Feb. 26th games

Can you imagine the scheduling Gods of Class L? Here we are coming of the most exciting night of the season so far where 3 of the top 5 teams lost and we all had to digest everything that took place with upsets, playoff ramifications, missing players and a performance by a suddenly wide awake giant and now look at the schedule for Friday night. Do you think we could catch our breaths as Class L fans? The Class L scheduling Gods say no!!

#7 Pinkerton at #10 Alvrine: Key matchup for home court advantage in prelims and Pinkerton still has a shot to secure one of the top 4 spots. Alvrine's big men must be healthy and willing to compete if they are going to stop the tough combo of Proulx and Mathieu. I'm presuming Mathieu is coming off a career high of 29 points he scored against Merrimack on Tuesday.

#14 Exeter at #11 Central: Here are two teams that have been staying at the Tough Loss Motel for this season. These 2 teams have a combined 10 losses this season by a total of 23 points. They both have suffered through OT losses, buzzer beater losses and hard fought to the last second losses. If misery likes company then Doc and Coach Holmes should have a lot in common when they talk for a few minutes before their game at the Simon Gym on Friday: "We lost this one with a 25 footer at the buzzer." "We lost this one on a layup at the buzzer." The sad part is that one of these teams has to lose this close game and will have an extended stay in the Tough Loss Motel.

#11 Londonderry at #14 Spaulding: Both teams are fighting for a better seed in the playoffs. Both teams will be a tough opponent for a higher seed in a prelim playoff game.

#2 Trinity at #18 South: If you could say there's one game that has the potential of a cataclysmic upset it would be this one. You have to think South would have at least one game where they could put it all together and Nelson could score 25 to 30 and Trinity would take South lightly. Not probable, but you have to think South could circle the wagons for at least one game this season, correct?

#6 West at #13 North: The soap opera known "As the Blue Knights Turn" had more plot twists than a season ending episode on Tuesday night at Central. Quintin Hunter is done for the year. Valentin was AWOL. West does not play well on the road and they'll have to contend with the enigmatic (you thought I used this word just for Alvrine?) back court of North. I've heard Valentin is not done with West basketball, but we'll see what Friday's episode of "As the Blue Knights Turn" has to offer.

#1 Winny at #4 BG: It will be interesting to see if Coach McKenna plays man against the Cardinals or takes the blue print of the Crusader's zone and implements it tomorrow night at the Colligidome. BG certainly has the advantage in the front court against Winny, but will they take advantage of it or settle for the comfy coziness of the 15 to 25 foot shot? Winny certainly has the deliberate and disciplined offense like the one Memorial displayed on Tuesday. This is a very intriguing matchup that might come down to in game adjustments and coaching decisions. A must win for BG to secure a top 4 seed.

#8 Memorial at #3 Merrimack: So, you're a Memorial fan. Your team is coming off a week where they had a 40 point output in a dreadful 21 point loss to Dover and escaped with a 3 point victory to Spaulding in the land of the Riviera Motel. Confidence wasn't exactly brimming as the Crusaders looked at a week where they would play BG and Merrimack. Well, some adjustments made, a career game from a player Crusader fans have been waiting all season to break out and the brimming is back in the Confidence Cup for the Crusaders. Suddenly, the trip to Merrimack looks a little better. The pressure is now on Merrimack to bounce back. If Edhem and McLean can provide the 1-2 paint combo they showed on Tuesday it will be tough for Merrimack to overcome this. Tyler Gendron will be key to negating Memorial's 1-2 combo. Something tells me that Watson will have to get his hands dirty, leave the comfy coziness of the 15 to 25 foot area and operate a little more in the paint for Merrimack to come away with a victory. This game has top 4 seed ramifications.

Love the insight on every game. We will see if Memorial or Merrimack are for real this week. If I had to guess I would think Memorial is on the way up and Merrimack not but we will see. Alvirne game is trap game for Pinkie with Trinity coming up on Tuesday night. I think we will see alot about BG on Friday night to see if they are as good as advertised assuming Winnie plays with their full roster.
Who is the suddenly "wide awake giant"?

Who is the suddenly "wide awake giant"?

Edhem Mahmutovic was a sleeping Crusader giant until he woke up with 18 points in the 64 - 59 upset of BG this past Tuesday.

South is a mess Trinity won easily down 9 with a few minutes left in the first Nelson was pulled and then lead went up to 14. He was benched int he thrid down 12 and the game quickly turned into a route

Pinkerton by two over Alvirne. Pinkerton must have missed scouting report on Donnelly. He got 5 wide open looks from three in the first half and made all five. Game had many swings. Pinkerton was up 15 to 2 to start the game and was down 10 in the 4th but came back to win by 2 with Patrikus hitting a layup with 8 seconds left in the game.