We take a look at the biggest games of the weekend from all four divisions of New Hampshire high school basketball.
 

 Division I
 Timberlane (0-16) at Keene (0-14)

 Yes I’m serious and stop looking at me like I had half a roof full of ice fall on my head.

 The Owls have lost 81 games in a row and stand just five losses away from equaling the national record. The Blackbirds have not been able to recover from the loss of their talented point guard Brian Boulay (injured early in the season) and have gone winless in 2014.

 They are now all that stands between another summer of ‘We haven’t won a game since George W Bush was President’ jokes for Timberlane. So you think we won’t be there??

 We’ll be there! Pete Tarrier and Jen Chick will be in Keene for our Game of the Week and if Timberlane wins this baby we’re dialing up Sportscenter……..
 
 Trinity (14-1) at Londonderry (13-2)
 The coverage of Trinity is sponsored by The Auburn Pitts

 Dave Keefe’s team has been affected just like everybody else by the weather so instead of working on the Lancers 1-3-1 trapping defense in the cozy confines of McHugh Gymnasium for a few nights it will be a speed session on the bus to Londonderry.

 A win here for the Pioneers essentially gives them the #2 seed in the tournament behind Manchester Central as the defending champs would hold the tie-breaker over the Lancers, Bishop Guertin and Merrimack. Have we been so accustomed to the production of Carmen Giampetruzzi (17.9 ppg. and over 10 rebounds) that we are overlooking him in his senior season? Giampetruzzi, who will pitch next season for Boston College on scholarship, routinely handles the ball, starts the transition game with his rebounding & outlet passes and serves as Trinity’s go to scorer when they absolutely have to have a bucket. He’s also the last guy you want to foul if you are an opposing coach praying for a miss. Players like that come around only every so often and if you’ve ever talked to Carmen you’ll know he is as mature & as good a kid as any we talk to in the state.

 Londonderry has had a surge in their home court support and you can expect a line out the door with the champs coming in and a lot still at stake. This should be an up & down contest decided by Londonderry’s ability to battle for rebounds with Giampetruzzi & Wenyen Gabriel.
 
 Division II
 Pembroke Academy (14-1) at Coe-Brown Academy (8-6)

 The Spartans have had their share of scares, an overtime win over Bishop Brady on Sunday being the latest, and it will be interesting to see how David Smith and his veteran staff defend Patrick Welch & Co. Friday night in Northwood.

 The Bears currently sit tied for 10th in the Division II standings tied with Windham or two spots below 9-4 Kennett who owns four wins over Division III teams. Steve Cote has done a terrific job at Kennett and that is a very good team, but how is that fair to Coe-Brown and Windham?? You think Coe-Brown couldn’t sweep Prospect Mountain and Franklin? Kennett is not really to blame here either, the NHIAA had teams play teams in close proximity to save on gas (that is why 13-2 Newport of Division III is playing 0-15 Hinsdale of Division IV twice…which is utterly ridiculous) but it is an unfair advantage.

 I’ll add it to the list of questions that will never be properly answered, right up there with why did Bradley Cooper’s girlfriend and everyone else suddenly forget the fact he murdered that girl in the hotel in ‘Limitless’ and why I seem to be the only person who has figured out ‘Dances with Wolves’ and ‘Avatar’ were basically the exact same movies except for trading horses for flying lizards?

 Matt Alosa’s team still has work to do as well, Portsmouth lurks only a game behind and they own the all-important tie-breaker. My radio partner Pete Tarrier will tell you the difference between the 1 seed and the 2 means very little, and certainly in many instances that is the case. Still this is a team with a loss on their resume and several very close calls. Pembroke has no doubt in their own minds that they are the team to beat. They carry themselves that way and they certainly have earned that swagger. Giving up the top seed to someone, possibly a team that beat them on their home floor, in the final weeks would no doubt cut into that confidence.
 
 Portsmouth (12-2) at Kennett (9-4)

 Hey Kennett we were just talking about you!

 These two teams engaged in a very good one back on the seacoast last month and Steve Cote’s team is very comfortable playing at the Clippers pace.  The Eagles got a big shooting night out of Ryan Vajentic (17.7 ppg.) in that first meeting so expect some extra attention from the likes of Nick Mackey & Donovan Phanor the second time around.

 Jim Mulvey said on our show Saturday morning that people are wrong in saying his team can struggle to score, fair enough but my point has always been and remains that this team doesn’t have a go to scorer. In years past that hasn’t been the case, in some years they even had two or three. Nick Mackey, at 10.2 points per game, is the only player on the Clippers averaging in double figures. Pat Glynn (9.8) should be on everyone’s all-state ballot, but he will be there for his defense and rebounding. Donovan Phanor has gone off in the past and certainly may again but his outside shot isn’t consistent enough and neither is De’Vonn Wilson-Miles scoring in the low post. The Clippers scored 38 points in their two losses this season, asking a defense to hold teams under 40 in the tournament would be quite a task. This is the best defensive team in New Hampshire but the offense needs to get them into the 50’s to have a good shot to be the last team standing on March 15th.
 
Division IV
Moultonborough (8-7) at Newmarket (8-7)

 These days the conversations taking place among a tight group of head coaches up north center on just how wide the gap is between the northern teams and the teams down south; in particular Derryfield, Sunapee & Epping. Amongst those coaches you won’t find a nicer guy than Profile’s Paul Greenlaw but it is Greenlaw’s team that is causing these coaches the most consternation as the season heads into its final weeks.

 That is because just days after Profile earned quality wins over both Woodsville (49-32) and Colebrook (49-26) the Patriots lost to Moultonborough for the second time this season. A Panthers team coached by one of the best coaches in the division in Matt Swedberg and led by Riley Swedberg (14.3 ppg. and really coming on lately), Aaron Davis (10.4) and Tristan Price (12.7)…three all-state level performers. It also is a team that has lost to Sunapee by 40 points or more twice (87-44 & 91-51) and Epping once (74-31...a 62-57 Epping win over Moultonborough was played with Jimmy Stanley ineligible at the time). Do you see why there might be some concern up north?

 The northern teams have won an unbelievable 13 of the last 15 Division IV titles but when Profile is getting swept by a Moultonborough team that couldn't compete with Sunapee & Epping well……that’s hard evidence to ignore.

 I’m about a W away from handing Bedford the Division I team no one wants to face in Round one distinction (late Wednesday night edit: They beat Londonderry….you do not want to face this team in round one…glad we settled that)but let me first throw out my Division IV winner; it is Newmarket. If you are a northern team that has not faced Jamie Hayes’ crew yet these are the last guys you want rolling into town.

Hayes has done a terrific job with this group, they play hard for one another & their head coach, they run good sets when they need a basket late and they do one thing in particular very, very well…they rebound. With a lack of size up north that could be the difference in a thirty two minute elimination game. Add to that the fact that Hayes can’t even remember what it feels like to lose before the final four (six straight trips at this point) and you’re better off with just about any other low seed than the Newmarket Mules.
 
 Remember to listen in LIVE to Pete Tarrier and I on The New Hampshire High School Basketball Show Saturday morning on WGIR in Manchester, 96.7 FM on the seacoast & online from 8 to 9 am as Winnacunnet head coach Jay McKenna will be our guest on the show.
 
Then catch ‘McIsaac on Sports’ on WTSN or online from 9 to 10 am