January 8th games

Some of the better matchups on Friday:

Londonderry at Trinity: The Lancers are a tougher team than a lot of people think. I don't think they can win this game, but I do think it can be a real close game. The biggest question is, will there be a phone booth for Hayden to change into his uniform and will he wear brown socks again?

Exeter at Alvrine: This is a pick em game, but Exeter might come away with the W. I'm just feeling better about the Blue Hawks right now than I am about the Broncos. I'm not ready to use the word enigmatic to describe Alvrine's season so far, but I do have this word ready to go if the Broncos keep on stumbling and bumbling.

Central at BG: This is an interesting game. Central's backcourt is a good one which will get better as the season progresses. The BG pressure will make the young guards for Central grow up quickly.

Dover at Salem: Brutal schedule week for Salem, but in the past 3 years if Salem was on your schedule then you had it brutal also. Dover is a team on a mission and it would take an unbelievable effort by the Blue Devils to get the W.

Memorial at Pinkerton: This is a pick em game. I think Pinkerton is better than a lot of people think and Shomari Morgan's health will be the key to this one. He came off the bench in the Concord game on Tuesday. If he's not 100%, then other people will have to step up for Memorial to have a happy bus ride home.

Pelham at Milford: I know this is the Class L side, but this is the game of the night in NH. The best atmosphere for a game will be in Milford between 7:00 and 8:30. This game has it all: power teams, star players, crazy fans and cameras all over the gym. I think Steve Spirou could be the most skilled player in NH. He is one of the best players in NH, but his set of skills, especially in the paint are remarkable. Pelham will have to deal with the Big 3 and some pretty good supporting Spartans. I don't know if Milford will shut down like Green Bay does when the Packers play, but the center of Milford will be the HS gym on Friday evening.

Memorial 58 Pinkerton 57 - I will post details later. I'm still processing the last 3 minutes of the game. There was a lot going on.

Dover 61 Salem 56 At halftime it was Dover 29 Salem 23. At the end of the 3rd it was Dover 42 Salem 37. With 1:30 left it was dover 53 Salem 51.

Trinity defeated Londonderry by 6.

South lost to Goffstown in OT, by 2 South is in for a long long season right now. A few seniors are already getting fewer minutes. Basora and A. Mucciloi played very well.

Basora tied up on a 3 point play with about 20 left.

But after South tied up and Goffstown missed a shot on 3-1 fast break with 5 seconds left A. Muccioli was called for a travel.

14 for Goffstown there best player got T up because he shoved Joseph out his his face. It was 100% Joseph fault and this really fired up Goffstown. Goffstown deserved win. South battled back all game never took the lead.

Joseph and Basora fouled on in OT

Memorial 58 Pinkerton 57

Memorial 10 17 8 23 - 58
Pinkerton 12 14 12 19 - 57

It's the little things in a close basketball game that makes a difference. The little things can be mental or they can be physical. It can be short rimming a FT. It can be taking advantage of referee confusion or it can be having a mental chasm that turns into a mental valley that can make or break a close game.

The game started out like a prize fight with both teams testing each other out slowly and methodically. The physical tone was set early as Williams and Curry bodied, held and shoved Fitzpatrick trying to limit his offensive space. Then, a seperate game started developing as Mahmutovic and Mathieu looked like 2 sumo wrestlers going at each other with a little bit of UFC thrown in with forearm shivers, elbows and hips being tossed around like pillow cushions. Neither player backed down to each other, but Mathieu had the upper hand early as he had 7 first half points. Chad Park had an excellent first half coming off the bench for the Astros scoring 7 points. His game is very similar to Sam Shelby, formerly of Memorial, as he runs the court quickly and knows when to shoot and knows when to pass. Memorial had balanced scoring in the first half as 7 Crusaders found the scoring column. Proulx was kept under wraps in the 1st half by a combination of McLean, Couture and Morgan. Speaking of Morgan, he was at about 60 to 70 percent. His offensive burst of energy is hampered now by his leg injury, but he did get after it on defense.

