The Southside Tavern Division I Quarterfinal Preview
2016-03-14
Jonathan Makori and Central are a win away from Durham
By Dave Haley
The response we received from our readers was incredible yesterday. We are happy to have an audience that will be getting uninterrupted coverage through next (2017) season and it is coverage we plan to expand going forward.
I’m going to personally return every email I was sent and reach out to every person that registered but let me just say how proud we are of the relationship we have with our readers; the kids, the parents and the fans of high school basketball in our state.
Games are Saturday…the winners are one game away from this: Championship Saturday
Division I
(9) Manchester Memorial at (1) Nashua North @ 7pm
Regular season meeting: Memorial 82-75 on January 25th
However it happened Manchester Memorial, trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, sucked Nashua South into a back & forth shootout when that was the only way that Memorial could win and South could lose.
Missed free throws, silly fouls, bad turnovers…those are always a part of any loss but this was about allowing Memorial to get enough shots and possessions to erase a twenty point deficit in 12 minutes.
Saturday night Nashua North will look to take care of the basketball, make Memorial defend on each possession and control the pace. Ronnie Silva will take his opportunities when they are there but expect him and head coach Steve Lane to keep a close eye on the tempo. Especially if they are able to get out to a second half lead.
For Memorial it wasn’t one player who carried the comeback. Paul Rodolf (17 points) led a balanced attack as Jack Quirk’s Crusaders scored 30 points in the fourth quarter.
This is a dangerous 9 seed; a team that can score in bunches and a veteran head coach with a lot of tournament wins on his resume.
(13) Spaulding at (5) Merrimack @ 7pm
Regular season meeting: Merrimack 55-35
As Justin McIsaac breathlessly re-capped on our Thursday podcast NHsportspage podcast Spaulding put the clamps down on Exeter defensively and pulled the shocker of the first round.
Saturday night in a game we will have full coverage of, they face a Merrimack team with a similar mode of victory. Tim Goodridge’s team got up 14 points on a dangerous Bishop Guertin team that had beaten them earlier in the season and took all of the air out of the ball. Merrimack managed the game all the way to the second round with a 42-26 win.
At the top of the Tomahawks list of priorities will be defending Cal Connelly, who had 27 points in the win over Exeter and has emerged as a bona fide second team all-state performer. Freshman Ari Breakfield was part of a huge late game sequence that held off Bryant Holmes and company while point guard Matt Roy did a very nice job taking care of the basketball against pressure.
Tim Cronin’s team wants to play at 44-40 type of pace and make sure Connelly is getting touches on nearly every possession. Merrimack will switch defenders on the 6’4 forward as Spaulding runs their offensive sets.
The crowd might be the difference. Few crowds are louder and have more of an effect on a basketball game than the Merrimack student section. One announcer wearing a red tie and waving a towel won’t be enough to quiet them..In fact I hope they don’t think I’m with him..
We will have full coverage of this one as Justin McIsaac, Jon Kesty & I will have all the play by play, highlights and post-game interviews (me if Merrimack wins and McIsaac if Spaulding wins)
You can also listen to the broadcast live on www.mcisaaconsports.com
(6) Bedford at (3) Manchester Central @ 5:30pm
Regular season meeting: Central 76-68 on February 5th
Doc Wheeler and Manchester Central will be very happy in the knowledge Keene is not popping up on the schedule again this year. Central needed late game heroics from President Evan MacDonald twice this season to beat the Blackbirds and the second time advances them to Saturday nights quarterfinal.
Bedford lost to Concord (who was beaten by Division II Timberlane) two weeks ago and yet may be the most dangerous team in the bracket today. If that doesn’t sum up Division I in 2016 I’m not sure what does.
Colby Gendron, all 6’7 of him, is going to be the match-up problem for Central while Brayden Mareno & Josh Bauer will be counted on to hold the all-state backcourt of Jaylen Leroy and Jonathan Makori in check.
The close call with Keene either exposed Central’s fatal flaws (rebounding) or gave them the second life that propels them back to Durham after a one year absence.
Pete Tarrier and Jennifer Chick will bring you all the coverage Saturday night with play by play, highlights and post-game interviews with the winners.
(7) Winnacunnet at (2) Pinkerton Academy @ 4:30pm
Regular season meeting: Winnacunnet 63-53 on January 5th
The Warriors handed the Astros their first loss of the season in a game we covered Winnacunnet vs Pinkerton.
Saturday night Pinkerton will try to flip the script but will do it without leading scorer Brennan Morris Pinkerton scoring leaders who suffered a head injury last Sunday.
Morris may be back for the Division I semifinals in Durham but Pinkerton is going to have to beat a very good Winnacunnet team to get there. Liam Viviano and Anthony Primavera give Jay McKenna two ball handlers against pressure and Zach Waterhouse has developed into a knockdown shooter on the perimeter.
Winnacunnet will look for their opportunities pushing the basketball and then settle back into a zone that forces you to be patient. All in the hope that they can turn Pinkerton into a jump shooting team.
When Peter Rosinski’s team attacks the zone with either Matt Rizzo or Tommy Romick in the high post and Ben Olson on the low block they are very difficult to stop. When they stop the ball movement and settle for long jumpers they become just another team. Saturday night it largely comes down to how Winnacunnet handles Pinkerton’s zone traps and the quality of shots Pinkerton gets against that zone defense.
