Great Bay Community College will have an open house at the Portsmouth & Rochester Campuses from 4 to 6 pm on Thursday, April 12th.

 Click on any of our Great Bay ads for more information as well as details on registration opening for summer and fall classes on April 9th!

 Tonight at the Connie Bean Center in Portsmouth the single biggest rivalry in high school sports is renewed when the defending champion Fighting McIsaacs take on 5-time champion NHsportspage in the winners’ bracket championship game at 8 o’clock.

 An annual match-up that once resembled the rivalry between lawnmowers and grass was flipped a year ago when Cal Connelly (Spaulding), Cody Morissette (Exeter), Liam Viviano (Winnacunnet), Arie Breakfield (Spaulding) & Freddy Schaake (Winnacunnet) led the McIsaacs to the 2017 title over NHsportspage.

 Tonight that rivalry renews, along with an elimination game at 7 o’clock between Patriot Scaffolding and The Lakes Region Crew.

 We preview both of tonight’s games and asked opposing coaches to break down the coaching match-up in The Fighting McIsaacs/NHsportspage game using blind quotes.

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth will bring you all the highlights of the game Saturday morning with the winner moving on to the championship game (and having to be beaten twice) while the loser will face the winner of the seven o’clock game Wednesday night at 7.

 $2 gets you in for both games and goes towards expenses for the officials (the dynamic duo of Kevin Semprini & Steve Burrows) and other costs.

 The Fighting McIsaacs (2-0) vs. NHsportspage (2-0)

 The defending champions have hardly broken a sweat in back to back blowout wins over The River Bandits & Manchester. Cody Morissette, Bryton Early (Somersworth), Arie Breakfield, Keagan Calero (Spaulding), Johnny Cantwell, Ty Vitko & Devin Cady (all Dover..), Evan Gray (Somersworth) and Zach Waterhouse (Winnacunnet) have spent the better part of two games throwing alley-oops to each other while NHsportspage has grinded out two close wins over Patriot Scaffolding & The Lakes Region Crew.

 We asked an opposing coach to breakdown NHsportspage coach Dave Haley: “Dave's strength as a coach is changing the rules of the tournament on the fly to suit whatever needs he has, be it allowing 8th graders to play in a HS tourney, or randomly picking up a dominant rebounder when another dominant rebounder doesn't play. Those are the kind of intangibles you can't account for.”

“His weaknesses are those shirts he buys for his team- those are Butt Ugly. If you look good, you play good. Also, his kids tend to fall asleep in the huddle after the 3rd story he tells about seeing RATT 24times.”

 NHsportspage got past a very good Patriot Scaffolding team and a 47 point performance by Governor's Academy forward Joe Pridgen, in the first round behind two Cody Graham (Portsmouth) free throws to tie the game with one second left and three overtime three-pointers from Josh Morissette (Exeter).

 Nolan Anderson (Bedford) and Division II Player of the Year Matt Simco (Hollis-Brookline) give NHsportspage a very good forward rotation while Max Chartier (Bedford), Max Bonney-Liles (Alvirne), Ian Cummings (Merrimack) & Drew Brown (Pelham) give last year’s runner-ups enough perimeter scoring to hang with the Fighting McIsaacs roster of all-state performers.

 We asked an opposing coach to breakdown Fighting McIsaacs coach Justin McIsaac: “ To describe McIsaac’s demeanor on the bench as the 1,000-yard stare would be underselling staring and the principle of measurement. To say it’s the stare of the student who did not study for the test and understands he is about to fail in every manner of speaking would also be underselling it. McIsaac is the non-student who wanders into the wrong room, for a test, at a school, he would never be accepted at.’

 “In game adjustments range from ‘ Does that buzzer always go off when subs come in the game?’ To.. ‘ Arie looks thirsty.’ 

“On the rare occasions, he does offer counsel in the huddle his suggestions are met by his players with the same trepidation and unease as when 92-year-old grandpa offers to drive the family car home from dinner.”

The Lakes Region Crew (1-1) vs Patriot Scaffolding (1-1)

 Mike Rathgeber’s (Inter-Lakes) Lakes Region Crew led by Anthony Senesombath (Newmarket..30 points against NHsportspage), Tommy Johnson (Kearsarge Regional), Eli Swanson (Inter-Lakes), Cam Darrah (Pittsfield), Seth Balderrama (Berlin), Tyler Clark (Somersworth), Jayden Torres (Franklin) and Greg Madore (GILFORD!!) will have to find a way to keep Joe Pridgen (52.0 ppg. and yes that’s a real scoring average) somewhat in check to advance to the Final 3 on Wednesday night.

 In addition to Pridgen Kevin Rines’ team features Joe Minson (Monadnock), Drew Cavanaugh (St Thomas), Peyton Springfield (Conant), Sammy Stauffeneker (Mascenic), Drew Rines (Mascenic), Zach Barthel (Mascenic), Logan Hampsey (Conant), and Reese Swedberg (Moultonborough). Patriot Scaffolding will spread you out with their shooters around the perimeter and let the 6’5 220 lb. Pridgen go to work.

 How they handle the Patriot Scaffolding offense and their trapping defense will tell you who moves on to Wednesday night to face the loser of NHsportspage & The Fighting McIsaacs,.