Wednesday 1/27

Nice Wednesday night slate to break up the week. . . 34-14 on the season


Game of the Night brought to you by Del Boca Vista Resort and Retirement homes
#8 Memorial v. #1 Pinkerton--
Height v. athleticism. . . unfortunately for Memorial though Pinkerton is pretty athletic as well. I predict another monster night for Olsen on the block. The Academy Rolls

Dover v. Bedford-- This is a must win for Bedford if they want to be a top 8 team. Dover will play hard, but won't be able to match with Gendron and Hughes. Bedford wins

#3 Merrimack v. South-- South is making a case to be a regular in the top 8 especially after their win against #7 Londonderry. Merrimack's defense is too much for South. Merrimack wins

#7 Londonderry v. Salem-- Coach Stanton v. his mentor. . . this has the building of a great game, but Londonderry is too much for Salem at this point in the season. Londonderry wins.

#2 Central v. Trinity-- City games always bring out the best in these ball clubs. I want to pick an upset here, but I feel that Central is too good and Trinity is still too streaking. If Trinity wants a shot to win they need to feed Walsh and Tricket in the post all night. . . Heck let's do it. . . Trinity wins.

5-2 start to the week, brings me to 29-7 overall. Great battles already this week will continue tonight.

Co-Game of the night: #8 Memorial v. #1 Pinkerton - The Crusaders bring the highest scoring offense in D1 at 80 points per game up against the Astros toughest defense which only allows 45 points per game. Both teams have a number of offensive weapons, any of whom can put in 20 points on any given night. The game comes down to which team can impose their will on the other team. Pinkerton stops the Crusaders early, and unless foul trouble rears its ugly head, Pinkerton wins big.

Co-Game of the night: #3 Merrimack v. South - South threw its hat into the contender ring with the win over Londonderry. Tonight is another measuring stick. Merrimack's swarming defense can stifle teams. Can South handle the pressure? Coming off the big win, South is on an emotional high. Frechette, Genao, Williams, and Osgood don't panic with the press. South wins an upset.

#2 Central v Trinity - Central's athleticism wins out. Trinity has not shown enough against some of the weaker teams. Central

#7 Londonderry v Salem - After two close losses against very good opponents, Londonderry needs a big win. After tonight, the Lancers have the toughest 5 game stretch of any team in NHIAA, playing Winni, Pinkerton twice, Merrimack and Central. Tonight, they get focused, and go into that stretch on a high note. Lancers.

Dover v Bedford - Dover comes in on a 4 game losing streak, and only has one win on the year. Bedford is too solid to have a let down tonight. Bedford defends home court.

Interesting article in the UL on Portsmouth moving up to D1, the moving down of Pembroke to D2 and the status of North with Steve Lane.


http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160128/SPORTS21/160128941

WOW. . . a night that is surely going to shake up the top 8 poll with both #3 Merrimack and #7 Londonderry losing to South and a Londonderry loss to Salem. Those South wins along with a hopeful win this Friday against Keene should put them securely in the top 8 this week.

It is interesting to see how Pembroke is struggling without the influence of Coach Alosa and the NH Raiders. Good to see Portsmouth is coming up to D1. . . Not only will they be able to hang, but they will be a force for the first couple years up.

Post game commentary:

Memorial v. Pinkerton: Memorial can score with anybody. They find the weakness in the defense and attack it. That makes them very dangerous to anyone in the division. But, this was a tale of two games. When Pinkerton had it's starting lineup in the game, they dominated. When they went to the bench, the game went the other way. Pinkerton's starting 5 is the best in the state. Imagine if Baker had stayed....

South v Merrimack - South is for real. No reason for Merrimack to hang their heads. These are two legitimate teams who deserve top 8 spots. If they play each other 10 times it would probably end up 5-5. Great game from both teams last night.

Central v Trinity - Fantastic competitive level by Trinity. This proves that they have it within them. Now they have to use this, and bring it every night. Also, Central now should know that they can't just show up. D1 is too competitive, and you need to come to play every night.

Salem v Londonderry - What the what !?!?!?!? Congrats to Salem! Not sure what got into them, but bottle it up. Merrimack, South, and Winni up next for the Blue Devils...Can they build off of this win? For Londonderry, time to take a deep breath. Big, big games in the next two weeks. Need to get their heads on straight, and get back to what got them the Exeter win.

Bedford v Dover - Bedford did their job. Now, they need another win over Keene before they go into their tough 4 game stretch. A win over Keene, and a split in the tough 4 games would put them at 9-4 heading into the run toward the playoffs. That's a solid position for them to be in under the new head coach.

Remember, this is High School basketball. Anything can happen on any given night, as Salem proved last night. It'll be a great second half of the season for all of us fans!

Spot on with your thought OnTheBlock. . . Here are a couple of mine to add to yours.

South is for real

Memorial is a contender not pretender

Londonderry is at make or break point for their season. . . the stretch of Winnacunnet, Pinkerton, Merrimack, Pinkerton and Central could leave this talented ball club doing no better than .500 on the season

Everyone is looking up at Pinkerton. . . They have the most talent, height and they are just as athletic as any team in the state. I really think they might have 4 all state guys in Rizzo, Morris, Romick and Olsen.

Central needs to develop a complete game. . . they live and die by the three too much. . . when they are hitting they are tough to beat, but if they are off. . . it is a long night, see the Pinkerton game.

We saw the Trinity everyone expected against Central. . . I'm not sure they can consistently repeat that effort.

Bedford is good. They have the ability to play with anyone in the state and are doing a great job of flying under the radar. Gendron, especially when he goes down low, and Hughes are a great 1-2 combo.