Back with the Thursday Thoughts, last week it was fewer previews but a deeper dive on each game. This week we will look at eight games around the state including the game of the night in Littleton.

 The Great Jon Kesty and I will be in Littleton when the undefeated champions face fellow unbeaten Groveton in a huge Division IV showdown.

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth and Justin McIsaac will be in Exeter for a girls’ basketball/ boys’ basketball doubleheader when arch rivals Exeter & Winnacunnet square off.

 We will bring you the highlights of all three games plus a team wide interview with the winning teams and head coaches.

 Thank you to our newest Gold Level Members/supporters!

 Mike Sullivan of Plymouth boys basketball, Michael McDonald of Portsmouth, Mike Somma of the NH Basketball officials, the Frank family of Pelham, the Arsenault family of Berlin, Matthew Miller of Pelham, Kevin and MY MAN COLBY WILSON of Great Bay C.C Basketball, Mike Somma of Campton and our favorite photographer/our own Lois Lane…Savannah Carberry.

 Thank you so much to the families who have chosen to support our coverage of high school sports.

 And if you don’t think I didn’t write a Doobie Brothers joke and then delete it you’ve never met, read or listened to me in your life…

 

 Division I

 Salem (4-2) at Bedford (5-2)

 Rob McLaughlin’s team is about to hit the iron of their schedule and it begins with a match-up against a Bedford team that made news by leading Portsmouth by a point in the second half last Friday night. No seriously that was pretty big news.

 McLaughlin does a terrific job with the Blue Devils and has gotten a first team all-state season out of Griffin Curtis (23.7) the second leading scorer in Division I. Salem will mix in a matchup zone defense (effective with their personnel) and straight man. DJ Coletti is the kind of player every coach wished they had and Matt McLaughlin (8.2) is doing a nice job running the offense.

 Bedford has become a very good defensive team. Mark Elmendorf had his Goffstown teams mostly play zone but the Bulldogs have mixed up their looks and are an effective man to man unit. If Salem has a weakness it’s that they can turn the ball over under pressure.

 Look to see if Bedford extends their defense and looks to trap Salem Friday night.

 

 Winnacunnet (6-3) at Exeter (6-1)

 It always means more when these two teams hook up.

 Jack Schaake returned to the Warriors lineup after sitting out over a month with a foot injury. His return gives Winnacunnet more rebounding and a legitimate back to the basketball threat.

 Tuesday Winnacunnet survived one of those 5 o’clock starts on a snow day that only close relatives attend. The result was a 43-42 win over Bishop Guertin (Box score), a team I am going to breakdown soon when I have 2,000 words to kill.

 Exeter’s buzzer beating win over Merrimack (in a game we covered) was notable for coming in a game where they shot the ball poorly. Steve Natola (Player Profile Page) kept the Blue Hawks in it as Eric Sowers and Cody Morissette made enough plays in the fourth quarter to beat a Tomahawks team that had to play more than half the game without all-state guard Ian Cummings (15.5 ppg.) who was in constant foul trouble.

 Jeff Holmes’ team is about to hit a brutal part of the schedule. After Friday night’s game they will go on the road to play Salem (convinced they are a Top 8 seed and I can see why), Nashua South (flying quietly under the radar and Kevin Genao deserves player of the year buzz), Portsmouth (have you heard of them?) and Alvirne (who perpetually believes they’re being overlooked….not here they’re not). That’s a tough stretch of games and Exeter’s ability to shoot the ball will be put to the test in opposing gyms.

 Expect Morissette to pick up Liam Viviano (who had a lot of trouble Tuesday night against a taller Yanis Nyantenji of BG) and Natola & Bobby Cliche (who brings a ton to this team on both ends of the floor) to try to keep Logan Keene and the brothers Schaake (Freddy & Jack) off the glass.

 

 Division II

 Coe-Brown (8-1) at John Stark (5-3)

 Father takes on son when the Bears take on the Generals Friday night.

 David Smith’s Coe-Brown team is off to a very nice start but the schedule is going to get a lot tougher in the second half of the season. Not only will the Bears play John Stark twice (and we will be in Northwood to cover the second meeting on February 14th..Jen just pumped her fist ..) but they also will face Bishop Brady & Timberlane twice in addition to a trip to Lebanon.

