Merrimack Takes Out Bishop Guertin in Rivalry Game

Stars Shine Bright for Both Squads

In a huge rivalry game for both schools, Merrimack High defeated Bishop Guertin Friday night in front of a packed house, 58-55. The MA-NH High School Basketball Report was present, and we saw two players in particular stand out above the rest.

Dimitri Floras continues to have an outstanding freshman season for Merrimack. The Tomahawks won this game because of the way they dominated the game in the first half, with their largest lead being 30-12 in the second quarter. Floras was the biggest reason for this, as he had 14 of his team-high 20 points in the first two quarters. The freshman excelled, even in a hostile environment. He had the highlight of the night when he picked off a pass in the backcourt and took it in himself on the fast break. He slammed the ball down through the net with one hand, electrifying the crowd. Let me remind you that this kid is only a freshman, and that he is only 6'0", so a play like that was impressive.

It was Sean McClung (pictured above) of Bishop Guertin however, who was the game's high scorer. McClung put up 25 points in the losing effort, including a big three pointer in the last minute to make it a one possession game. With BG's Connor Green out with an ankle injury, McClung really stepped up his game. Guertin was down by as much as 18 points, but McClung put the team on his back and helped cut the lead to just one late in the third quarter. They weren't able to come all the way back and win it. But just the fact that BG was able to cut the lead to one after being down by 18 playing without possibly their best player was impressive. And McClung, who scored 16 of his 25 in the second half, was the major contributor to the comeback.

Elsewhere, Kamali Bey of Sabis continues to make headlines. The #2 ranked sophomore in Mass. dropped 39 points on South Hadley in a 70-59 win. Bey is now just 2 points shy of 1,000 for his career...and he's only a sophomore!

Mussachia - Manchester Essex Beat St. Mary's Lynn

Joe Mussachia Has Manchester Essex Flying High

The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report visited St. Mary's of Lynn tonight to watch our seventh ranked junior Joe Mussachia. Mussachia had just recorded his 1,000 career point last evening in a win against Georgetown. Tonight the talented 6'5" wing man turned it on in the fourth quarter to help turn a 43 - 38 deficit at the end of three into a 61-50 victory when it was over. Mussachia had a series of plays in the fourth quarter that inlcuded an offensive put-back, a neat length of the court bounce pass after a steal, and some great kicks to his teammates as Manchester was playing four down and letting Mussachia create off the dribble. Also playing well for the Hornets was senior Brian Ciccionie who scored 18 points inlcuding several offensive rebounds for put-backs. Sophomore guard Nick Gagliolo played well for St. Mary's netting 20 points.

Here's our analysis of the top players in the game:

Class of 2011
Joe Mussachia of Manchester Essex impressed tonight with his ability to put the ball to the floor and create off the dribble. It is clear that the 6'5" junior's handle, passing, and shooting have all improved. Mussachia also plays hard and plays with the purpose of winning, and the result has been good for the Hornets who are 11-4 so far this season. Mussachia still needs to improve his ability to go right with the dribble and needs to continue to improve his jump shot. Because he is so talented, Mussachia is given no breathing room, and sometimes makes it easy for his defender to cover him. Mussachia needs to do a better job moving without the basketball while using his teammates, and change speeds to get open. Having said all that, there is no doubt that Mussachia is a scholarship player.

Class of 2012
Nick Gagliolo of Saint Mary's was impressive tonight and showed that he has nice range and can knock down the three. Gagliolo is 6'2" tall and has good size and a good basketball body. He has a chance to be a special talent. He needs to work on developing a mid-range game and on creating off the dribble.

Sean Nally of Manchester Essex is a scoring point guard. The 5'9" sophomore had 10 points tonight as he worked hard at filling the lanes when Mussachia rebounded and dribbled it out. Nally has a good understanding of the game and knows how to compete. Nally's shot needs work as it has a sideways rotation. He also missed a few passes tonight as he got caught with his head down.

Mussachia - Manchester Essex Beat St. Mary's Lynn

Joe Mussachia Has Manchester Essex Flying High

The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report visited St. Mary's of Lynn tonight to watch our seventh ranked junior Joe Mussachia. Mussachia had just recorded his 1,000 career point last evening in a win against Georgetown. Tonight the talented 6'5" wing man turned it on in the fourth quarter to help turn a 43 - 38 deficit at the end of three into a 61-50 victory when it was over. Mussachia had a series of plays in the fourth quarter that inlcuded an offensive put-back, a neat length of the court bounce pass after a steal, and some great kicks to his teammates as Manchester was playing four down and letting Mussachia create off the dribble. Also playing well for the Hornets was senior Brian Ciccionie who scored 18 points inlcuding several offensive rebounds for put-backs. Sophomore guard Nick Gagliolo played well for St. Mary's netting 20 points.

