We have come to the stretch run of the 2024-25 regular season.

 Division III wraps up its regular season a week from tomorrow, and Division IV will follow. For most teams, their season finale is on Monday the 17th.

 Next week, we will have a Bracketology edition of this weekly column, in which we try to predict the seeding and match-ups in the Division III and IV tournaments.

 Our column today is brought to you by our new partner, Ryan Carr, at Break Free Army!

 Division I  

 Division I Standings and Top 20 Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Jaryd Piecuch of Londonderry, Frank Moreno of Bedford, John Mulvey of Portsmouth, Mike Dunham of Pinkerton, Mitchell Roy of Alvirne, Jeff Holmes of Exeter, Lorne Lucas of Spaulding, Jay McKenna of Winnacunnet and Jeff Baumann of Timberlane.

1. Keene- Terrific win over Portsmouth Friday night in front of a raucous crowd. Javon Massiah was terrific, and the Jamal Stanley follow-up dunk was a sensational play from one of the most dependable guards in the state. The Blackbirds were beaten Tuesday night at Trinity after erasing a big second-half deficit on a Collin Charbeneau three-pointer at the buzzer that was well defended. In a division loaded with parity, the Blackbirds still sit at the top.
2. Portsmouth—The Clippers were right in it at Keene but missed fourteen free throws and could not get stops when they needed them. Next up is Salem and a Tuesday night date with Londonderry before we cover John Mulvey's team next Friday night at Windham.
3. Bedford- The young Bulldogs are 11-1 since I stood on the stage and covered them against Trinity on opening night, with the lone blemish being a one-point loss at home against Winnacunnet. This group fits the style of play and pace Frank Moreno wants. In their last five games (all wins), Bedford is averaging 82.4 points per game.
4. Exeter—The Blue Hawks have won five straight games, and all the pieces are fitting into place with the return of Nik Greco (14.1 ppg). Huxley Brown and Tyler Ream have been good all season for Jeff Holmes, while guard Agee Griffith could be a big contributor come playoff time.
5. Nashua South—Bedford's Frank Moreno was the latest coach to tell me he had guys draped all over Josh Caruso as he buried shots from all over the floor. Caruso's current 28.2 ppg average would be the second-highest by a Division I leading scorer in the past ten seasons. He edges out Bedford's Luke Soden, who averaged 27.8 during the 2022-23 season, and trails only Pinkerton's Jackson Marshall, who averaged an eye-popping 37.3 points a game last season.
6. Alvirne—The Broncos are playing hard for Mitchell Roy. Sammy Dewitt has been terrific, and that zone is throwing teams off their rhythm. Garrett Hall came up big with 21 points in a Tuesday night win over Nashua North and will need to again tomorrow night when they face red-hot Bedford.
7. Trinity- Terrific out-of-bounds play in the final seconds (possibly stolen from Bryce Drew and Valparaiso in 1998..google it, kids) that found Charbeneau for the game-winner. It only adds to the fun stat I referenced last week: Trinity improved to 6-0 in games that Charbeneau scores ten points or more. They are 3-4 when he scores ten points or less.
8. Londonderry—A Tuesday night loss to Windham (the Jaguars are lurking) snapped Jaryd Piecuch's team's three-game winning streak. The Lancers have been playing its best basketball of the season. Next up is Timberlane before a measuring stick game at Portsmouth on Tuesday.
9. Bishop Guertin—Will Horne's Cardinals are moving up the standings and power rankings. On Tuesday night, a Connor McGowan runner beat Manchester Memorial 72-70 in the final seconds. The NHsportspage Underclassmen team member is averaging 26.0 ppg in his last four contests.
10. Winnacunnet—The Warriors are holding on to the final spot for dear life after back-to-back close losses to seacoast rivals Exeter and Spaulding (in overtime). Their next three games come against teams that need a momentum-shifting win as badly as they do: Merrimack, Manchester Memorial, and Goffstown.

 Division II

 Division II Standing and Top 20 Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: David Smith of Coe-Brown, Peter Pierce of Souhegan, Eric Saucier of Bow, Mike Donnell of Pembroke Academy, Ryan Kelley of Hollis-Brookline, Leo Gershgorin of Milford, Joe Morin of Pelham, Denver Greene of Hanover, Zach Lewis of Oyster River, Rich Otis of Manchester West and Steve McDonough of Laconia.

