BST Basketball Central Division

There was some good hoops at BST Central tonight:

Memorial beat Dover by about 5 in double OT in a tight intense basketball game. Didn't see too much of this one so I don't have any details.

Central destroyed Pembroke by about 35. Central has that team feeling of "on a mission" for this upcoming season after experiencing an "unlike" Central year last season. Fair warning for future Little Green opponents: They look to be bringing the defensive pressure with this new squad. The old Nolan Smith 40 (32 for HS) Minutes of Hell comes to mind.

Trinity was beating Merrimack by double figures with about 4 minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, I didn't see the conclusion. Trinity's length gave Merrimack a lot of problems at all ends of the court. David Madol was David Madol. Sophomore Mabour Gabriel was impressive with his hustle and length as he kept the ball alive on numerous Pioneer offensive possessions. Floras had a good game with a few nice takes, but the Trinity defensive pressure and Gendron being the only other legitimate Merry scoring option made points hard to come by for the Tomohawks. Freshman Pat Keefe had a nice finish for the Pioneers.

This Wednesday at 7 pm Memorial plays Central in the Fieldhouse gym. It should be a friendly game between Queen City rivals.

Trinity and Dover played an interesting game at SNHU tonight. Trinity was missing Madol, Lauderdale and a couple of others, so I was disappointed because I was looking forward to 2 of the better teams in the Central Division squaring off. It did prove to be an entertaining game. Spoiler alert: I didn't see the conclusion, but what I saw was very interesting. Dover took an early double digit lead. Coach Keefe was not happy and used a couple of TOs early. remember this because it would be a big factor at the end of the game. Dover took a solid lead into the second half and then they went into a laizze-faire coccoon. Trinity took advantage of this with Hamel hitting a couple of deep 3's and Aluko finishing down low. Faustino seemed very happy to operate on the perimeter by taking outside shots. This seemed to bring Dover down. Trinity crept back into the game and took a 1 point lead late in the game. Trinity is up by 1 with just under 5 seconds to go and Viscerallo was inbounding the ball on Trinity's defensive baseline. His head said 4 seconds on the inbound count and he still had the ball so he calls TO, except Trinity has no TOs left. Trinity now loses possession and Dover receives 2 Fts on the technical. Talk about a swing of momentum !!! Al -D makes the first tech ft to tie it up, but rims the second one. Dover inbounds the ball and gets it to Al-D for the last shot, but he misses.

What happened in the OT? I couldn't stay because the wife called and said it was pooring cats, dogs, foxes and skunks. She wasn't home and the windows were open. I had to skeedaddle out of SNHU. To find out the result you'll have to check Jeremy's Notebook. That's why Jeremy gets the big blogging $$$. He can cover T&F's blogging behind with open windows on a rainy night.

Good Lord T&F.... are you working for Jeremy now?

That plug is Lebronworthy (well not quite but hyperbole is my forte)

Tully, I am only a passionate behind the scene HS basketball fan. Jeremy is on his way to being an iconic HS basketball fixture in the state of NH. There was one point at SNHU last night when there were about 4 Jr High players wanting to take a look at Jeremy's NOTEBOOK to see if he had rankings of Jr High players or Jr High teams that he was writing down. Jeremy, being the icon-in-training that he is, handled the situation with aplomb, by telling the young NH Notebook fans that he doesn't rank Jr High teams or players. He then fielded questions from these future Tuesday and Friday night players with ease. This situation shows the far reaching power of the NH Notebook and the rankings as Jr High players are looking to pry information from Mr Leveille.

A couple of notes about last night's BST action:

I agree with Jeremy 100% on the head scratching watching Dover play defense up by 1 with about 30 seconds to go. It was confusing as it seemed they were playing defense as if they were down by 1 and not up by 1. The Green Wave was scrambling all over the court chasing after 20 to 30 foot perimeter passes that eventually lead to an Aluko dunk that put Trinity up by 1. Maybe Dover tried something different because it was summer league, but it was surreal watching Dover CHASE the ball up by 1 with 30 seconds left in the game.

Morgan Faustino eschewed just about any confrontations in the paint last night and seemed comfortable with playing a perimeter game. For Dover to be a success next season Faustino will have to be a presence in the paint. At one point late in the game after a Trinity run that put the Pioneers within a a couple of points, a frustrated Coach Romps called TO and then yelled at Faustino to leave, which he did exiting the gym doors. Emotions cooled down as Romps put Faustino back in the game for the last couple of minutes of regulation. It did seem that Coach Romps was as quizzical about Faustino's quiet performance as I was.

Pat Keefe of Trinity continues to impress as a freshman. He has a strong will to compete which will serve him well as his career moves along. He had a nice dribble drive finish angling his body through and around some Green Wave defenders which was impressive with the added hops at the conclusion of the finish. I love players who have a motor that is always running and Keefe's motor is running on all 8 cylinders all the time.

