrimack Valley high school because again the gym was too small for a semifinal doubleheader not to mention the Concord Christian and Holy Family fans were immediately kicked out of the gym because you know the gym is too small for a semifinal doubleheader but hey if you want to get home in time for ‘Dateline’ (its always the husband or loser boyfriend) getting kicked out of the gym two minutes after you win a semifinal game is a good excuse to get back to your couch .. is this a run-on sentence or should I keep going…

 Holy Family is a team to watch as well.

 I thought Gabe Lacasse would be out for their first few games, but he returned in their second game of the season.  With Lacasse leading the way and a group that got playing time in last year’s final four, they are again a contender.

 They will be at Woodsville for a title game rematch on January 12th.

 We’ll be at Profile on January 5th when three-time champion Woodsville rolls in.

 Right now, the best three teams are in the north. I’d rank Derryfield fourth; the next three teams would be from the North Country.

 Again, this is an early impression article, not a eulogy.

 To this point, though, the North Country is far ahead of the teams in the South.