Friday 1/29

Wednesday was a tough 2-3 night for me. . . bringing my record to 36-17  

Game of the Night brought to you by DirecTv now partnered with AT&T  
#1 Pinkerton v. #4 North
This should be a classic heavyweight fight. . . North's Silva and Hale are playing great basketball despite a tough loss to Memorial.  Pinkerton keeps improving every game on the court, they are the only team in the state with 4 legitimate All State players, Rizzo, Morris, Romick and Olsen.  There will be a lot of interesting match ups on the court night, Silva v. Rizzo; Olsen v. McCarthy; Hale v. Morris.  I think the X factor tonight will be Morris at 6'4'' with the ability to shoot and attack the rim he will be too much for a talented North team.  Pinkerton wins a tight one.

#2 Central v. BG-- BG is a young group still trying to figure out how to be consistent from night to night.  They could be a team that could surprise come playoffs when Migs get through to them, but right now they are not there.  Central wins.

Alvirne v. Concord-- I have said it before and I will say it again. . . I really like the way that Alvirne plays, they are just missing consistent scoring.  When Concord is a one man show they are easy to beat.  Alvirne wins

Trinity v. Dover-- Trinity almost pulled the upset Wednesday against Central.  If they can perform with that intensity night in and night out, they would be where we all thought they would be at the beginning of the season.  Trinity wins

Bedford v. Keene-- Bedford is a surprising 2 loss team.  A win tonight and they will for sure be in next week's top 8.  Bedford wins

Spaulding v. #8 Memorial -- Spaulding will need to be able to grind out possession to have a shot in this game.  Memorial wins.

Salem v. #3 Merrimack-- Will the real Salem please stand up?  Lost to Concord, beat Londonderry. . . Salem is a team that will figure it out by the end of the year and be a dangerous playoff team.  Merrimack is coming off a loss.  Did Cummings play?  He is the only player on Merrimack that can consistently create his own offense, without him they can become stagnant.  Merrimack wins.

#6 Winnacunnet v. #7 Londonderry--  Londonderry needs a win badly and the stretch ahead of them does not get easier, #6 Winny, #1 Pinkerton, #3 Merrimack, #1 Pinkerton and #2 Central.  Londonderry has shown signs of being a top tier team, but they have lacked consistency.  With the stretch ahead of them they could easily end up 3-9.  Winnacunnet plays an extended 2-3 zone which should play into Londonderry's advantage, they love to shoot.  Londonderry wins a tight one and gets a tough stretch off on the right foot.

#5 Exeter v. Pembroke-- Too much fire power on Exeter for Pembroke.  Exeter wins.

4-1 on Wednesday…..33-8 on the season

#1 Pinkerton v. #4 North – The Astro train is rolling right now. Silva will get his opportunities tonight, but Pinkerton has enough size and athleticism to stop Hale from getting clean looks. Pinkerton should overplay Hale, and have Rizzo, Romick, and Morris with a hand in his face all night. And, if he brings it down, and takes it to the hole, he’ll run into a 6’7” Olson waiting to swat his inside shots. Someone else is going to have to step up for North in a big way tonight. Can’t see it happening. Pinkerton wins with an exclamation point!

#2 Central v. BG – After scoring over 70 in 3 of their first 4 games, Central hasn’t hit 60 since. They are due for a big scoring night, and unfortunately, BG doesn’t have the horses to stop them. Olivieri will be the one standout tonight for BG. But Central wins big.

Salem v. #3 Merrimack – Salem is on a high after a commanding win over the Lancers. Has something finally clicked with them? Merrimack has been in dog fights in their last 3 games with close wins over Exeter and Londonderry, and a well fought loss to South. Tonight, Mack’s D takes over in the middle of the game, leaving Salem searching for answers again. Merrimack with the W.

#5 Exeter v. Pembroke – Feeling sorry for Pembroke. Tough one to watch. Exeter puts more distance between the top and bottom of D1. Exeter wins.

#6 Winnacunnet v. #7 Londonderry – The Lancers are reeling, and truly need a win. But Winni’s resume is impressive. They are 6 points away from an undefeated season right now. Big wins over Pinkerton and Memorial says that this team is on the path to UNH. Winni gets another notch in its resume tonight.

Spaulding v. #8 Memorial – Spaulding is so defensively based that it actually hurts them in this type of match up. Only twice this season have the Fighting McIsaacs (thanks Mr. Haley) crossed the 50 point threshold on offense only twice this season. Even the Astro’s gave up 67 to Memorial. Too much firepower. Scott is very impressive!! Memorial wins.

Alvirne v. Concord – Alvirne grinds and does it’s job. Broncos come away with the W.

Trinity v. Dover – Trinity keeps momentum and gets the Win.

Bedford v. Keene – Bedford keeps plugging and takes care of business.

7-2 on the night, 40-10 on the season.

#1 Pinkerton - Solid week with wins over Memorial & North. Teams can't shut down just 1 guy. The Astros are starting to separate themselves, and have 2 games vs. their rivals Londonderry this week.

#2 Central - Tight win over Trinity, and a rough loss to BG. They need to get refocused to remain in this position. Need 2 wins over Concord and Bedford this week.

#3 Merrimack - Tough week. A loss to a good South team, followed by an overtime victory vs the Blue Devils. Looking at the Lancers & Winni this week. Need at least a split to stay in the mix.

#4 North - Big losses to Pinkerton and Memorial has them moving down the rankings. They are now 1-3 vs. Upper D1 teams. Need to take care of business vs. Spaulding, then head into the Nashua Championship game on Saturday.

#5 Exeter - Took care of Salem & Pembroke this week as they should have. Need to continue to take care of business vs. Alvirne and Winni next week.

#6 Winnicunnet - Tough loss to Londonderry left them 1-1 on the week. Games vs. Merrimack & Exeter are going to tell us all exactly where this team belongs in this division.

#7 Londonderry - 1-2 week, but stopped the 3 game losing streak with a big win over Winni. But now have to face Pinkerton, Merrimack and Pinkerton again in a 6 day stretch. AT 4-4 have we given the defending champs too much credit? Don't blink, this could be a 4-7 team by this time next week. Lancers need to step up.

#8 Memorial - 1-1 Week, with a more distant than the score showed loss to Pinkerton. With Bedford and Trinity this week, I'd expect Memorial to continue to bully teams, and win both games big.

Don't look now, but Nashua South had 2 big wins this week. Big game against North on Friday could vault them right back in the mix of things.

Bedford is 7-2, but getting no respect. This week they get a chance to earn it with games against Memorial & Central. By the end of this week, we'll know where they stand.

Fun week as many of the top teams, and top rivals go head to head. Will the elite teams separate themselves, or is this truly a wide open Division? We'll have a clearer picture by the end of this week.