Speaking of motors that run, put Bubba Mahan down as one who is in that department also. When teams key on Al-Darraji's outside shot then Mahan will get some nice avenues to slash to the hoop. He does so with a quick pace that will serve him and the Green Wave well this season.

When Hunter Viscarello called a TO on the inbounds when Trinity had no TOs left it brought back memories of the 1976 Class L Championship between Portsmouth and Trinity. Trinity made a basket with seconds left in the game to take the lead. Gary Langevin, a Portsmouth guard called a TO and former great referee Don Winterton granted the TO, but the Clippers had none left. Dan Duval calmly sank the FT, because at that time I believe you received 1 FT for a technical. Trinity did have the ball on the technical possession and secured the lead and the championship which was their 2nd of a 1975-1976 back to back title run with Coach Don Beleski. Now, to this day Langevin maintains he was calling for the ball on the inbounds pass and was clapping his hands to get the attention of the inbound passer. Winterton still maintains that Langevin succinctly made the sign of asking for a TO. It was one of the most memorable moments in Class L playoff history. Little did I know that I would be reminded of it in a 90 degree gym in the middle of the summer in 2010, until Viscarello stirred up the Lundholm memories with his TO at the end of last night's game. It's funny how Trinity is the common thread in this No TOs Left correlation. Not cool for Trinity to be victimized by the mental error, but very cool to relate to a big Class L basketball moment from 34 years ago.

God help me if we ever rank JR highschoolers...I'll quit. The fact that players outside of the NATIONS top 100 are ranked is kinda crazy in my opinion. I'm not knocking what JL does, he is probably the only person remotely qualified in the state due to his time and effort to see as many games as possible and players throughout the year including the 8 month offseason. He does a good job, and obviously the kids love it so I think it's a positive thing to bring more excitement to the sport and buzz to NH basketball (all good things).

T&F if you want to renegotiate your forum contribution contract my assistant coaching chair always has a open space next to it. We may need to create some sort of "All Star" type of contributor here at the NHSF...but don't get too excited, we're not giving you the lifetime achievement award yet.

Asst- That's fine with holding on the Lifetime Achievement Award. That type of award has the connotation of being presented to someone who is older. My neighbor says I'm the "oldest teenager" he knows. I'll take that type of compliment and accept that award

Just buy him a hot dog at a game.

Caught some BST action tonight:

Memorial beat Central by 20 plus. There were many players missing for both sides. The best thing I can say about this game is that nobody got hurt. Sloppy Joes was the main entree for 40 minutes. The best thing about this game was that it was only 89 degrees in the gym while outside it was 95 degrees.

In girl's action South beat Central by a solid margin. Central had trouble with South's pressure and making decisions that lead to South's victory. Central will definitely suffer from No-Bakolas&Walker-itis this coming season. There is a lot of inexperience in their backcourt. Caitlin Ackerman looks solid for South. She moves on the court very nicely for her size. She will figure in All State teams at the end of this season. She has nice offensive skills.

The best game of the night was West beating Bedford by about 9. Now, if this was 4 years ago, tonight would've been a great tryout night for West High. But, alas, the HS basketball world moves on. Bedford had the height advantage, but in the end Bedford couldn't handle West's quickness, speed and athleticism. West will be an intriguing team next season. They can run, jump and play D. They don't have a consistent offensive scorer. Abdalla did have a few nice takes to the rack during this game. Quinton Hunter was trampoline jumping for rebounds and put backs. If Coach Bryson can develop a couple of consistent scoring threats from the 12 to 20 foot range then West will be a difficult team to contend with in Class L. They might not be a top 5 team, but being a #8 to #10 team and wrecking havoc on a weekly basis might be this team's MO this season.

I would like to pick up on what Jeremy posted about the Central - Memorial game last night. He said Doc was decked out in white..... well, Doc had a white hat, white shirt, white shorts, white socks, white sneakers with white shoe laces. Doc will have to confirm the color of his under apparel, but it did seem he had his own WHITEOUT going last night. When a game is as unforgettable as the Central-Memorial one last night I guess the mind looks for other things besides zone, man, press, turnover etc.

I don't want to jump ahead, but in the BST Central playoff format, if Dover wins tonight and Central wins tomorrow they will play each other on Friday at 6 pm in the SNHU Fieldhouse in the quarterfinals. That would be a highly entertaining matchup of 2 of the top pre-season 5 teams in D1.....IF ALL the players show up for both teams.

Why do you hate on the southern division T@f? Central division this, central division that,you call yourself a nh high school hoops guru.I say no, you are a cental division bst high school toady. Good day to you sir,I said GOOD DAY. ps, fri nite at the riv bg- groton, souhegan - milford.Cuipa,Kelly, Remillard,and Pyshoca are helping run a hoop camp at bg from 9-3, then bg has a football camp from 3-6, then they get to go play basketball at the riv.Bet they sleep good that night.