1. Pembroke Academy—My faith in the Spartans has been rewarded, and they are rolling. Mike Donnell's team turned a much-anticipated rivalry game against Merrimack Valley into an opportunity to get everyone minutes after a 24-2 first-quarter lead. Pembroke is averaging 77.3 points in their last three games, and following takes on Plymouth, who is playing hard for Gavin Bricley but struggles to score.
2. Hanover- Hanover is holding teams in the thirties...what year is this?? It feels like 2024 all over again as defense, led by David Frechette and Roy Lucas, is the theme for a team that looks poised to get back to UNH. On Tuesday night, Denver Greene's team held Kennett to 26 points.
3. Pelham—The Pythons battled Plymouth on Tuesday night before escaping with a 50-39 road win. Next up is a rematch with a Sanborn team playing its best basketball of the season. It's a rematch of a game we covered, which they won in Kingston on a Brady Hegan putback with three seconds left.
4. Manchester West—We'll see the Blue Knights when they travel to Laconia tomorrow night. Rich Otis's team withstood a 27-point effort from all-state guard Brady Moulton in a 57-53 win over Kingswood. Tevin Edmunds was terrific again, with 18 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.
5. Oyster River: Matthew Jernigan is back, scoring a game-high 19 points in a road win over Souhegan. Next up is a Bishop Brady team playing better by the week before two huge road games next week against Bow and arch-rival Coe-Brown. We'll be in Northwood for that one.
6. Hollis-Brookline—What has been most impressive about the Cavalier's breakout season has been their consistency. They haven't lost two games in a row all season, and their three losses have come against Oyster River and Pembroke, both close losses on the road, and a home game we covered against Hanover.
7. Sanborn—The Indians are finding their stride and have won six in a row. Chase Frizzell and Dylan Rego scored 36 (18 apiece apiece) of the team's 48 points in a six-point win over Milford last week.
8. Coe Brown: The Bears are entering their most difficult stretch of the season, which could vault them to a top-four seed or knock them out of the top eight. They are at Merrimack Valley tomorrow night, followed by Milford and Oyster River at home next week. The following week, they'll face Pembroke and Pelham. That will answer any and all questions about David Smith's team.
9. Bow- The scoring is coming around, and the defense continues to fall into place. Jake Reardon is scoring, rebounding, playing point guard, and likely running the duck toss at halftime for Eric Saucier's team.
10. Merrimack Valley- This is the part of the column where I remind you that the gap between two and ten is a Pelham overtime win over the Pride. Kelly O'Brien's team has lost three of four but they came against three title contenders. It gets no easier as MV now plays Coe-Brown, Sanborn, Manchester West, Hollis-Brookline, and Hanover over their next five games. We have been discussing the depth of good teams in this division; Merrimack Valley is about to live it.

 Division III

 Division III Standings and Top 20 Scorers

 Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Rick Acquilano of Gilford, Tony Martinez of Belmont, Jim Hill of Monadnock, Nate Haskell of Fall Mountain, Eli Vincent of White Mountains, Jim Gallagher of Raymond, Nate Camp of Kearsarge, Jimmy Peard of Conant, Matt Dancosse of Stevens, Zach Swanson of Inter-Lakes, Dave Morissette of St Thomas and Justin Dibenedetto of Campbell.