 This is going to be a game determined by pace. Both teams hit the glass hard, Drew McQuarrie is one of the best rebounders in the division, but Coe-Brown wants to speed you up while John Stark guards Chase Patterson and Isaiah Lovering (Player Profile Page) want to turn this into a half-court game and utilize the two McQuarrie’s (Parker is a 6’7 center) and Cooper Gorski (a team leading 13.2 ppg.).

 Right now the top of the Division II power index would read; Milford, Hollis-Brookline, Lebanon, Pelham and Manchester West. Coe-Brown believes they belong on that list. The second half will tell us if they’re right.

 

 Manchester West (5-3) at Milford (7-0)

 These are two teams very comfortable going up and down the floor with any team in Division II.  Milford beat West 56-39 in a December meeting as West looked at the Milford zone the same way Tom Hanks does when someone scrolls on the walls in ‘The Da Vinci Code’ movies (that I stopped watching after the first one…so I’m just assuming they still scroll on walls)

 They’ll be ready the second time around. With Jacobee Burpee out in front of their defense they will try and hold all-state point guard Ryan Banuskevich (Player Profile Page) in check and not allow shooters like Nick Gutterson to get in rhythm from the perimeter.

 Dan Murray’s team has good size and players like Shane Winnett (10.6), Jamie Pare (9.8) & Evan Ryan (11.2) who share the basketball and do all the little things that earn you W’s. Milford plays one of the toughest schedules in Division II so if they are going to earn a pair of home games a sweep over Danny Bryson’s team would go a long ways towards making that a reality.

 

 Division III

 Campbell (6-2) at Hopkinton (9-0)

 I broke down both of these two teams at length yesterday, although only one family could read it (Hello Vedrani family!) from both teams.

 My mother meanwhile spent $85 on a plastic chicken that hatches from a plastic egg for my daughter Allison…we live in strange consumer times apparently.

 The Hawks have the size to send multiple players at Harrison Vedrani (Player Profile Page) and the guard play, led by Zach Signor, to handle Campbell’s full court pressure. Campbell will guard you for 90 feet and jump passing lanes. They have the quickness to make it effective plus shooters like Matt Gagne (10.0 ppg.), Sean French, Jake Scafidi & Joaquin Heller to make you pay when left open.

 The Cougars though struggle on defensive rotations and give up a lot of open looks going for steals. If they try that with Cam Cyr, one of the best shooters in Division III, it’s going to be a long night for Sudi Lett’s team. Still this is a team with wins over Conant and Pelham, the style of play suits the personnel and players seem to enjoy the freedom the wide open offense gives them.

 Hopkinton has tinkered with full court pressure and their half-court offense. The Hawks seem to play better when they get their athletes out in space and the shot blocking ability of Kevin Newton-Delgado allows their guards to be more aggressive on the perimeter, knowing help is behind them.

 

 Mascoma (4-4) at Winnisquam (5-4)

 It’s fun to watch Mascoma head coach Jim Barry just unleashing Alex Schwarz (30.4 ppg.) on Division III like when Buttermaker told Kelly Leak to just start running down every fly ball for the Bad News Bears.

 But let’s talk about the job Kevin Dame is doing at Winnisquam.

 First of all he had to replace Christian Serrano ( the Player of the Year last year if he didn’t have the misfortune of graduating the same year as arguably the best Division III player of all-time) and Timmy Harmon (very tough on both ends and a heck of a wide receiver). Then he lost one of his projected starters before the season began and then Mike Lowery followed him by deciding to leave the team.

 Those are some big holes to plug but Dame has kept the focus on the floor and the Bears have played teams like Stevens & Monadnock tough on the road. Logan Morrison (14.1) has been effective on the baseline, Kyle Mann (12.6) is beginning to come on with more of a role in the offense and The Artist formerly known as Thomas Mar-Cheeze (fine it’s Marchese) has become a very good outside shooter and shown a nice ability to ball fake and finish in the lane.

 If either of these teams is finishing in the Top 8 they are going to have to go on a run. Both teams play very tough schedules but a win here gives one of them momentum as they roll into the second half of the season.