I’m going to personally return every email I was sent and reach out to every person that registered but let me just say how proud we are of the relationship we have with our readers; the kids, the parents and the fans of high school basketball in our state.
Games are Saturday…the winners are one game away from this: Championship Saturday
Division I
(9) Manchester Memorial at (1) Nashua North @ 7pm
Regular season meeting: Memorial 82-75 on January 25th
However it happened Manchester Memorial, trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, sucked Nashua South into a back & forth shootout when that was the only way that Memorial could win and South could lose.
Missed free throws, silly fouls, bad turnovers…those are always a part of any loss but this was about allowing Memorial to get enough shots and possessions to erase a twenty point deficit in 12 minutes.
Saturday night Nashua North will look to take care of the basketball, make Memorial defend on each possession and control the pace. Ronnie Silva will take his opportunities when they are there but expect him and head coach Steve Lane to keep a close eye on the tempo. Especially if they are able to get out to a second half lead.
For Memorial it wasn’t one player who carried the comeback. Paul Rodolf (17 points) led a balanced attack as Jack Quirk’s Crusaders scored 30 points in the fourth quarter.
This is a dangerous 9 seed; a team that can score in bunches and a veteran head coach with a lot of tournament wins on his resume.
(13) Spaulding at (5) Merrimack @ 7pm
Regular season meeting: Merrimack 55-35
As Justin McIsaac breathlessly re-capped on our Thursday podcast NHsportspage podcast Spaulding put the clamps down on Exeter defensively and pulled the shocker of the first round.
Saturday night in a game we will have full coverage of, they face a Merrimack team with a similar mode of victory. Tim Goodridge’s team got up 14 points on a dangerous Bishop Guertin team that had beaten them earlier in the season and took all of the air out of the ball. Merrimack managed the game all the way to the second round with a 42-26 win.
At the top of the Tomahawks list of priorities will be defending Cal Connelly, who had 27 points in the win over Exeter and has emerged as a bona fide second team all-state performer. Freshman Ari Breakfield was part of a huge late game sequence that held off Bryant Holmes and company while point guard Matt Roy did a very nice job taking care of the basketball against pressure.
Tim Cronin’s team wants to play at 44-40 type of pace and make sure Connelly is getting touches on nearly every possession. Merrimack will switch defenders on the 6’4 forward as Spaulding runs their offensive sets.
The crowd might be the difference. Few crowds are louder and have more of an effect on a basketball game than the Merrimack student section. One announcer wearing a red tie and waving a towel won’t be enough to quiet them..In fact I hope they don’t think I’m with him..
We will have full coverage of this one as Justin McIsaac, Jon Kesty & I will have all the play by play, highlights and post-game interviews (me if Merrimack wins and McIsaac if Spaulding wins)
You can also listen to the broadcast live on www.mcisaaconsports.com
(6) Bedford at (3) Manchester Central @ 5:30pm
Regular season meeting: Central 76-68 on February 5th
Doc Wheeler and Manchester Central will be very happy in the knowledge Keene is not popping up on the schedule again this year. Central needed late game heroics from President Evan MacDonald twice this season to beat the Blackbirds and the second time advances them to Saturday nights quarterfinal.
Bedford lost to Concord (who was beaten by Division II Timberlane) two weeks ago and yet may be the most dangerous team in the bracket today. If that doesn’t sum up Division I in 2016 I’m not sure what does.
Colby Gendron, all 6’7 of him, is going to be the match-up problem for Central while Brayden Mareno & Josh Bauer will be counted on to hold the all-state backcourt of Jaylen Leroy and Jonathan Makori in check.
The close call with Keene either exposed Central’s fatal flaws (rebounding) or gave them the second life that propels them back to Durham after a one year absence.
Pete Tarrier and Jennifer Chick will bring you all the coverage Saturday night with play by play, highlights and post-game interviews with the winners.
(7) Winnacunnet at (2) Pinkerton Academy @ 4:30pm
Regular season meeting: Winnacunnet 63-53 on January 5th
The Warriors handed the Astros their first loss of the season in a game we covered Winnacunnet vs Pinkerton.
Saturday night Pinkerton will try to flip the script but will do it without leading scorer Brennan Morris Pinkerton scoring leaders who suffered a head injury last Sunday.
Morris may be back for the Division I semifinals in Durham but Pinkerton is going to have to beat a very good Winnacunnet team to get there. Liam Viviano and Anthony Primavera give Jay McKenna two ball handlers against pressure and Zach Waterhouse has developed into a knockdown shooter on the perimeter.
Winnacunnet will look for their opportunities pushing the basketball and then settle back into a zone that forces you to be patient. All in the hope that they can turn Pinkerton into a jump shooting team.
When Peter Rosinski’s team attacks the zone with either Matt Rizzo or Tommy Romick in the high post and Ben Olson on the low block they are very difficult to stop. When they stop the ball movement and settle for long jumpers they become just another team. Saturday night it largely comes down to how Winnacunnet handles Pinkerton’s zone traps and the quality of shots Pinkerton gets against that zone defense.