1. Belmont—Tony Martinez's team will be heavily favored in its final three games of the season. If they win out, they should be the top seed and on course for its first final-four berth since the Jimmy Carter administration.
2. Campbell- Really good win in Jaffrey on Tuesday night, behind 24 points from Luke Delia and a defensive effort that held Conant all-state forward Jared Naigle to two points. We'll be in Litchfield on Tuesday when the Cougars host Raymond.
3. St Thomas—The champs rolled Gilford 69-47 on Tuesday night, confirming two suspicions, one about each team. The first is that the champs are good enough to go back-to-back, as Cole McClure did Cole McClure things by scoring 27 points, and Anthony Settineri had his breakout game, dropping a season-high 26 on the Golden Eagles.
4. Mascoma—Kearsarge's shocking loss at Newfound on Tuesday night opens the door for the Royals to earn a top-two seed. In their final four games, only 10-4 Newport poses a threat to beat them, and Silas Ayres' team will get the Tigers at home.
5. Kearsarge—The Cougars shot 2 for 19 from three-point range in Bristol and were beaten by a young and dangerous Newfound Bears team that has been playing top teams tough for a month. The loss knocks Nate Camp's team out of a top-two seed, making the season finale at Gilford even more critical for seeding.
6. Gilford- Here comes the tough love section of the column. The alma mater is 12-3 but 0-3 against teams with an over .500 record and 11-0 against teams under .500. Their best win of the season was over 6-7 Hopkinton. As 'Smilin' Jack Ross would say, 'These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed.'
7. Raymond—The Rams finish their schedule with the top three teams in the division: Belmont, Campbell, and St. Thomas. We'll be there to see them take on the Cougars on Tuesday night.
8. Fall Mountain- The Wildcats are in good shape for a top-eight seed (I direct you back to Raymond's closing schedule) if they can take care of business down the stretch. Ledger Willet had 19 points and Luke St. Pierre 15 in a 59-46 win over Monadnock on Tuesday night.
9. Newport- Kearsarge assistant and former NHsportspage play-by-play guy Spencer Coronis was running around the court with a mohawk the last time the Tigers hosted a home playoff game, but two more wins and they are there. Aaron Fellows scored 20 while Christian Forsythe added 17 and Adrian Sanchez 12 in a Monday win over Stevens.
10. Newfound- Jayden Belyea scored 25 points in the upset win over Kearsarge as the Bears improved to 8-6. It was a shocking result, considering Newfound had lost to Hillsboro-Deering (1-11), and their best win over the season had been over Prospect Mountain.

Division IV

Division IV Standings and Top 20 Scoring Leaders

Gold Level Coaches/Programs: Jamie Walker of Woodsville, Brandon Crummer of Mount Royal, Derek Summers of Portsmouth Christian, Mark Collins of Groveton, Chris Goldstack of Epping, Greg Farland of Concord Christian, Jay Darrah of Pittsfield, Carl Anderson of Hinsdale, Trevor Howard of Littleton, Tim Clough of Profile, Dave Bedard of Franklin, Josiah Riley of Pittsburg-Canaan and Nick Farrer of Newmarket.

1. Woodsville—Three Engineers scored over twenty points (Ryan Walker 22, Devin Sabina 20, and Landon Kingsbury 20) in a 77-45 win over Blue Mountain (VT). Huge game tomorrow night at Littleton; a win would secure a top-two seed.
2. Concord Christian—The Kingsmen dominated in a 74-47 win in Dover against Portsmouth Christian. There needs to be a small caveat not in that Eagles all-state guard Cai Summers did not play, but a twenty-seven-point win over a final-four contender can't be ignored.
3. Littleton- The Crusaders can sneak into the top two with a win over Woodsville with the extra points from two White Mountain wins in their pocket. On Monday, the Crusaders rolled to a 75-47 victory over Pittsburg Canaan as five players scored in double figures.
4. Newmarket- It wasn't easy and certainly not pretty, but the Mules earned a good 42-36 road win against arch-rival Epping on Tuesday night in a game we covered. Freshmen Anthony Semprini and Nick Minutelli both made plays down the stretch for Nick Farrer's team.
5. Groveton—The Eagles earned a good 54-41 win over Moultonborough on Tuesday night as Hunter Parks led the way with 20 points. The tough closing stretch of Colebrook, Lin Wood, Woodsville, and Littleton will close the regular season.
6. Portsmouth Christian- PCA should be able to string a few wins together with Wilton Lyndeborough and Nute up next. They'll then face a difficult closing stretch of games against Newmarket, Farmington, and at the Carl Anderson Dome in Hinsdale.
7. Gorham—The Huskies have won three in a row, including a 60-54 win over defending champion Profile on Tuesday night. Isaac Langlois scored 20 points, and Max Grondin scored 16. They'll play Lin Wood twice in their final four games.
8. Lin Wood- The Lumberjacks went into Wednesday's game with Colebrook having won four in a row, the latest a 77-63 win over Moultonborough behind 25 points from Mason Clark and a season-high 24 from Liam Manning.
9. Farmington—The Tigers' last three games are all on the road against Concord Christian, PCA, and Newmarket.
10. Franklin- The Golden Tornadoes rolled to a win over Mount Royal, led by 15 points from Nate Holmes and 10 from Matt Nason. They now face two huge home tests in a row, with Farmington and Concord Christian coming to the Lakes Region.