On Saturday, December 8th on the campus of Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth NHsportspage will hold our 6th annual Coaches for a Cause Basketball Jamboree.

 The event, which raises money for the New Horizons homeless shelter, soup kitchen and food pantry in Manchester, was created to match the best teams from Division I against the best teams from the lower divisions.

 The games are played in front of over 1,000 people with play by play and introductions by Justin McIsaac and video coverage/play by play from our NHsportspage team of Pete Tarrier, Jennifer Chick-Ruth, and Nichole Marrero.

 In the inaugural event in 2013 Division I champion Trinity held off Division II champion Pembroke in front of a near capacity crowd. In 2014 Division IV Sunapee battled eventual Division II Final Four team Goffstown before losing by four points, in 2016 Keith Brown of Pelham dropped 41 points on eventual Division I champion Manchester Central in front of the biggest crowd of the day and last year, in the middle of a blizzard, Division III Berlin led Division I Manchester Memorial wire to wire until a late Tyson Thomas 3-pointer gave the Crusaders a four-point win.

 Admission for the event is just $5 for the entire day of games. Our crew will be filming each game and we will produce a highlight video of the jamboree just as we have the past five years.

 We are also announcing a great promotion from Buffalo Wild Wings.

 The team with the best student section, as voted on by our crew, will receive $100 towards a Wing Night at Buffalo Wild Wings!

 I also wanted to announce the schedule of our (fairly mammoth) basketball previews:

 Tuesday, December 4th:         Division IV

 Wednesday, December 5th:    Division III

 Wednesday, December 12th:  Division II

 Friday, December 14th:          Division I

 

 Saturday, December 8th

 

12:00 pm:   Bishop Guertin vs. Mascenic Regional

 The last time Matt Regan & John Langlois squared off as coaches it was in front of 1,500 fans at SNHU with a spot in the Division III championship game on the line.

 Langlois’s Campbell Cougars slowed the pace, switched up their defenses and nearly pulled off an all-time shocker over a Pelham team that would finish 22-0. This time around Langlois makes his debut as head coach of the Mascenic Vikings while Regan enters his 3rd year as BG’s head coach.

 BG is young but could be a sleeper team in Division I after a very good off-season. Austin Hiscoe, Sam Mullett, Joey DaSilva & Andrew Arika make up a young & talented core for the Cardinals (pronounced by Regan as ‘CARDNAHHLS).

 Langlois has a very good core returning as junior all-state guard Sammy Stauffeneker leads a group that includes junior forward Zach Barthel, Jake Zina & shooting guard Trey Shaw.

Game sponsors: Next Level Basketball Academy (BG) and Patriot Scaffolding (Mascenic)

 

1:30: Spaulding vs. Gilford also Justin McIsaac vs. Dave Haley

 The Red Raiders will be one of the best team’s in Division I this season led by their 6’5 player of the year candidate Arie Breakfield, all-state guard Keagan Calero, shooting guard Dante McKinney and future & current NHsportspage broadcaster Shane Hudson.

 President Tim Cronin (along with Vice President DB Betz) has maybe the best defensive backcourt in the state and a player in Breakfield who can take over games.

 They will face my Alma Mater who will have to battle not only a Top 5 Division I team but Justin McIsaac, a washed-up former pro wrestler/PA announcer who will be using every trick short of hitting them over the head with a chair to ensure that his alma mater wins.

 Chip Veazey’s Golden Eagles will be led by the all-state frontcourt of 6’5 Greg Madore and 6’3 jumping jack Adrian Siravo. 6’3 Logan Hughes should give Gilford a team that will compete down low against one of the better defensive teams in Division I.

 There’s a 100% certainty that McIsaac & I will play something from the Rocky IV soundtrack during this one….

 Game sponsors:  Lachapelle & Higgins Insurance (Spaulding) and R.D. Nelson Construction (Gilford)

 

3:00:  Portsmouth vs. White Mountain Regional

 The jamboree was created for match-ups like this one….

 Mike Curtis brings his Spartans 100 miles south to face off with the three-time defending champion Portsmouth Clippers (two titles in Division I & one in Division II). The Clippers will be led by first-year head coach John Mulvey, who takes over for his father Jim who retired from coaching last March after his fifth title.

 All-state forward Alex Tavares is expected to miss games at the beginning of the season due to suspension but will be eligible to play in the jamboree. Calvin Hewitt is the only other returning starter for Portsmouth who will also be led by point guard Coleman Brewster, center Griffin Ritzo and guard Thomas Degnan.

 The Spartans feature a veteran team with one of the best frontcourts in the division. 6’5 Zeke Pribbernow & 6’4 Hunter Macleod will have the task of matching up with Tavares & Ritzo while point guard Jack Curtis and 6’3 small forward Griffin Crane are both returning all-state level starters for White Mountains.

Game sponsors: Seacoast Ticket Agency (Portsmouth) and Oleson Tree Farm (WMRHS)

 

4:30:  Alvirne vs. Oyster River

 Two teams that like to get up & down the floor square off for the first time as Marty Edwards’ Broncos take on Lorne Lucas’s Bobcats.

 Alvirne might be as balanced a team as there is in Division I where Paul Manzi, Joe Canelas and Ryan Weston could lead the team in scoring night to night.

 Oyster River returns three all-state level performers from a team that lost in the Division II Championship game last March. Max Lewis, Joe Morrell & Kyle Landrigan lead one of the best teams in Division II and one capable of being the last team standing in Division II.

 My money is on Oyster River’s student section to win the Buffalo Wild Wings Party.

Game sponsors:  Westco Distribution (Alvirne)

 

6:00:  Exeter vs. Pembroke Academy

 Two deep teams that can flat out score in what could be a match-up of the pre-season #1 teams in Division I & Division II.

 Jeff Holmes’ Blue Hawks are the deepest team in the state and led by all-state sophomore guard Josh Morissette. Exeter can get production from any one of ten different players as Kevin Henry, Ryan Grijalva, Cam Clark, and Max Rose are part of a big-time rotation.

 Rich Otis’s Pembroke Spartans will not shy away from a shoot-out as player of the year candidate Noah Cummings returns at point guard alongside all-state forward Sean Menard. The Spartans are one of the best shooting teams in the state and should match-up well with Exeter in one of the premier games of the day.

Game sponsors: Cadieux Flooring Inc (Exeter) and Otis Plumbing & Heating (Pembroke)

 

 7:30:  Winnacunnet vs. Pelham

  Pelham joins Portsmouth as the only school to be invited to participate in all six jamborees.

 The Pythons have built a reputation over the years of being a very tough team defensively that rarely gets out-worked. Mike Larson’s team got away from that mentality a year ago but has had a very good off-season and comes into the jamboree with a lot of confidence. Pelham will be led by the all-state duo of Blake Woekel & Derek Crowley.

 Jay Mckenna’s Warriors have been one of the best programs in Division I the past 5 years and will again compete for a championship in 2019.  6’4 All-state point guard Ben Allen and 6’6 all-state center Jack Schaake are as good a guard/center combination as there is in New Hampshire. They’ll lead a deep team in the final match-up of the day.

Game sponsors:  Donut Love of Hampton (Winnacunnet) and Interactive Process Technology (Pelham)

 

 Listen LIVE to the New Hampshire High School Hoop Show with Pete Tarrier & Dave Haley Saturday morning from 9 to 10 am as we preview the 2018 Jamboree.

 You can listen by clicking the listen live link right on our homepage or on 99.9 FM & 1370 WFEA radio in the Manchester area Saturday morning.