Here's our analysis of the top players in the game:

Class of 2011
Joe Mussachia of Manchester Essex impressed tonight with his ability to put the ball to the floor and create off the dribble. It is clear that the 6'5" junior's handle, passing, and shooting have all improved. Mussachia also plays hard and plays with the purpose of winning, and the result has been good for the Hornets who are 11-4 so far this season. Mussachia still needs to improve his ability to go right with the dribble and needs to continue to improve his jump shot. Because he is so talented, Mussachia is given no breathing room, and sometimes makes it easy for his defender to cover him. Mussachia needs to do a better job moving without the basketball while using his teammates, and change speeds to get open. Having said all that, there is no doubt that Mussachia is a scholarship player.

Class of 2012
Nick Gagliolo of Saint Mary's was impressive tonight and showed that he has nice range and can knock down the three. Gagliolo is 6'2" tall and has good size and a good basketball body. He has a chance to be a special talent. He needs to work on developing a mid-range game and on creating off the dribble.

Sean Nally of Manchester Essex is a scoring point guard. The 5'9" sophomore had 10 points tonight as he worked hard at filling the lanes when Mussachia rebounded and dribbled it out. Nally has a good understanding of the game and knows how to compete. Nally's shot needs work as it has a sideways rotation. He also missed a few passes tonight as he got caught with his head down.

Woodward Drops 31 on John Stark

Baseball Prospect Shines in Lebanon Hoops Win

The MA-NH High School Basketball Report was in Weare, NH tonight to see a Class I match-up between Lebanon (5-1) and John Stark (5-2). The main prospect we were there to see was Lebanon's senior Jake Woodward, and he did not disappoint. Woodward, a top 20 player in NH's Class of 2010, scored a game-high 31 points. More importantly, he led his team to a 66-55 win over John Stark.

Woodward scored his 31 points in a variety of ways. He's a 6'4" forward who has an excellent combination of size, strength, quickness and skill. He has the ability to shoot the jumper or take it to the hole. He is also very tough on the glass, as he finished tonight's game with 11 rebounds. Woodward is very active on both ends of the floor, has a nose for the basketball and is superb at finishing around the rim.

Woodward could certainly play basketball at the Division III level. However, like Zach Mathieu of Pinkerton, he's an even better baseball player. Woodward has a 90 MPH fastball, and hopes to be drafted by a Major League team in the spring. If he's not, he will have a full ride to play baseball in the Big East at St. John's University next season...not a bad fall back option!

This was a very close game for most of the way, with 8 lead changes in the first half. Tim Plunkett led John Stark with 21 points, while Dillon McCarthy (pictured above playing defense) and Jimmy Kane both chipped in with 10 for Lebanon.

BC Bound Tiffany Ruffin Notches Another Win Last Night

The MA-NH High School Basketball Report also visited a contest between two of the top girls teams in New Hampshire's Class L Tuesday night with hopes the Londonderry could knock off undefeated Winnacunnet. The Lancers stayed close for the first half, but the Warriors proved to be too much, pulling away in the second for a 20 point victory. Junior Savannah Butterfield had a double double for Londonderry, scoring 15 points and pulling down 14 boards. She also played some spectacular defense stopping a Warrior scoring run by drawing an offensive foul with three seconds left to play in the first half. Callie King added 12 points for Londonderry and Catherine Cloutier came off the bench to pull down 8 rebounds. For Winnacunnet, Lindsey Mahoney and Emily Siegart had 14 and 13 respectively. Tiffany Ruffin didn't have her best shooting night from the floor, but the Boston College bound senior showed many other reasons why she is a big time player as she controlled the game with some great passing that led to thirteen assists.

Central Catholic - Worcester North A Defensive Battle

Carson Desrosiers Stands Above The Crowd

The MA & NH High School Basketball Report visited Lawrence last evening to watch the top team in Central Massachusetts (Worcester North) take on the top team in Eastern Massachusetts (Central Catholic). Central Catholic won this contest 47 - 44 in a very evenly matched game. The victory kept the Raiders undefeated (12 - 0) and gave the Polar Bears (12 - 1) their first loss of the season. Wake Forest head coach Dino Gaudio was in the gym for this one as he made the trip from North Carolina to watch his prize recruit Carson Desrosiers.

