Jan. 24th Games

No threat of 1/32nd of an inch of snow or Flash Freezes, so I think ALL the games might be played tonight.


Salem at Keene: The woes for the Blackbirds will probably continue.

North at Dover: The Green Wave woes will probably continue.

Timberlane at South: The Owl woes will probably continue.

Winny at Bedford: Will the Bulldog woes continue?

Trinity at Spaulding: The Pioneers should keep on the winning track.

BG at Memorial: One of the games of the night. If both teams run both could score in the 80s.

Central at Londonderry: This was probably the game of the night until Coveney injured his shoulder against BG. He'll be out for this game.

Concord at Merrimack: This game could be a lot closer than you would think.

Pinkerton at Exeter: Another one of the games of the night. This is a must win game for Exeter to get back in the upper D1 echelon mix. If Pinkerton wins this it will be an early signature win for them because their schedule hasn't been that difficult so far.

Some pretty good match ups tonight in D1 Land as we start to approach the half way mark, interesting story lines developing as well: Some good games to go to this evening....Stay Warm.

SALEM vs. KEENE : Awful long ride to pick up a W, Can they pony express it? Gas $3.50 a gallon! Blackbirds should be considering d2 route as well or even joining the VT High School Division's save on Gas and all. Just a conservative thought, Not much to this game but a w. for Salem.....................................................SALEM W.

CENTRAL vs. LONDONDERRY : With or Without Coveny along night for Londonderry, Londonderry a good little Team but CENTRAL IS THE CREAM, tooooooo many Weapons and Londonderry gets their first look at a complete team with depth, Central will roll...............................................................................................CENTRAL W.

NORTH vs. DOVER: NORTH just a much better team, Dover could scrap it's way into this game for awhile but they a very weak and Romp's doesn't see it getting better anytime soon. North has a couple of weapons, most notably Lates and will work hard for Lane but they pretty weak as well............................................NORTH W.

TRINITY vs. SPAULDING: Spaulding been hanging tough with a couple of nice wins but the meat of the schedule start's now and Trinity will punish them,,,TRINITY W.

TIMBERLAND vs. SOUTH: Finally someone with some sense comes through, Timby moving to D2, 5 years to late, but you have to start somewhere, it's good for them!!! bring some winning back to build a program one step at a time it's good for the Kid's ect. ect. ect.....................Just not soon enough.............................SOUTH W.

WINNACUNNET vs. BEDFORD : Seems like Winny hasn't played in a month and Bedford finally win's for first time in Month,Interesting Match up as Winny wins the guard play and Bedford should dominate the boards....Here's believing that defense creates easier offense not visa versa.....................................................BEDFORD W.

BG vs. MEMORIAL : BG another whole week off, believe it hurts momentum and rythme in the game a basketball, especially with youth's. Memorial better of Late and putting up big number's, Game should be good one, BG will have their hands full if everyone show's for Memorial.........................................................MEMORIAL W.

CONCORD vs. MERRIMACK : Good game, Concord should have some run's but the Merri bus is cruising, Don't think Concord has enough....MERRIMACK W.

PINKERTON vs. EXETER: Have good info that starting point guard and Captain Holler is out of this game with flu, Exeter will go point guard by committee with out it's floor general and could struggle against confident bigger Pinky. Interesting to see if Exeter rallies around situation to pull it out, Pinky playing well but Exeter has handled them relatively easily in earlier Scrimmages...........Losing Holler is Big for this team..................Makes it a toss up...................................................................................EXETER W.


see you on the hardwood..................................................................................................

Winny 4-2 @ Bedford 1-5. Bedford has played teams with a record of 29-11. Not too shabby. Winny's four wins come against teams with combined records of 4-20. Their two losses against teams that are 10-3. Big game tonight for both.

BG 6-1 @ Memorial 3-3. Points will be scored tonight. Over/under 148.5

Concord 3-3 @ Merrimack 6-0. On the scoreboard Concord has played Trinity and Londonderry tough. (One-point win at Londonderry is impressive) Merrimack in between a big win with South on Tuesday and Central on Monday.

North 2-5 @ Dover 0-7. Dover has nothing to show for seven straight, except Romps is still coaching 'em up. Record of teams played so far is 33-11. North's two wins vs. West and Bedford (2-11 combined) Green Wave will be tough tonight.

Pinkerton 5-2 @ Exeter. Good contest. Exeter can match with Medley's size. They have also played the more difficult schedule.

Salem 1-3 @ Keene 0-6. Salem begins its 7 games in 14 day stretch with a nice ride to Keene.

Central 6-0 @ Londonderry 5-1. Interesting match-up. Too bad Coveney is out. Nothing needs to be said about Central.

Timberlane 0-6 @ South 3-2. South, who has played teams with records of 25-8, is looking to rebound after two straight. They will press Timby for 32.

Trinity 6-1 @ Spaulding 5-3. Red Raiders' five wins against teams with records of 8-24. 3 losses are against teams 13-5. Still worry about playing them in Rochester.