The 3rd quarter was much like the first quarter with the 2 prize fighters leaning on each other on the ropes as Pinkerton out scored Memorial 12 - 8. The 4th quarter had multiple lead changes and ties, but then the game got real interesting with 2:41 to go in the game. Memorial was up 48 to 46. The Crusaders were running an offensive set when Mahmutovic set a pick at the top of the key. He was pushed and fouled by a Pinkerton player. As the refs performed their duties of reporting the foul and getting ready for the FTs C. Fitz stepped to the line to take the Fts. The refs looked at each other while Rosinski starts yelling to the refs they have the wrong player at the line. The refs get together and discuss the situation while Rosinski is still yelling that Edhem should be at the line. The refs decide to put Matt Couture at the line. Memorial caught a break as Couture cans the 2 FTs to put Memorial up 50 - 46. Rosinski looked like he had severe case of indigestion as he waved his hands in disgust. Pinkerton didn't score on their next possession and Memorial comes down and with 2:10 left C. Fitz drains a 3 from the corner as Proulx fouls him. Fitz hits the FT to complete the 4 point play and give Memorial their largest lead of the night at 54 - 46. This was the most important 30 seconds of the game. It gave Memorial a valuable cushion which they needed in the next 2 minutes as Pinkerton clawed back into the game with Proulx and Mathieu scoring quick hoops and hitting key FTs to get the Astros back in the hunt.

With 30 seconds left and Memorial up 55 - 51 Mahmutovic took a VERY ILL ADVISED 3 point attempt and then fouled Proulx when he gained possession. Luckily, for Memorial, Proulx short rimmed both FTs and Fitzpatrick was fouled. 2 easy points, correct? Wrong! Fitz hits the first FT and then hits the 2nd FT, but the point is taken away as a Memorial player(remember my aforementioned part about a mental chasm becoming a mental valley?) steps into the lane early on the 2nd FT. Wipe away the point and Memorial has a 56 - 51 lead with 20 seconds to go. Chad Park cooly drains a nothing but net 3 with 12 seconds remaining to make it 56 - 54. Mathieu fouls Zenni immediately on the inbounds. Zenni cans both FTs and there is NO LANE VIOLATION as the previous violator is sitting safely by Coach Fitzpatrick. Proulx swishes a 3 with 4 - 5 seconds to go to make it 58 - 57 and with Pinkerton out of TOs, Fitzpatrick throws the ball down court as time expires. Whew!!

Proulx and Mathieu both had excellent games with 18 each. Mathieu had 5 blocks. Park finished with 10 points and made many good decisions on the court. The Astros are in good hands with this 5'7 junior playing the point position. Alex Patrikis has some good funk to his game which is likeable. At 6'4 he compliments the dynamic duo of Proulx and Mathieu very nicely. He angles his body around the basket in a good way.

Vinnie Zenni had 10 points and was key for Memorial with nice slash finishes to the basket compensating for Morgan's loss of scoring. Matt Couture finished with 10 points and had some sweet assists and some important steals. Dan McLean had 8 points and battled Proulx and Mathieu all night not giving in on any part of the hard court. Morgan had 4 points all on FTs, but was only running on 5 of his 8 cylinders. Marchawicz had a key 3 and a Fg. Fitz finished with 14 points on 8 - 8 FT shooting. With Morgan not at 100% it was a good hard earned road victory for Memorial. Neither team had a double digit lead all night and this game was the pick em game I thought it would be from start to finish. Sometimes it's the little things that can win or lose a game for a team. Hopefully, lesson learned for both sides.

Nice recap...seriously you should think about contributing somewhere - your writing and analogies are fun to read and to the point, nice job. Here's my feeble attempt that will be posted on NHSportsPage.com by tomorrow....

Dover 61 - Salem 56

Being tagged as the best player in the State early on in the season can be a burden for some. Being targeted night in and night out by opposing coaches and having the pressure in crunch time to come through when your team needs you the most can be a lot to live up to. For Alex Burt, its becoming a nightly occurrence. Burt is largely considered the best player in Class L, and the undisputed scoring leader for a Dover team that’s impressed since they won the BST Summer League tournament and more recently when they were crowned the champions of the QCIBT in Manchester.