For Central Catholic, again they struggled getting the ball up the floor against pressure and were forced to call on the 6'11" Wake Forest bound Carson Desrosiers (#1 ranked senior) to bring the ball up the floor, play point forward, and make all the big passes to teammate Jimmy Zenevitch (#6 ranked junior) who scored a game high 19 points. Desrosiers numbers were again monsterous as he had 17 points, 11 blocks (at least another 12 shots altered), and 8 assists. For North, Cedric Kuakumensah (#3 ranked junior) was a force of his own scoring 14 points, adding 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the defeat.

Here is our evaluation of the players in the game:

Class of 2010
#1 rated Carson Desrosiers may be the most dominant high school basketball player over the last twenty years. He showed again last evening why he is a top player in the country and why Wake Forest is high on him. His skill set is through the roof and he just makes plays on both ends of the floor. During this game, he demonstrated that he can handle the ball, shoot the ball, pass the ball, run the floor, has great hands, and knows how to put a lid on the basket at the defensive end. On the offensive end he had a big time up and under off an offensive rebound. We'd like to see Desrosiers dunk the ball at every opportunity he has around the basket, as he had a couple of opportunities tonight where he should of done just that, but chose not to. Dunking the basketball in these circumstances will be a necessity in the ACC. But other than that, he was great and the future is very bright for the 6'11" forward.

Marquese Berry is an athletic guard who can make shots and get to the rim. He impressed at times last evening. He had a nice looking three and a couple of nifty takes to the rim. Berry needs to become more sound with the basketball and a better decision maker.

Class of 2011
#3 rated Cedric Kuakumensah held is own last night against the power one-two punch of Desrosiers and Jimmy Zenevitch. The 6'6" Kuakumensah is very long and athletic and showed us all that he can run the floor, block shots, and that he is active on both ends of the floor. Kuamensah's greatest strength may be the fact that he plays hard as he was aggressive all evening getting his hands on a slew of basketballs. He' a winner. Kuakumensah showed some perimeter game tonight but needs work on his skill set (dribbling & shooting). Nonetheless, the big man is a real presence in a basketball game and will play at the division 1 level.

#6 rated Jimmy Zenevitch took advantage of a smaller matchup (Desrosiers and Kuakumensh covered each other) and scored 19 points as he showed good touch from around the basket. The 6'7" Zenevitch also has range from 15 feet in and has excellent rotation on the basketball. It is apparent that Zenvetich has been working on his shot as he made a three in this game. Zenevitch is average athletically and needs to become an excellent skill player. He is likely to be a step away 4 in college, and how good he is at it will depend on how much his skill set improves. It would help him significantly if he could put the ball to the floor and go by his opponent. Zenevitch also need to become more active on the defensive end of the glass. As with Kuakumensah, Zenevitch will likely play the game at the division 1 level.

Wellesley High Girls Remain Undefeated

Prospects Dixon and Dietrick Lead the Way

Wellesley High picked up two wins in the past week to remain undefeated and show that they are one of the best girls basketball teams in Massachusetts. First they beat Natick 55-36, then they followed that up with a 56-40 win at Milton. The Raiders now boast a record of 10-0 on the year, and they've only lost once since the start of last season. They're trying to win their second Mass. Division II title in the last three years.

The Natick game was closer than the score would indicate. Natick led for the entire first half and most of the third quarter before Wellesley took over. Like usual, the Raiders were led by their dynamic duo of Mary Louise Dixon (pictured above left) and Blake Dietrick. Dixon scored a game-high 19 points, including a big three point play during the team's second half run. Dietrick chipped in with 12 points, with three of those 12 coming on a three pointer that gave Wellesley its first lead of the game.

Against Milton it was Dietrick who led the way for Wellesley, scoring a game-high 22 point. Dixon chipped in with 13 in a game that was never in doubt.

Dixon and Dietrick are two of the better girls high school prospects in the area. Dixon, a 5'6" senior guard will be playing for Stonehill College next year. Dietrick meanwhile is a junior, and is a 5'9" guard with a nice jump shot. She is the #2 ranked high school player in the Class of 2011.