Big Early Season Games in NH

Green and Valentin Have Big Games

The Mass-NH High School Basketball Report saw two excellent basketball games, one on Thursday night and one on Friday. On Thursday night it was a battle of the two best teams in New Hampshire, Dover and Bishop Guertin. Guertin came out on top 76-63, and their junior guard/forward Connor Green was the difference. Green's combination of size, power, athleticism and skill was just too much for the Dover defense to handle. He finished with 15 points, including some strong drives to the bucket and dunks in transition. Junior Sean McClung and senior Scott. St. Lawrence, who are both also legit college prospects also played well with 14 points apiece.

On Friday night we saw the Class L defending champs Trinity play city rival Manchester West. West won this one 53-41. The story of this game was West senior Richard Valentin. Valentin, a 5'10" guard, had some explosive drives to the basket and at one point finished at the rim against a player who is 6'9". He also made some outside shots en route to a game-high 23 points.

These were both games involving some of NH's best teams and best individual players. Both games were filled with star quality, but Green and Valentin stood out above the rest and were the difference for their teams in getting the win.

Williamson Scores 1,000th Point for Ludlow High

Senior Guard Scores 34 in Win Over Northampton

Jenna Williamson, from Ludlow High (MA) joins the 1,000 point club in a big win over Division-I power Northampton. Williamson's 34 points were one short of her season high.

This was a big win for Ludlow, as they defeated Northampton by a final score of 64-48. Northampton is perennially one of the top girls teams in Massachusetts, and they won the Division-I championship in 2008. The win improves Ludlow's record to 6-5 on the season.

Williamson is a 5'6" senior guard, and one of the better players in western Mass. She is currently undecided for college next year. She'll certainly be playing hoops at the next level somewhere next season, the only question is where.

Williamson Scores 1,000th Point for Ludlow High

Senior Guard Scores 34 in Win Over Northampton

Jenna Williamson, from Ludlow High (MA) joins the 1,000 point club in a big win over Division-I power Northampton. Williamson's 34 points were one short of her season high.

This was a big win for Ludlow, as they defeated Northampton by a final score of 64-48. Northampton is perennially one of the top girls teams in Massachusetts, and they won the Division-I championship in 2008. The win improves Ludlow's record to 6-5 on the season.

Williamson is a 5'6" senior guard, and one of the better players in western Mass. She is currently undecided for college next year. She'll certainly be playing hoops at the next level somewhere next season, the only question is where.

Barton Shines in Portsmouth Win

Clippers Senior Drops 31 on Pembroke

Last night the MA & NH High School Basketball Report was in Pembroke, NH for a Class I boys basketball contest between Portsmouth and Pembroke. Although the top rated prospect in this game was Pembroke senior Sheldon Benson, it was Portsmouth senior Mike Barton (pictured left) who stole the show.

Barton scored a game-high 31 points, including 19 in the second half, as Portsmouth beat Pembroke 61-51. Barton drilled five three-pointers, hit some clutch free throws down the stretch and also had a nice blocked shot coming from the weak side in the first quarter. Barton hit the two biggest shots of the game, which came in the third quarter. Pembroke went on an 8-0 run to starter the second half to go up 31-23. Just when it looked like they were taking over the game, Barton calmly nailed back to back three's and just like that it was a two point game and Portsmouth had the momentum back on their side.

As for Benson, he had a solid game, finishing with just nine points though. He's 6'1", but is forced to play center on an undersized Spartan team which limits his chances. Still, he was simply too quick off the dribble for Portsmouth defenders, and he was key during the team's third quarter run.

Coleton Neely had a solid game for Pembroke, with 15 points. He hit a big trey which cut the Portsmouth lead to just three midway through the fourth quarter. Pembroke also has NH's #3 ranked freshman on their team, starting point guard Rene Maher. Maher scored just sic points, but did a good job of distributing the basketball. He had a scary injury in the third quater, suffering a hyper-extended knee. He did return in the fourth quarter though, and all indications are that he'll be fine to play in the Spartan's next game.

The other two prospects for Portsmouth are sophomores Billy Lane and Kyle DiCesare. Lane is a very athletic 5'10" point guard, and he had nine points on the game. DiCesare, a 6'1" two guard, had 10 points including some big buckets in crunch time.

