We’ll preview all 60 post-season games over the next two weeks and it all begins Tuesday night when Divisions I & IV kick it all off. Today we look at the Division IV first round match-ups.
 

If you missed our Bracketology Special with four coaches covering each of the four divisions I recommend you give it a listen, the coaches we had on were terrific.

 http://www.nhnewsnetwork610.com/media/podcast-morning-show-WGIRAM/31-nh-high-school-hoops-show-24412689/
 
 (16) Lin-Wood at (1) Derryfield School

 The coverage of The Derryfield School is sponsored by 900 Degrees Pizzaria

 A lot of chatter amongst Division IV fans about who was the team to beat was squelched last week when Rob Bradley’s Cougars convincing beat Sunapee on the road. Bennett Doherty (12 ppg) and Max Anderson will deservedly get their all-state accolades at the end of the season but what was proven once again against Sunapee was the ability of this group to take it to a championship gear when they need it. Rob Rizos was outstanding in handling pressure, Tyler Zorn proved again that if left alone he will bury jumpers in either the half-court or transition and maybe most notably, when Roger Larrivee is back protecting the rim Derryfield has the ability to make you one dimensional is hurry.

 Lin-Wood makes their first tournament appearance in years and does so behind the play of their talented guard Max Dovholuk. Tuesday night they’ll need to limit turnovers and try and compete on the glass with the biggest team in the division. My advice is to enjoy the ride…making it here is a nice accomplishment for the program.
 
 (9) Woodsville at (8) Moultonborough Academy

 Match-ups like this one intrigue me the most because its south vs. north with only Lisbon & Profile serving as common opponents.

 Woodsville is one of the better rebounding teams up north behind Joe Abrahamson (15.7 ppg) and Tom D’Angelo (11 ppg). They will match-up Tuesday night with an emerging Riley Swedberg (13.7) and the underrated Aaron Davis (10.7) down low. Woodsville likes to run Abrahamson baseline to keep double teams off of him while Swedberg will flash in the post, dip his shoulder to try to create contact and gain position on the block.

 A pair of shooters could play a major role in who moves on to the round of 8; the Panthers Johnny McClay knocked down a huge three pointer from the corner to beat Newmarket ten days ago while Engineers guard Jaret Bemis can drill it from long range if he’s given room to operate. Teams playing Moultonborough have to account for shooting guard Tristan Price at all times. Price won’t create off the dribble or hurt you in transition but if his defender leaves him to play help defense he’s going to knock down the open three. You leave Price alone and he’s going to beat you and in a game like this, that should go down to the last few minutes, a small detail like that could be the difference in winning or going home.
 
(12) Wilton Lyndeborough at (5) Colebrook Academy

 410 miles.

 That’s Wilton Lyndeborough’s round trip from their school to Colebrook’s gym. Next time you hear a kid from Derry complain about having to bus out to Keene feel free to print this column out and beat him upside the head with it.

 What Jordan Litts and his teammates will find when they get there is a small floor, constant full court pressure, a Hall of Fame coach, one of the best home court atmospheres in New Hampshire and a 20 foot tall Mohawk Indian.

 Colebrook has one way to beat you; they need to speed up the game and get open looks from three in transition or lay-ups off of turnovers. They know exactly who Jordan Litts is and like any other team that faces Wilton they’ll do everything they can to try and make someone else have to beat them.

 Buddy Trask needs Nick Bouchard to put up big numbers on the glass from here on out. Sedrick McKinnon is the next all-state Colebrook guard, Justin Swewierski is the steady presence, Parker McKinnon feeds on chaos defensively and Jake Sherer is your resident heat check shooter when he is putting it together but it is Bouchard on the boards that will determine where this team gets to. Bouchard is their best & only big man and the Indian on the wall can’t rebound. If Colebrook outrebounds Wilton they are moving on to Sunapee, but that production on the glass has to be there.
 
(13) Portsmouth Christian at (4) Sunapee

 The question in this game is if Portsmouth Christian and namely their point guard Sean Bradley can handle the full court pressure of Sunapee. In a close loss to Newmarket last week Bradley consistently dribbled down the right side of the floor (his strong hand side) and rarely went left because he wasn’t comfortable using his left dribble hand to get PCA into their offense. That is not going to work against a Lakers team that feeds off of turnovers and has won eight games by thirty points or more.

