Date Posted : 02-08-2010 Written by: Dave Haley

Sean Martin and Conant are #4 in our latest Power Rankings

 As we do every two weeks we take a look at the top 16 teams in the state regardless of class. Before we do let's take a quick look at the four divisions and the tournament races are shaping up as we head into mid-February.

 Class L: The race right now is for the 4^th seed. Although no one has wrapped up a top 3 seed this point Merrimack, Bishop Guertin and Winnacunnet have each played pretty tough schedules and separated themselves from the rest of the pack. A group of nine teams all have a legitimate shot at the four seed and home court through the first two rounds.

 Class I: This division might not be as top heavy as we thought. Kingswood beating Portsmouth was a real eye opener; give their coach Dan Chick a lot of credit for the job he has done. That win legitimized them in the race. Bedford has proven they are not going anywhere and Pelham got a huge win Friday night that might signal the beginning of a turnaround.

 As was the case in years past look for a low seed to emerge and make it to UNH for the final four.

 Class M: Conant is the favorite but Winnisquam keeps on winning. That was an impressive win over Inter-Lakes in Meredith Friday night and from speaking to several Class M coaches it's clear that there is a curiosity as to how the tie-breaker system will work if Conant and Winnisquam finish with identical 18-0 records.

 Class S: Dalton Scott just about sealed player of the years honors for Colebrook. His 36 points against Pittsburg followed up a stretch where he helped carry that team while Jared Raymond was on the sidelines. Newmarket got another nice win over Moultonborough. The Mules just are a nightmare match-up for Matt Swedberg's team and right now the champs have 6'6 Marcus Swedberg playing point guard. They miss you Kevin Eisenberg..

 On to the rankings:

 1. Merrimack               9-1                                           Previous rank: 1

 Quick thoughts: Still chugging along and won Friday night with neither Dimetri Floras or Eric Watson having a big game. Matt Hardwick handled the ball and played well in the win over Alvirne. They are at Keene Tuesday and then have Nashua South at home Friday night. Merrimack right now has one of the best home court advantages in the state and they should move to 11-1 by the end of the week. A big time game at Trinity looms next Tuesday.

 Next game: at Keene

Date Posted : 02-06-2010 Written by: Eliot Bless

 In many high school basketball games, if you shut down the other teams best player, or best 2 players, you're probably walking out of the gym with a "W" that night.  On Friday night in Merrimack, that would not be the case.  After an energizing, competitive first half that ended in a 27-27 tie, the Tomahawks ran away with a 68-57 win in the second half  on the strength of a balanced offensive attack that included 5 players in double figures.  

 In a game where freshman phenom Dimetri Floras didn't stand out in the box score, Merrimack got solid performances from just about every role player on their team.  Each player seemed to take their turn carrying the load in the absence of a big offensive spurt from the younger Floras.  

Fri 02-05-2010	Score
Merrimack	68
Alvirne	57
Box Scores

Date Posted : 02-04-2010 Written by: Dave Haley

After playing to a packed house last week at home Trinity hits the road Friday night

 Class L

 Trinity (7-2) at Dover (6-3)

 The coverage of Trinity high school is sponsored by Edible Arrangements of Manchester at http://www.ediblearrangements.com/

 Nice match-up of two teams ranked in the top 10 in scoring for Class L. Trinity center David Madol is going to cause real match-up problems for Dover if he is able to get Morgan Faustino in any kid of foul trouble because after Faustino there isn't a lot of size on Mike Romps' team. The Green Wave are going to try and play their game by getting Trinity into a running game and they'll look to use their transition game to get open looks for players like Alex Burt and Kenaan Al-Darraji. Trinity likes to play the inside/out game to create perimeter looks for Zach Stevens and Gordan Duffley and use the advantage they have on the block with Madol.

 Look for Hunter Viscarello to draw the assignment of chasing Alex Burt around in what should be a high scoring game. As we enter the second half of the season both teams are looking to take a step toward clinching at least one home playoff game.