I don't hate on the southern division Big Guy. don't put words in my mouth. Lord knows, you say enough words for 2 people. I just post on the Central division because it's closer to home and believe it or not I do other things in my life besides basketball like work, paper work, laundry, travel kids etc etc etc. I wish I could have the time to peruse the southern BST Division, but I don't. Thanks for inquiring though.

BTW - I never called myself a guru. Those are your words, not mine. Still, it's always nice to hear from the Southern part of the beautiful Granite State.

Well if truth be told maybe I have a touch of central division envy.it would have been nice to play trinity,central, dover, and memorial this summer.

In Girl's BST playoff action the top 4 seeds advanced with wins. This Saturday South will play Trinity and BG will play Central. These should be 2 good games. The semi final winners will play for the championship early Saturday afternoon.

On the boy's side the only winner I know is Dover. They destroyed Bishop Brady. We are 50% of the way towards a tasty matchup between Dover and Central Friday night.

In the quarterfinals:

West beat Concord 49 to 30

Central 55 Dover 46

Merrimack 40 Memorial 37

Trinity won by foreit over Raymond who was playing the Southeast playoffs at the RAC.

Wickey had a very quiet game against Dover, but the Little Green still prevailed. The story for Central was the play of Gabe LaCount. He played very well. Along with his scoring LaCount had a bunch of assists 5 of which were very pretty. He had a nice And 1 where he was pushed hard on a shot, but maintained nice balance and was able to muscle up the shot fading away from about 7 feet. His body seems much more suited for the rigors of D1 this year and his added strength will help out on both ends of the floor. This game was see saw the whole way. Central didn't take control until the last couple of minutes. Al-Darraji seemed quiet in this game also. Faustino played well in a nice matchup against Wickey. Junior Brown had a couple of impressive slash finishes including one where he evaded 3 Dover defenders.

Demitri Floras looked more like an injured UFC fighter tonight as he didn't play with a bandaged injured nose. Both Memorial and Merrimack were in Margaritaville early as hoisting up 3 pointers were the norm in the first 10 minutes of the game. Things stayed tight throughout. Shomari Morgan awoke from a summer league slumber to have a couple of good finishes at the end of the first half. The play of the Gendron brothers and Coutemanche took hold in the 2nd half as Merrimack outplayed Memorial. The Crusaders didn't seem up to the task tonight. Maybe they saw the weather forecast for tomorrow and thought their talents would be more suited at some beach or lake.

It will be Merrimack vs. Central and Trinity vs. West in the semi-finals tomorrow.

Milford beat BG by around 20 tonight to capture the Southern Division Championship. At one point Milford was winning by 30. Green didn't play for BG. Nelson, Desmarais and Mitchell didn't play for Milford.

kelley didn't play either for bg.holder and olaughlin very impressive.milford dusted souhegan,then bg waxed groton,thought it was going to be a great game ,bg laid an egg.Nobody played well for guertin.Football players for bg looked like they were running in mud,it was a long day then, back to back games.Mignault got their attention after the game, they should be fired up for monday.Milford sure is a fun team to watch, that scrimmage is going to be something again this year.

I would like to attend the Milford - BG scrimmage. There could be more talent on that court the evening they scrimmage each other than on any other court at anytime in NH in the next few months. That will be fun. Maybe the Big Guy and I can compare mental notes. That might be more fun than watching the scrimmage.

It is too early to judge what BG will be but no doubt they have a ton of depth and more shooters than last year. They will be fine.
Milford looks like a team that can just roll the ball out and win with the guard play they have. It will take a very good team to beat them this year. O'Loughlin and Holder are able to get where ever they want on the floor. They are a blast to watch.

Will Milford be competing in the Fall League at Rivier?

We have not gotten the email as of yet but so far we are told we are in.

Mike will have soccer legs so he may kick the ball around a little lol

These 2 could meet in the championship next week.It is my understanding {and god knows I have been wrong before} that if bg wins monday that they are in the finals because of best overall record.If Milford plays like they did friday night,I don't see anyone stopping them on the way to the finals.Of course, if guertin plays like they did friday night {2nd game} they will be watching from the sidelines.Does anybody know if I am right? After Monday there will be 3 teams left,I understood it will be best overall record gets a bye to the finals.T@F , could it be a holy war {trinity- guertin} on monday? That would be fun, no football practice on monday certainly can't hurt bg either.I would love to see Milford again {those 2 are the real deal},nothing like a summer league revenge game in the city of my birth on the 2nd wednesday of august on the beautiful campus of SNHU.

Incredibly, I believe you are right Big Guy. I don't know BG's overall record, but with Monday night's winners, the best overall record automatically advances to the championship game because of the odd number of teams in the tournament.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to be there for the festivities on Monday or Wednesday. I get the distinct feeling that the characters in the stands at SNHU will be as colorful as the basketball displayed on the Fieldhouse court on M & W.