As we have for the past eight years we look at the biggest games of the weekend in boys high school basketball.
 

Division I
Pinkerton (5-2) at Londonderry (6-2)

 The Astros have rolled off five straight wins after a 0-2 start and now head into their rivalry game with a lot of newfound confidence.  Sophomore center Luke Rosinski has been the headliner in averaging 19 points per game for his fathers’ team but a closer look tells you the change has been more of a commitment on the defensive end.

 Pinkerton gave up 140 points in their first two games of the year which were losses to Nashua South & Alvirne. Since that time though no opposing team has broken the 50 point mark and road wins over Exeter and a home win over Winnacunnet were accomplished behind getting stops when they had to have them.

 They’ll be tested Friday night on the road by a very good Londonderry team that is trying to get through a tough stretch of games without leading scorer Drew Coveney. It is a balanced scoring attack that has players like Cody Ball, Caleb Green and Max Coleman capable of picking up the slack in his absence.

 Pete Tarrier and Jennifer Chick will be covering this game Friday night in our Game of the Week

 
 Nashua South (5-2) at Bedford (1-7)

 The coverage of Bedford is sponsored by Bedford Dental Care & HK Photography

  Slow starts can always be forgiven but with the Bedford Bulldogs I’m afraid we are way past that stage already.

 Teams are near the halfway mark of the season and if you include Holiday tournament play Bedford is a sobering 1-9. The saving grace is that five of their seven regular season losses are by four points or fewer and with Taylor Grande & Cam Meservey still playing & Mike Fitzpatrick still coaching this is still a good outfit, but now is the time to earn a good win for the resume.

 South has been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2014 season as Nate Mazerolle has done a terrific job with a team that lost Jack Preston to graduation and Tim Preston to prep school transfer. Yordy Tavarez (20.3 ppg.) is one of the leading scorers in the division and leads a team that uses its speed to apply full court pressure and push the pace. Trevor Knight has stepped up into a bigger role for this team while Mike Osgood & Cam Joyal have been contributing to what stands today as one of the top 8 teams in the division.
 
Timberlane (0-9) at Manchester Central (9-0)

The coverage of Manchester Central is sponsored by 900 Degrees Pizzaria
 
 Oh boy……….


Winnacunnet (6-2) at Bishop Guertin (8-1)

 Two teams that like to get up the floor in a hurry. Jim Migneault’s BG team is averaging 70 points per game while Jay McKenna’s team tries to get a good look on the first or second pass before the defense is set.

 For BG it has been the production from Kyle Gavin (18.9 ppg.) and Joe Marandola (14 ppg) that has helped lead them to eight wins in their first nine games. CJ Boykin has been able to stay healthy at the point guard spot and sophomore Jack Zimmerman continues to improve by the week. The Warriors will hope Richie Ruffin is recovered from an ankle injury he suffered early in a win over Spaulding Monday night.

This is a team that depends on Ruffin and Sam Knollmeyer (13.8 ppg.) to carry the scoring load, the return of Alec Boucher has helped but keeping up with a BG team that scores in the seventies will be difficult without their all-state guard.
 
Division II
Bishop Brady (6-2) at Plymouth Regional (8-1)

 We talked about the weakness of Plymouth’s schedule two weeks ago but after wins over Kennett and a come from behind win over Windham last week Mike Sullivan’s team belongs in the conversation. A win over Brady would stamp them as a true contender and they get the opportunity Friday night. Collin Sullivan has been terrific for the Bobcats and gets his biggest challenge of the season when Jourdain Bell squares off with him.

 Bell’s potential has been a source of much discussion since he was a seventh grader in Alton (you think Prospect Mountain could have used him the past three years?). His talent can overwhelm you to the point that you take him a bit for granted & don’t give him all the credit he is due for everything he is doing on the floor for Mark Yeaton’s team. Bell rarely comes out of the game and in three big games this season it was his offensive rebounding that won the game. Bell has to not only handle the ball for Brady but pick up the opposing teams’ point guard up & down the floor, all while being their best rebounder and a human fast break with his ability to pick pockets.

 Sometimes when you see a player this good you overlook all the effort it takes to get there and I probably have been guilty of that as well. What can’t be denied is that while Patrick Welch remains the leader in the clubhouse for player of the year honors no player has been better than Bell or more valuable to his team.
 
Division III
Sanborn (4-4) at Campbell (5-2)

 Even after the loss of four starters from last year’s Division III runner-up John Langlois has Campbell right back in the fight for a first round home game at 5-2. The Cougars have rolled off four wins in a row behind their all-state forward Zach Bergeon (18.7 ppg. and nearly 10 rebounds per game) and a solid core that includes Harrison Vedrani and Kyle Shaw. With games coming up against Somersworth, Mascenic and Bow they have the opportunity to separate themselves from some of the teams clumped up in that 5 to 14 range in the division race. Jackson Morton has provided scoring for a Sanborn team that has won three of their last four games.
 
Division IV
Profile (6-2) at Littleton (10-1)

The coverage of Littleton and Profile is sponsored by Cross Town Motors

 Trevor Howard’s team is starting to assert itself as the best team in the North Country (usually good for a top 4 seed) as January turns into February. The Crusaders swept the season series with Colebrook, turned a close game at the half against Groveton into a comfortable win and will even get a second look at Woodsville, the only team to beat them, at home. Friday night they face off with Paul Greenlaw’s Patriots, a team that took care of business in the earlier & easier part of their schedule and now is coming off recent stumbles against Moultonborough and Colebrook (in double overtime).

 For Howard’s team it has been the very definition of a group effort. Fourteen different players average at least 3 points a contest for the Crusaders with forward Kuba Kubkowski (10 ppg.), Owen Stone (9 ppg.), Danny Brammer (9 ppg) and Brett Hagan (8 ppg.) leading a crowded contingent.

 It is defensively where Littleton is separating themselves; Howard has enough depth to plug in the right combinations to suit the opposition. In wins over both Colebrook & Groveton Howard’s team was able to erase early deficits with lock down defense. In Profile they face a team with final four aspirations and are led by their talented point guard Bailey Johnson (14.3 ppg.) and the underrated Ian Baker (16 ppg.) who has played very good basketball since the December break.

 Johnson should be able to handle Littleton’s pressure but can Greenlaw’s team, which only goes about eight deep, sustain that effort for 32 minutes against a Littleton defense that is sent in waves? That should be the aspect to watch Friday night.
 
Remember to listen in LIVE to The New Hampshire High School Basketball Show Saturday morning on WGIR & online from 8 to 9 am as Conant head coach Eric Saucier will be our guest on the show.

Then catch ‘McIsaac on Sports’ on WTSN or online from 9 to 10 am