And in DII,

Pembroke 7-0 @ Kingswood 0-7. Pembroke plays its 6th game on the road this season. They have four wins against teams with combined records of 20-8 and 3 wins against teams that are 7-18. Against that first group their average margin of victory is 8-points. Against the second group it's 33. That's a big difference. Kingswood have lost by an average of 25 ppg. It could be double that tonight. Pembroke's next test will be Portsmouth next Thursday.

Londonderry vs Central boys times are J.V. at 6 and Varsity at 7:30

Some potentially good matchups in D-2 tonight, including a couple of north country teams near the top of the standings.

Plymouth (7-1) at Windham (5-2).  Plymouth has one quality win over Kennett (6-1), but the rest of their wins are against lower echelon teams. Could be a quiet bus ride back up 93 for the Bobcats.

Coe-Brown (4-2) at Kennett (6-1).  Same story with Kennett, but they'll have home cooking tonight.  

Portsmouth (5-1) at Hollis/Brookline (4-2).  Could be the game of the night.  H/B's two losses were to Windham by 6 and Pembroke by 12, and Portsmouth has won five straight after dropping their opener to Pelham.

mmartineaunhti2015 wrote:Londonderry vs Central boys times are J.V. at 6 and Varsity at 7:30

Not sure where you got that information. I am pretty sure they are at 5:30 and 7:00

Coach Wheeler told me those times today

Winni over bedford 54-50

A friend told me that Pembroke won 105-42 in Kingswood's Gym. I could see maybe in your own gym, but to score this many in an away game against a team that is really struggling? Not classy in my book.

Here is a article about Central's 68-49 win over Londonderry by Roger Brown of the UL.

Producing points from behind the 3-point line was about the only thing the Londonderry High School boys’ basketball team did better than Manchester Central on Friday night, and that wasn’t nearly enough. Unbeaten Central pounced on Londonderry early and never trailed in its 68-49 victory. A 12-0 run helped Central build an 11-point lead after one quarter, and Londonderry never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. “I liked the way we came out,” Central coach Doc Wheeler said. “A lot of opponents are going to be ready to play us. Physically we’re not overwhelming, so we have to do it by playing harder, smarter and more together. If you don’t come out ready to play, you’re going to get popped. This group is really developing a businesslike attitude.” Londonderry’s 49-point output was its second-lowest of the season — Londonderry beat Spaulding of Rochester 37-30 — and nearly half of the Lancers’ points came on their eight 3-pointers. “We didn’t come out and set the tone,” Londonderry coach Nate Stanton said. “It’s tough to creep back against a team like that. They play tough defense.” Londonderry played without senior guard Drew Coveney, who suffered a separated shoulder in last week’s victory over Bishop Guertin of Nashua. Stanton said he expects Coveney to be back for Friday’s home game against rival Pinkerton Academy of Derry. Central, which raised its Division I record to 7-0, had a 39-21 edge in rebounding. Central’s Brett Hanson, a junior guard, led all scorers with 26. Senior guard Jon Martin added 20 and junior Joey Martin finished with 13. Senior guard Max Coleman tossed in a team-high 10 for Londonderry, which fell to 5-2. Freshman guard Jake Coleman and senior forward Brendan Enwright each scored nine. “They’re a good basketball team,” Stanton said. “They play with confidence and they play with a purpose.” Central led 29-16 at halftime and 52-31 after three quarters. A Jake Coleman 3-pointer made it a 31-21 game early in the third, but Central responded with a 9-2 spurt that stretched the lead to 17 midway through the third. Central will face Merrimack, the only other unbeaten team in Division I, Monday night in Manchester. Merrimack improved to 7-0 by beating Concord 59-30 on Friday. ““The thing I like about my group is they listen and they work on the things that we’re weak at,” Wheeler said. “Our guys work hard and I’m proud of the effort. I told the kids we have a tough Friday and a tough Monday.”

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140124/SPORTS21/140129583/1003/sports

Middleschoolball

What would you have Pembroke do? By halftime Alosa had put all of his bench in even playing his last 3 subs most of the third and fourth quarters! Should they have just dribbled the ball around, not shoot, and have the refs blow the whistle for the five second call on every Pembroke possession? You can't just pass the ball for an entire half of a basketball game..

What was the half time score?  There are things that a team should and can do so not to completely embarrass their opponent. Run offense, make an extra pass, no 3's, no fast-breaks, play zone...I could go on.   The 60 point, 105-42, win was, in my opinion, completely classless.   I will bet that they celebrated when the broke 100.

Funny how nobody cared or called Exeter "classless" when they beat Keene by 50 two weeks ago, Or when Central beat them 81-30. How about when Brady girls beat Hillsboro-Deering 58-9 even better/worse Pinkerton 61 over Timberlane 3 ???? Don't you worry, nobody came out of their seats to "celebrate" or shoot off graffiti cannons when Pembroke hit 100. Just looking for an excuse to hate on Pembroke.....

