We warned you crazy things were about to happen in our first-round preview and by the time most of the 7 o’clock games were tipping off defending champion Lebanon was already in crisis mode.

 Mike Smith’s John Stark Generals pulled the rare 15 over 2 upset and sent everyone’s brackets into chaos.

 We will be bringing you coverage and all the highlights of Coe-Brown at Pembroke Academy, with the winner celebrating with Justin McIsaac after the game.

Today we take a look at the four quarterfinal match-ups.

(9) Milford at (1) Hollis-Brookline

 Dan Murray’s Spartans played the top seed tough twice, including a 53-48 loss at Hollis-Brookline in the season finale.

 Milford doesn’t have the size to match-up with Hollis-Brookline’s all-state dup of Matt Simco and Matt Dowling so look for them to extend pressure and fall back into a 2-3 zone. Milford plays man to man as well but with Cole Etten’s team’s ability to run the high low with their two bigs you’re going to need to pack the paint with more bodies.

 Jonathan Brackett has been a big difference maker for the Cavaliers. At 6’2 he has the size to score over smaller guards and his ball handling ability allows him to get into the paint and find Simco, Dowling or Grant Snyder for dump down passes.

 Milford is going to need to shoot it well and limit the number of second-chance opportunities that Simco and Dowling get in the post.

(5) Merrimack Valley at (4) Kearsarge Regional

Merrimack Valley Team Page

Kearsarge Team Page

 The third meeting between these two teams with Nate Camp’s team winning the first two match-ups 71-60 and 69-53.

 Tim Mucher’s team doesn’t have the size to match-up with Tayler Mattos & Kyle Hernon down low so they are going to have to try speed the game up with pressure and pack in a zone. That is going to allow good looks for Noah Tremblay & Joe Storozuk. Both of those players can make you pay but with Mattos on the block and Tommy Johnson’s ability to knock down shots from deep or the mid-range you need to commit extra defenders to them both.

 Kearsarge won’t mind the pace, as Johnson is terrific in the open court and Mattos runs the floor very well for a 6’10 big, but Merrimack Valley needs to try something radically different the third time around

 Ryan Defina and Jake Hebert are both very good in the open court and if you can beat Kearsarge down the floor before their rim protectors arrive you can get transition buckets.

(15) John Stark (7) Oyster River

Oyster River Team Page

 Two polar opposites meeting for a trip to UNH.

 John Stark is not a great offensive team but they are a very good rebounding team. They can control the pace and with their 1-3-1 zone, they force you to work the ball around for a good look. They’re comfortable playing games in the 40’s and that’s a neighborhood where a lot of tournament games are decided.

 Oyster River is not a very good rebounding team, and they want to get out and go. Lorne Lucas’s team will pressure you out of their zone defense with the intent to create transition opportunities. Their game-plan likely includes pressuring John Stark and getting this game into the 60’s, where Stark will struggle to keep up. Oyster River has very good athletes and multiple players who can score in the open court, that’s the strength of this group.

 Mike Smith does a very nice job as head coach of the Generals and we’re talking about a team that held Lebanon to 39 points in the first round. They can defend and they’ll try and make Oyster River play a half-court game.

 This will be a match-up off stops & starts with one team trying to quicken the pace and the other slowing it to a crawl.

(6) Coe-Brown at (3) Pembroke Academy

Coe-Brown Team Page

Pembroke Team Page

 Coe-Brown won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams (Box Score) back in early January and will head to Pembroke looking to advance to their second consecutive final four.

 Both teams like to get out and push the pace, so expect this game to be played into the 60’s. Noah Cummings might be the best point guard in Division II and he gives Rich Otis a playmaker that can create his own offense when the offense begins to struggle.

 Pembroke will shoot a lot of three’s and with Sean Menard & Jake Sherman they might have the best offense left in the division (Kearsarge would like a word on that..). All three players scored 30 points or more in a game this season and so they will space out the floor against Coe-Brown’s zone defense.

 The book on the Spartans last year was that they were going to try and outscore you every night; it’s been a little bit different this season. They’ve proven they are capable of getting stops when they need it and the focus tonight will be on Scott Spenard, who is at his best creating from the top of the key.

 Brendan Eaton will look to exploit a smaller Pembroke frontcourt by attacking the basket and Lucas McCusker is a streaky shooter who can carry the offense when he gets hot from the perimeter.

 Expect this one to be a game of runs with both teams wanting the same fast-tempo.