The story of the game though was Barton. He's not the biggest, fastest or most athletic player around. But he plays with smarts, he plays with heart, he's an excellent passer and shooter. His stock as a D-III prospect continues to rise.

Winnacunnet Girls Survive Pinkerton Scare

Tiffany Ruffin is the #1 ranked girl in New Hampshire

The MA & NH High School Basketball Report was at Pinkerton High School (ranked #4) tonight to watch Winnacunnet High School (ranked #1) and Boston College bound Tiffany Ruffin. In this one, Winnacunnet held off a second half run by Pinkerton and came away with a 53 -4 7 . The game also featured #4 rated A.J. Guidi and #7 rated Laura Pierce from Pinkerton as well as #5 ranked Emily Siegart and #10 ranked Lindsey Mahoney from Winnacunnet. Not bad as 5 of the top 10 senior players were featured in this show down tonight.

This was a match up that everyone was talking about, Pinkerton and Winnacunnet, a battle of two of the top teams in New Hamphire's Class L. This night was sure to be a great display of girls basketball. After two quarters of play, any fan in Hackler Gymnasium would beg to differ. Pinkerton couldn't buy a basket, and Winnacunnet seemed to be just playing on cruise control. From the start, it had the makings of blowout.

Coming out of halftime down 19, the Astros could have thrown in the towel. However, senior point guard Laura Pierce had a different idea. Behind her smart play, and one gutsy move after another, she rallied her troops and almost pulled off a stellar comeback. Winnacunnet, led by the efforts of guard Lindsey Mahoney, who had a sixteen first half points, proved to be too much for Pinkerton...on this particular night at least. Pinkerton, led by a core group of upperclassmen is a team you have to like. They play every possession, never taking a play off. AJ Guidi, along with Pierce are workhorses, doing the little things-setting screens for teammates, penetrating and kicking, getting the big rebounds. There is a reason they are one of the top teams in Class L.

Winnacunnet, has all the talent, and is led by the top player in the state, BC bound Tiffany Ruffin. To her credit, Ruffin was out there playing tonight with a broken thumb on her shooting hand. Having watched Ruffin time and time again, she has the ability to dominate and take over the game single handedly. She also makes everybody on her team better. As a result, player for player, I don't think anyone has a more talented team. Having said that, tonight wasn't Winnacunnet's best performance as they seemed to become complacent in the second half as they played a lazy zone for the entire evening.

Fortunately for Winnacunnet they squeaked by with the six point victory. Mahoney led all scorers with 19 and Pierce was close behind with 17. Guidi and Ruffin had 14 and 12 points respectively.

Three NH Commitments to Report

Mathieu, Holler and Dunn Make College Choices

Three of New Hampshire's best hoops players have made college commitments, and all of them will be playing a different sport than basketball. Pinkerton's Zach Mathieu is headed to Franklin Pierce to play baseball, while Exeter's James Holler and Winnacunnet's Ryan Dunn will be playing soccer at Boston University and Boston College, respectively. As basketball players, all three of these individuals are ranked in the top 25 for the Class of 2010 in NH.

Mathieu (pictured above) has been a three year starter for the Pinkerton basketball team. He's a 6'7" center who could likely play D-III basketball. However as a baseball player he is a major league prospect at catcher. Franklin Pierce has a very good baseball program, and Mathieu has a full scholarship to play there.

Holler is also a three year starter in basketball, for Exeter. He is one of the best defensive guards in NH. While he could possibly play D-III basketball, he is a certain D-I player in soccer. He has a halfway scholarship to play soccer at BU. In addition to playing basketball and soccer for Exeter, Holler was also an all-state kicker this past season for the Blue Hawks football team.

Winnacunnet's Dunn is also a three year starter on the hardwood. He is the Warriors point guard and leader on the floor. Like Holler, Dunn could possibly play basketball at the D-III level in college, but instead will play Division I soccer at BC. He also has a partial scholarship to play there.

All three of these young men will have the good fortune of playing sports in college at a high level. But more importantly, they will all receive a good education.