If Coach Alosa had his subs in early in the second half as was reported, what else are you supposed to do? The guys on the bench who don't get much time want to play basketball. Despite the mismatch, the game can be played respectfully while actually still playing. From the losing team's standpoint, I hope the coach kept teaching and his players kept working hard. There are good lessons to be learned when your team is getting destroyed. Coach Alosa has been in the game for a long time and although I wasn't there, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt on this one for handling the situation properly. It is far more disrespectful to make a mockery of the game by holding the ball for extended periods of time or turning down layups.

Agree with dj5 - unless the reserves were pressuring the ball full court to create turnover after turnover, you can't ask them to completely stop playing. If the other coach gave a lot of players on his team that don't get regular minutes time as well, that could have also contributed to final spread. Not much else can be done when a team is overmatched like that.

I wasn't at the game, so I am not sure how the situation was handled.   I was schooled by a HS coach to believe the # 100 isn't a good one. Unless, he said, the score is 100-90. He never buried an opponent and he always professed, if a team was trying to hang 100 on our team, he would have one of our players shoot the ball in the opponent's basket.  He was old and stubborn, so that's what I learned.

I don't believe anyone or any team should ever stop playing, but as I stated, there are things a team, that is as strong and dominating as Pembroke, can do.  I don't suggest a team stop taking lay-ups or dribble until you get a five second count. That would be disrespectful.  I also do not support striking out intentionally in baseball. (Remember the difficult situation the Londonderry baseball was in last spring.)

I was not at the game, therefore  I do not know the kind of pressure the defense put on or if any 3-pointers were taken.   Answers to those questions would tell us a lot.  Pembroke is a powerhouse, no doubt.  As a result, the players on the end of their bench get many opportunities to perform in games as well as in practice against a top-flight group of regulars.  I guarantee the subs will get time next week at home vs. 1-6 Souhegan.  

I don't hate Pembroke. I have not seen them play in an NHIAA sanctioned game in about eight years.   Someone mentioned last night's score on this thread and I responded with what I honestly and sincerely believe.  I think there are things a coach can do...however, I wasn't at the game and I wasn't at Keene's 35-72 loss to BG, or their 25-73 loss at Exeter, or their 30 - 81 loss @ Central. Pembroke beat John Stark 89-35.   They beat MV 76-33.   I have no problem with any of those aforementioned victories.  Maybe I only have a problem with the # 105?

3bouys - I heard Exeter was shooting technicals before the game against Pinkerton started. What was that about?

9 times out of 10 that relates to a problem with the roster entered in the official book at the scorer's table. Will be interesting to hear if it relates to something else.

The technical was due to a Pinkerton player dunking during pre-game. Exeter hit both free throws. So, the game started 2-0 Exeter, and they jumped out quick in the first quarter. Pinkerton settled in, and it was a tight game throughout the 2nd half. Luckily, the technical did not determine the outcome in the game.

105 - 42?

Clearly Pembroke ran up the score, Citing other games where the score got ran up is not excuse. (I heard Pat had 37 and played the whole game)

This is about Pat W scoring his 2000 points. They have to let him play in order to get the number, I highly doubt PA would do it for any other reason, they certainly don't need to make a point as the state champs. There is no upside except to get Pat W to 2000.

I bet it was uncomfortable for all involved, Kingswood, Alosa, Pat running around against inferior players.

People hate on PA because of PA's actions, nothing more.

FYI Pat did NOT play the whole game! Kingswood had a videographer there taping the game ask for the footage....

86 of their 105 scored by 4 of their starters.  Did the 5th not score and the bench added 21?  How long did those starters stay in?  Did they have 86 at the half? Does Pembroke not film their games too?

The horse is dead... Bashing a team gets old fast. If you're not going to dump on other teams for their margins or perhaps only allowing 3 points (and if I recall correctly as reported here the *first 3* points of the game), then why jump on the Pembroke bashing bandwagon? I agree 100+ is a tough score to read, but move on. Talented team offensively. Regardless of what you do some days, every shot goes in. There may be other days they won't and all can rejoice   

I believe the Timberlane girls score by quarter was 2-0-1-0....so I don't think they scored the first 3 of the game.

http://www.eagletribune.com/sports/x651173530/Pinkerton-holds-Timberlane-to-3-points-in-game

I agree with JAF, this has turned into Pembroke bashing. As a former coach, I have been on both sides of this situation. There is no easy answer here. Make five passes? A lot of people consider that taunting the opposition. How about a mercy rule, just stop the game when down 40? Teams will play to get there even quicker, to show they power. AAU has running clocks at certain levels. Certainly would be a change from history. Stop putting up scores, or don't count the lead teams points once they get up by a certain amount? We are talking high school, not 3/4 travel. Any of these solutions still provide a level of discomfort/awkwardness. Also, has anyone seen the Kingswood boys or Timberlane girls coaches/AD come out and say anything about the scores? I have not. I imagine the coaches and players are competitive people and took their lumps.