Today we breakdown the four quarterfinal games being played tonight in Division III.

  Every year we hand our semifinal previews over to opposing head coaches, using blind quotes, in our semifinal scouting report so look for that next week.

 Our preview is brought to you by our great friend and Lakes Region partner Kevin Shaw at Roche Realty!

Division III

Division III Standings, Scoring Leaders, and Gold Level Coaches

Gold Level Coaches/Supporters: Nate Camp of Kearsarge, Justin Dibenedetto of Campbell, Jim Hill of Monadnock, Tony Martinez of Belmont, Rick Acquilano of Gilford, Eric Saucier of Conant, David Morissette of St Thomas, Jim Gallagher of Raymond, Matt Dancosee of Stevens, Matt Miller of Hopkinton, Silas Ayres of Mascoma, Nate Haskell of Fall Mountain, Kevin Dame of Winnisquam and Eli Vincent of White Mountains.

(9) Gilford at (1) Conant

Box score of the first meeting: Conant 45, Gilford 44

Box score of the second meeting: Conant 51, Gilford 43

 My Take: Do I think Conant will win this game? Yes I do.

 Do I think this the last lower seeded team they wanted to see coming in? Yes I do.

 When Brendan Baldi hit the game-winning three -pointer to beat Campbell on Tuesday night he essentially handed his teammates and coaches house money. 

 The Golden Eagles had to replace not only Jalen & Isaiah Reese and all-state center Sam Cheek from last years team but they lost sophomore small forward Henry Sleeper (11.4 ppg) to a season-ending injury on January 25th.

 Rick Acquilano’s three-time defending champs lost six of their last ten games and had to go on the road against a good Campbell team in the first round. Just getting here makes for a good season.

 Eric Saucier’s Orioles have answered the bell all season long. They own road wins over St Thomas, Mascoma, Hopkinton and Kearsarge and are one of the best teams, defensively, in the state.

 Leading scorer Jared Nagle (13.1) went down with an injury and missed the last four games of the regular season, while Ben Sawyer missed three games in a row before returning in a loss to Kearsarge last week.

 The Orioles hope to have both in the lineup but still will not be at 100%.

 Conant likes to grind out wins in the forties because they are not a great offensive team but can get stops and limit you to one shot per possession. Rick Acquilano is going to be just fine playing at that pace with his Golden Eagles who also struggle to score. 

 Gilford’s zone is going to force Conant to knock down jumpers. If Mark Uicker & Baldi can limit their turnovers against the Orioles full court pressure, they can hang in this one long enough to turn all the pressure on to the top seed.

The Pick:  Expect a good one at the Pratt and the Orioles to move on in a close one.

 

(5) Hopkinton at (4) Kearsarge

Box Score of the first meeting: Hopkinton 44, Kearsarge 40

Box Score of the second meeting: Hopkinton 47, Kearsarge 46

 My Take: The first two meetings were close/ low scoring games in the forties and I expect the same the third time around.

 On Tuesday night Stevens did a very good job closing down driving lanes for the Cougars. Look for Matt Miller’s Hawks to do the same. 

 Noah Whipple, Drew Huff and Austin Needham will need to knock down shots to space the Hopkinton defense, who has a bona fide shot blocker to patrol the paint in Abram Standefer.

 Kristof Cauley will be a big factor in Hopkinton’s ability to go on the road and beat Nate Camp’s team. He’s scored fifteen or more points five times this season but has been inconsistent. 

 When he’s knocking down shots and initiating the offense, this becomes a tough team to beat.

 Noah Aframe, one of the best defenders in the division, will get the assignment on all-state guard Noah Whipple (18.4). His ability to guard one of the best players in the division without fouling will be crucial, because the Hawks can’t afford to play long stretches without one of their best ball-handlers.

 A game like this usually comes down to a player you might not expect, stepping up in a big moment. 

 On Tuesday night Stevens’ guard Jacob Davis, who averaged 6.9 points per game this season, scored fourteen and kept the Cardinals in it when Kearsarge went up by eight points in the third quarter.

 The team that gets that kind of performance is likely to be the team moving on tonight.

 The Pick: I’ll go with Kearsarge at home, winning a one possession game at the end.

 

 (6) White Mountains at (3) Mascoma

 Box Score of the first meeting: Mascoma 47, White Mountains 34

 My Take: Great win by the Spartans on Tuesday night as freshmen guard Kasen Smith scored a game-high 20 points in a 67-47 win over Raymond.

 Eli Vincent’s team now faces a Mascoma game they just saw on their home floor seven days ago. 

 White Mountains is a very athletic team with a genuine shot blocker in Avery Woodburn. 

 On the other side Silas Ayres’ Royals may be the most athletic team in the division. They will try to speed White Mountains up and turn them over.

 Mascoma will have a big crowd there tonight and that gym can feel very small when you have the wall right behind the benches and people three feet off the court.

 A year ago Stevens came to West Canaan for the quarterfinals and got run off the floor in the first four minutes. 

 White Mountains, who has players with big game experience, have to survive that first wave. If they’re down 14-4 that’s a big hole to climb out of.

 If they can stay within a bucket or two or lead after one, they give themselves a chance to settle in and the crowd to settle down, all the ingredients to make this a good quarterfinal.

 Tanner Moulton can beat you in a number of different ways while TJ Mardin, Aidan Smith and Bryce Ballou find ways to get their teammates multiple looks on a single possession. 

 White Mountains has the ability, with players like Trevor Armstrong and Robert Breault, to defend on the perimeter and create second chance opportunities on the offensive glass.

The key is surviving the first wave.

The Pick: Mascoma advances to their third straight final four.

 

(7) Belmont at (2) St Thomas

First meeting: St Thomas 68, Belmont 35

 My Take: The Saints blew out Belmont in their only meeting this season, how does Tony Martinez’s team, who has won eight of their last nine games, flip the switch tonight?

 The key will be the battle in the paint, namely all-state forward Keegan Martinez vs Carson Couperthwait.

 Martinez is a very good rebounder and finishes well through contact.

 Against Fall Mountain on Tuesday night he cleaned up on the glass to the tune of 19 points. The key will be getting paint touches for not only Martinez but for fellow all-state forward Anakin Underhill.

 If this game is played on the perimeter, St Thomas has a big advantage. Belmont has to take care of the ball, make good entry passes and dominate on the glass.

 Belmont is not a great shooting team so they're going to need to create good looks off the glass. 

 The Saints want to push tempo and free up all-state guard Cole McClure along with Anthony Settineri and James Allen, both very good three-point shooters, on the perimeter. 

 Dave Morissette’s team wants to draw Martinez and Underhill away from the basket and allow player of the year front runner Will Mollica the driving lanes to go to work.

 Wyatt Carroll has played well at guard for Belmont and Brady Thurber is capable of knocking down shots. They’ll both need to play well for Belmont to have a chance to pull off a big upset in Dover tonight.

 The Pick: St Thomas vs. Mascoma Part II on Tuesday night.