It only took the very first day of the month for March to live up to its reputation.

 While Inter-Lakes and Monadnock were headed to a second overtime Laconia was two hours from home giving Berlin everything it could handle, Belmont was erasing an 8 point deficit at Mascenic and White Mountains was taking powerhouse Conant to overtime in Jaffrey.

 Very little followed the script and what we are left is four very intriguing match-ups tonight, with the winners advancing to the Division III Final Four on Wednesday night.

 We will have coverage of three of the four games tonight:

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth and I are headed up north where we will cover Berlin vs Gilford as my love for the alma mater and all things North Country come head to head.

 Justin McIsaac and Devin Poslusny will be in Somersworth as takes on Belmont.

 Finally, Pete Tarrier and Drew Ingoldsby will be at Campbell as the Cougars square off with the Cinderella team of Division III, the White Mountains Spartans.

 You’ll have highlights of all three games and three separate final four teams going nuts on camera with our crew.

 

 Division III

 (9) Monadnock at (1) Hopkinton

 Monadnock Team Page

 The Huskies lost to Hopkinton 50-35 on opening night and now head to the top seed in the division to see if they’ve closed the gap in the last three months.

 Hopkinton had little trouble with Mascoma in the opening round, that’s your reward for a 16-2 regular season, while Monadnock had to work through two overtimes to eliminate Inter-Lakes on their home floor. Joe Minson (21.8) was held in check for most of the night but players like Jake Kidney (he’s a freshman and he’s going to be really good..), Quinn Grover (ditto) & Tim Santaw stepped up and made plays when they had to.

 Hopkinton will have the size to battle them on the glass. Dustin Rose has been really good for this team, as has Caleb Yianakopolos (Caleb don’t get mad at me I had you in my Top 15 last week..) and Kevin McGrath.

 Hopkinton played Monadnock straight man to man, with McGrath guarding Minson, and held them to 35 points so there is no reason to expect them to do anything differently the second time around.

 The Hawks have some really good wins on the resume and if it seems like we’re sleeping on them we’re not. We have gotten Hopkinton stats going back to 2008 but for some reason, they have gone to Stealth Island on us this year…we may catch up with Wednesday night in Manchester.

 

(13) White Mountains at (5) Campbell

White Mountains Team Page

 Mike Curtis and his Spartans probably enjoyed their huge upset win at Conant for about an hour before the realization came over them that they now had to go face what many coaches believe is the most talented team in the division in less than 48 hours.

 Campbell beat a good St Thomas team by double digits and now finds themselves throwing on the white home uniforms once again after #4 Conant lost on Thursday night. Campbell will push the ball and get their shooters out in space. When they are shooting well they are very tough to beat, and when they’re not they can turn one-dimensional.

 White Mountains doesn’t have the depth of Campbell, who can go 10 deep, so expect them to try and wear them down over the course of 32 minutes by pushing the pace of the game.

 Sudi Lett’s team will have to deal with White Mountains center Zeke Pribbenow, who had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks against Conant. Expect Jake Scafidi, Spencer Stanium and Chad Martel to all take turns covering the Spartans center, who was guarded well by Peyton Springfield in the first round but killed the Orioles on the glass.  

 Conant’s Ryan Smith tried to play on a bad ankle but went down in a heap early in the first quarter, from then on Conant was on upset high-alert and Mike Curtis & Co. finished the job to advance to tonight’s quarterfinal.

 White Mountains will mix up their zone looks (likely 1-3-1 and 2-3) and try to slow the game down. White Mountains and point guard Jack Curtis have to take care of the ball and control the pace of the game. Griffin Crane is the team’s best perimeter threat so look for Campbell to know where he is on the floor at all times.

 

(6) Gilford at (3) Berlin

Gilford Team Page

Berlin Team Page

 A match-up of two very good teams that each knows they cannot play the way they did in the first round if they plan to advance to the final four.

 If there is a team that can match Berlin’s size it’s Gilford, who at one point against Stevens had four players on the floor 6’3 or bigger.

 The difference maker for Dave Morissette’s team could end up being Seth Balderrama (16.5) who at 6’3 can score on the wing or take smaller defenders into the post. Evan Arsenault is the glue of this team and there might not be another point guard in the state you’d rather have in the big moment but when Berlin has to have a basket the ball is going through Balderrama.

 Berlin center Joey Fodor (9.0 ppg) and 6th man Darrien Larochelle both missed the first meeting between these two teams, and each will play a very big role tonight. Fodor and Larochelle have to try to contain Greg Madore (15.3) and Adrian Siravo (10.5) in the paint.  A big night by either may swing the balance of this game in favor of the Golden Eagles.

 Expect Logan Bell to draw the assignment of guarding Arsenault. Bell has the length at 6’2 to give Arsenauult some problems but the all-state point guard was terrific in the first meeting and you can expect more of the same tonight.

 David Hart (13.1) played against Stevens after a bout with the flu that caused him to miss to White Mountains game (a double overtime win on the road) but was hardly 100%. He needs to be a factor in this game because his ability to knock down shots will draw defenders like Michael Moore (an all-glue guy team member) away from the basket.

 Gilford’s point guard Nate Hudson is a player I like more & more every time I watch him play. He’s smart, he’s fast and he isn’t afraid of being bumped around. The ability that Bell has as a defender takes the pressure of guarding Arsenault off his plate, along with the fatigue that comes with it. 

 Gilford can play nine players where Berlin is really only going to play six players major minutes, so watch for fatigue to play a role if this one stays close late.

 Lance Legere of Gorham will join Jennifer & I for the call of this one…with the winner on to SNHU.

 

(10) Belmont at (2) Somersworth

Belmont Team Page

Somersworth Team Page

 These two teams just met two weeks ago with the Hilltoppers winning 69-54 (Box Score).

 For the Red Raiders to flip the script the second time around they are going to have the defend Bryton Early, Evan Gary, Tyler Clark & Co. at the same level they defended Mascenic in the fourth quarter of their first-round win.

 Trailing by 8 points late in the 3rd quarter Belmont made a run behind Dylan Gansert, Aidan Rupp, and Griffin Embree. Matty Pluskis struggled offensively (2 points) but was terrific in slowing down Mascenic’s leading scorer Sammy Stauffeneker down the stretch as Belmont gave up only 4 points in the final eight minutes and earned their spot in the quarterfinals tonight.

 If you’re going to stick around long in the post-season you are going to have to have a team capable of getting you stops in the fourth quarter. Year after year Mascenic just doesn’t and its why they have not advanced past the quarterfinal round the past 10 years.

 Belmont won their game with their defense and they survived a Drew Rines game-winning floater that rattled in & out at the buzzer.

 Jim Cilley may mix up his defenses but whether it is man or zone they are going to have to keep Bryton Early and Evan Gray in check without sacrificing leaving Tyler Clark open, because Clark will hammer them with three’s if they do.

 Belmont isn’t winning another game with Pluskis not being a factor offensively. He’ll bounce back tonight but they’ll need other players to step up as well if they are going to pull off the major upset.