 The Big Smooth Lewis Atkins, PCA’s head coach, knows he has to contend with the highest scoring duo in Division IV in Issaiah Chappell (20.5 ppg) and James Fitzgerald (18.4) but his primary concern has to be taking care of the ball. When PCA can get the ball to Eric Bontemps (16 ppg) in the paint or Jake Holden in space Atkins runs good enough sets to put them in a position to score. Getting there, getting the ball over half court and into their offense, is their first concern though.
 
(15) Concord Christian at (2) Littleton

 The coverage of Littleton is sponsored by Cross Town Motors

 Trevor Howard deserves coach of the year consideration for the job he has done with a very young team. Littleton features a very deep rotation and a team that can both defend & rebound.

 Concord Christian features one of the best forwards in the division in Jeremiah Bolter (nearly 26 ppg) but do they have the ball handling to navigate through pressure? Bolter is option A, B & C for Brandon Yeo’s offense and on Tuesday night they face maybe the deepest team in the Division. Howard will work to find a way to make someone besides Bolter beat him and in Kuba Kubkowski, and the Stone brothers (Cody & Owen) he has the personnel to harass him for 32 minutes in round one.

(10) Pittsfield at (7) Groveton

 Two teams and a pair of good head coaches that will pressure full court and look to find their points & looks in transition. Pittsfield has a pair of very good guard in Xenthios Cyr (15.1) and 8th grader Cam Darrah (9.2) who have complimented forward Kris Perkins (24.2 ppg) all season long. Jay Darrah’s team will guard you for the length of the floor and set high screens to give Cyr room to operate. Few teams are better at creating their own scoring opportunities when a set play breaks down and if it’s a shootout Groveton wants Pittsfield will happily oblige.

 Mark Collins has a solid team today and may be two years away from having an excellent one. This is a young team that really relies on players like Daegan Lurvey and Christian Guay to handle ball pressure and find scorers like freshman Corey Gadwah (14.3 ppg). Brandan Joy is their energy guy on both ends of the floor (translation: sometimes that is good energy,..sometimes not) and Collins needs rebounding from Ben Atkinson and Dylan Rogers. The Achilles Heel for Groveton is their rebounding. That’s the bad news, the good news is they are a better rebounding team than Pittsfield who earlier this season was out-rebounded by Newmarket 37-10………..and still won the game.

 This should be a fun one to watch Tuesday night.
 
 (14) Pittsburg/Canaan at (3) Epping

 396 miles.

 I know you were wondering who had the longest trip…wonder no longer, that’s why I’m here.

 As for the actual game Pittsburg/Canaan has been able to give some teams trouble with their size in the post. That won’t be an issue against Sean Young’s team as Jimmy Stanley (21.7 ppg) and Brett Couture (12 ppg) have done a very good job protecting the paint for the third seed in Division IV. If Jake West and Colby Wilson are able to get loose on the perimeter Epping is a team that beats you in a number of different ways. This is a group with their eyes fixated on a long overdue trip to the floor at Plymouth State and Pittsburg/Canaan is their first step on that road.
 
 (11) Newmarket at (6) Profile

 The coverage of Profile is sponsored by Cross Town Motors

  Maybe the game of the first round as Jamie Hayes and the Mules travel north to take on Paul Greenlaw and Profile.

 Profile will play zone and try to make Newmarket (not a strong outside shooting team) beat them from the perimeter. Newmarket wants to get Ryan Jarvis and Sam Leahy good looks from 15 feet and in. This is a Newmarket team without a real post presence or a true point guard. Leahy or Jarvis will bring the ball up but they are simply the best equipped to do that without turning it over, their task is to initiate the offense.

 Greenlaw has a true point guard and a very good one in Bailey Johnson. His running mate Ian Baker has been every bit as good this season and together they rank as one of the top backcourts in Division IV basketball. Zach Knowlton has the size to make a difference on the glass and a good enough stroke from 15 feet out that he has to be accounted for at all times.

Profile prides themselves on not turning the ball over and in controlling the glass. A very good rebounding team will test that Tuesday night and for teams that have the ability to be patient it will simply come down to who is knocking down shots. Expect a good one Tuesday night with the winner very likely heading to Epping Friday night.