Tonight was no different, and Dover would need every one of Burt’s 24 points to close out a 61-56 victory on the road in Salem. His 2 free throws following an Alex LaRosa (18 points) 3-pointer with 3 seconds to play would create the final margin of victory and cumulate a night where Burt was 5 for 5 from the line, adding to his previous 22 straight free throws dating back to the Semifinals in the QCIBT. There was more than one player on the floor for Dover on this night however (although at times it was hard to tell watching Burt weave through the lane coming off double and triple screens) and with all the attention paid to Burt, Rory Duffy was able to take advantage from outside, hitting 5 three pointers en route to 19 points.

Both Salem and Dover began the game in a stingy man-to-man defense, and a slight holiday hangover, as the first quarter was scrappy and turnover prone. The premiere matchup of “Alex’s”, that being Alex LaRosa for Salem and Alex Burt for Dover, was front and center, with the two guards defensively matched up against one another. Burt would begin the night hot, scoring 11 of Dover’s 16 points in the first quarter. Salem countered with Joseph Gallant and Michael Lorenz down low, an option that would be available to the Blue Devils much of the evening. After 1, Dover held a slight edge, 16-14, but held the feeling that they were in control.

The second quarter began with a Salem run that included a deep LaRosa 3 from the right wing, and a pretty drive and dish to Gallant for 2 of his 15 points. Dover would stick to the perimeter game, and went cold for stretches enabling Salem to extend their lead to 20-16. Coach EJ Perry had his Salem squad running very deliberate offensive possessions, at one point taking over 90 seconds off the clock and running upwards of 4 plays in the possession looking for an open look. Burt would create an opportunity for Duffy finding him open on the baseline for a 3, which he would follow up 15 seconds later off a steal with another deep 3 to give the lead back to Dover at 22-20. Dover would continue the run and close the quarter out on a 11-3 run that included a beautiful left handed floater in the lane by Burt and a Keenan Al-Darraji 3 pointer with 2 seconds on the clock. Dover coach Mike Romps had his offense clicking, and feeding off solid defensive pressure in the halfcourt.

The half-closing 3 pointer by Al-Darraji obviously did not sit well with Perry and he had his kids up the tempo out of the lockerroom, pressuring full court defensively, and offensively making a deliberate effort to feed both Gallant and Lorenz on the post. Utilizing a hi-lo offense and setting flex-screens for the big men posed matchup problems for the already undersized Dover front line (who’s tallest regular only stands 6’ 3”) to the tune of 10 straight points by the duo (6 for Lorenz and 4 for Gallant). Salem would regain the lead at 35-31. But as so typically occurs in high school basketball, Dover responded with a run of their own with Burt taking a pass on the break, turning and finishing a left hand layup. Morgan Faustino would finish a Burt pass and Duffy 3 would close out the quarter with Dover up 42-37.

The final frame would begin how the 3rd period ended, with Duffy nailing another 3 and Burt picking LaRosa’s pocket and finishing over Gallant to create a 10 point advantage for Dover. LaRosa would do his best to bring Salem back, hitting 3 3 pointers in the 4th, but it was evident that Salem had got away from what created their lead early in the 3rd, using their size advantage inside and getting their big men to the rim. A quick 7 point run by Salem would close the margin to 1 with 3 minutes to play, but it was time for Burt to step up and exert his closing ability by scoring a 3 from the top of the key to break the run and make it a 53-49 lead. With Dover in the bonus, free throws by Al-Darraji and Burt down the stretch would ensure the victory for the Green Wave in what was a tough game on the road.

Now, Dover (3-0) finally gets to return home after 2 regular season victories and a QCIBT championship, not bad for a 3 week stretch on the road. Looking forward they should not overlook an improved Spaulding team prior to a matchup with Bishop Guertin in Nashua on the 15th. Dover has the pieces, but you wonder how they’ll contend against a team with dominate big men like Pinkertons Zach Mathieu and Ben Proulx. But when you’ve got Class L’s returning scoring champion, a supporting cast of fundamentally sound role players and a strategy that plays to your teams strengths, every game is winnable.