 

 Division IV

 Groveton (9-0) at Littleton (10-0)

 I could go 4,000 words on this one so let’s simplify it for the sake of your entire lunch break.

 If Littleton wins Friday night it is because……….

 Groveton got worn down by their pressure and Logan Briggs & Danny Kubkowski dominated them on the glass.

 Point guard Daegan Perras is going to have to go close to 32 minutes because although a player like Isaiah Stone (8.5 ppg.) will play a very key role in this game you don’t want him navigating through the Crusaders pressure defense.

 Groveton doesn’t want to just survive Littleton’s press they want to attack it and get open looks from three for Corey Gadwah (14.6) and Austin Lesperance (12.4). If Littleton can keep those two from getting clean looks before all five players are back on defense they are going to shrink the floor and funnel everything into Briggs at the rim as they did a year ago in a win over Sunapee.

 Littleton will want to attack Groveton where they are vulnerable; at the rim. Dylan Rogers is the closest thing Mark Collins’ team has to a shot blocker and he doesn’t have the size to slow down Briggs or Kubkowski. Run everything at the basket then drive and kick to shooters like Cy Kezerian (12.5) when they use four players to pack the paint.

 Send nine different players at Groveton and continue applying pressure until fatigue starts making Groveton careless with the basketball when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter.

 If Groveton wins Friday night it is because….

 We find out maybe Littleton isn’t as deep as we thought coming in.

 Last years championship team had players like Gabe Anan, Michael Rodriguez and Eric Shafer coming off the bench. Three players who would have started for just about any other team in the division. This team is still too young to be as deep as that team and on Friday night Groveton can win if they expose that. The Eagles can play Gadwah, Perras & Lesperance big minutes and exploit an inexperienced Littleton bench.

 They also need a big game out of Gadwah to win. The 6’1 senior murders zones and so if he can get looks against the Littleton press that opens up the floor for Perras to get to the rim ( and he will need to attack the rim in this one) and Lesperance to fire away from the opposite wing.

 They also want to push Briggs away from the paint and make Kubkowski do the dirty work of rebounding and scoring in the paint. Kubkowski has really good hands and moves his feet defensively like the elite soccer player he is. He also gets a lot of his offense from turnovers and transition. Groveton needs to force him to score against a half-court defense.

 Kezerian is the only shooter you absolutely cannot leave alone, making the play of Anan (who has been really good for this team) the X-Factor.

 It’s easy to say Groveton beats Littleton at home and drops this one on the road but a year ago Groveton had the game in hand on the Crusaders home floor but couldn’t finish.

 It’ll be a Fire Marshal game but both teams are used to that atmosphere.

 Groveton does not appreciate being thought of as the second best North Country team and Littleton, and Briggs in particular, feel like they have the Eagles number.

 Briggs was the best player on the floor in Plymouth last March against Groveton and it wasn’t close. If that’s the case again Friday night the defending champs are walking away with their 33rd straight win.

  

  Pittsfield (9-1) at Epping (9-1)

 Jay Darrah’s team gets a second shot at an Epping team that handed them their only loss of the season. In that game Pittsfield had absolutely no answer for Jackson Rivers Player Profile Page who went for 35 points, 17 rebounds, ran the 50/50 raffle and likely drove the bus home himself.

 Cam Darrah (Player Profile) got his points as did forward Josh Whittier (who finished with 15 points) but the other six players who played only combined for 23 points. Darrah’s team will be more balanced scoring to beat Epping, who is playing as well as anyone in the division right now. The brothers Bullock (Tommy & Hunter) will keep tabs on where Cam Darrah is on the floor at all times.

 Epping is really starting to come together as a defensive team under Nick Fiset, as we broke down in the Division IV snapshot on Tuesday. If they can hold Pittsfield to under 50 points tomorrow night they likely move to 10-1 with a very big season sweep.

 

 Listen in to the New Hampshire High School Hoop Show Saturday morning from 9 to 11 am on our new home The McIsaac On Sports Network as Pete Tarrier & I will give you all the scores from every Friday night games, plus insight & analysis on the state of high school basketball in New Hampshire.  Our guests Saturday morning will be Manchester West head coach Danny Bryson and Bedford head coach Mark Elmendorf.

 

 You can hear the show by clicking the "listen live" button right on our homepage