Salem’s had a tougher road, getting no help from the NHIAA scheduling gods, facing Nashua North, Pinkerton and now Salem in their first 3 games, not to mention the tough Greater Lawrence Basketball Tournament where they faced some stiff Massachusetts competition. The road doesn’t get any less hazardous as they travel to Manchester Tuesday night to face a Memorial squad coming off a big win at Pinkerton. Despite their 0-3 record, Salem’s makeup is one of a contender, with 2 solid big-men (Lorenz and Gallant), and a point guard (LaRosa) who can score with some of the best guards in the state, they’ll be competitive in virtually every game they play.

SALEM

Alex LaRosa – 18 pts
Matt Cannone – 6
Joe Gallant – 15
Mike Lorenz – 8
John Klecan – 4
Jake Matthews – 5

DOVER

Kenaan Al-Darraji – 9
Alex Burt – 24
Justin Dube – 2
Morgan Faustino – 7
Rory Duffy – 19

"Feeble attempt?" I think not ASST. Good job with the Dover - Salem recap and thanks for your nice words.

You mentioned "slight holiday hangover" in your game. The start of the Memorial - Pinkerton game had the dreaded SHH also. Mahmutovic and Mathieu looked like they were trying out for the wrestling team at their respective schools in the first half.

I see Alvrine became less enigmatic tonight with their solid 64 - 49 victory over Exeter.

At 0-3 Salem, South and Exeter all face must wins next Tuesday. Exeter hosts Keene, but both Salem (at Memorial) and South (at West) will have difficult tasks to stay away from starting the season at 0 - 4.

I just discovered some interesting FT stats from tonight's Memorial - Pinkerton game:

Memorial shot 21 - 25 from the FT line.

Pinkerton shot 16 - 20 from the FT line.

This means 37 points or nearly one third of the total 115 game points came from the FT line. There was a double foul called in the 1st half. Mathieu connected on a "Chuck Norris" elbow to Edhem's face that rocked him backwards a step. Of course, the retaliation shove by Edhem was whistled for the foul. Having 1/3 of the points coming from the charity stripe is indicative of the physical will that both teams tried to impose on each other early and often in the game.

Sounds like it was a good one....I almost went to that game but glad I decided to go to Salem considering you covered Pinky/Memorial at length. We'll need to coordinate our efforts in the future so not to duplicate efforts!

Check the NHSportsForum twitterfeed for links to all the recaps around the state this morning...

Also a link to Eric Emmerlings blog where overviews the states best 3 point shooters.

http://twitter.com/nhsportsforum

Excellent recap of the games in HS basketball on WGAM this morning from 8 to 10 am. If you missed it you can download it off their web site. They had interviews with coaches, stats and commentaries.

Some interesting notes from the show:

- Alex Burt was cut from 5 AAU teams as a freshman.

- Coach Romps stated that if the POY was given away today that Burt would win it hands down.

- Coach Romps had some really nice commentary on the play of Gallant from Salem last night.

- Coach Migneault was questioned by Pete Tarrier about his rotation system and asked him if in some game if he wouldn't want to just go with a rotation of his top 8 players and see how it goes. Coach Mig said for his system and how he approaches the 4th quarter for fresh legs with the pressing style he employs, that the rotation of 8 wouldn't work for BG.

- Mike Fitzpatrick said he was honored by the choice his son made to transfer to Memorial to be coached by him for his senior year.

- Coach Murray mentioned time and time again about the mutual respect that Pelham and Milford players have for one another and how it was displayed last night during the game. He termed it "healthy basketball." He also stated that the same thing exists between his players and the Souhegan players for their match up next Tuesday.

- WGAM's peak performer this week was Richard Valentin of West and his 38 point performance in Keene last night. Richard scored his 38 points with 10 two pointers, 5 three pointers and 3 FTs. Their honorable mention was Alex Burt with the 16 - 16 performance from the FT line Tuesday at North and the 24 points he scored in Salem last night. Mention was also made of Goffstown's Alec Stephens' 21 points in their 57 - 55 OT victory over South on Friday.

Hey I am on the WGAM website and I do not see how to download this mornings interviews. Anyone know how or can direct me to the correct spot?

Thanks

ChiKid - Click the link that says FNLNH and you'll find what you're looking for.

I could not download it either, it just plays it.

It's working fine on my computer. I must have an IABBO computer. The volume is low when any of the interviews or commentary play. turn up the volume on your speakers when you hit play.