Dover Wins Battle of Top 5 NH Teams

Al-Darraji Hits Buzzer Beater for Green Wave

Last night the Mass & NH High School Basketball Report took in a matchup of top 5 New Hampshire boys’ teams as Dover played host to Trinity. It was a back and forth game, with not much intensity for the first three and a half quarters. That changed however, with the last 5 minutes having a distinct tournament atmosphere and intensity. The game went down to the wire, with Dover’s Kenaan Al-Darraji nailing the game-winning jump shot from 18 feet away with one second left.

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

Class of 2010

#1 ranked Alex Burt of Dover is known for being one of the state's top scoring guards. Last night he only scored 10 points, but still led his team to a big win. He had 6 assists, including an assist on the game winning shot by Al-Darraji. Burt acted as a decoy on that play, since everyone in the gym expected him to take the last second shot. This enabled Al-Darraji to get a wide open look at the basket. The 6'0" combo-guard also grabbed 5 rebounds and scored 8 of his 10 points in the second half. Included in those 8 points was the game-tying free throw. He also showed some versatility to his game by driving to the basket and finishing against much bigger defenders. Burt is known by some as "just a shooter" but last night he really showed that he does many other things well.

#12 ranked Phil Hayden (pictured above) of Trinity is a very smart, savvy player. This was evident on one particular play last night where he gave Trinity the lead 50-49 with 2:12 left in regulation. He made a nifty move where he caught the ball on the low block, up-faked and then laid it in off the glass. Hayden had a much bigger Dover player coming up from behind and would have blocked the shot if he had gone right up with it off the catch. He sensed the defender was back there though, and made an up-fake with the ball. When he did this, the defender flew by and out of the way giving Hayden a wide open layup. A savvy play by a savvy player. The 6'1" Hayden finished the game with 12 points.

Class of 2011

#1 ranked David Madol of Trinity showed exactly why he is such a tough matchup in last night's game. He was being covered all game long by Dover's Morgan Faustino, a very good defender. But the 6'6" Madol was just better, totaling a game-high 17 points. If his defender gave him any room, he nailed the jump shot, and if his defender played up on him, he put the ball on the floor and attacked the rim. Madol was very aggressive offensively all game, taking it right to Faustino, stepping up to the challenge of having an elite defender covering him.

#10 ranked Zach Stevens of Trinity only had 7 points on the game, but 3 of those 7 came on a huge three-pointer that started a 10-0 Pioneer run. The 6'2" wing player played a good all around game, and is a very much improved defender.

#17 ranked Morgan Faustino of Dover's stock continues to rise in his junior season. The 6'4" forward is one of the state's best rebounders, as he finished last night with 9 boards to go with 10 points. He also played solid defense against Madol.

#19 ranked Kenaan Al-Darraji of Dover has the ability to play either guard position. He can run the offense himself, but he's also a deadly shooter so you can play him off the ball and set him up for a shot. The latter is exactly what the Green Wave did on the game's final play, with Burt setting up Al-Darraji for the game winning shot from just inside the top of the key. The 6'0" guard had a team-high 15 points, including 4 three-pointers.

Class of 2013

#3 ranked Travis Descoteaux of Trinity is one of only a handful of freshman in NH who are seeing significant playing time on a top team. The 5'11" guard was the team's 6th man and had 7 points, including a big three in the second half.

Wellesley Girls Win a Thriller

Team Comes From Behind to Remain Undefeated

In one of the best games of the season so far (boys or girls), Wellesley made a comeback and beat Lincoln-Sudbury 47-44 Thursday night to continue to their perfect season. The Raiders have now won 53 of their last 54 games, tournament games included. But this one was not easy by any means.

Lincoln-Sudbury had an upset on their minds all evening. They played even with the heavily favored Wellesley team all game long, and even led 30-23 midway through the third quarter. It was a thrilling basketball game, and went down to the wire. With just 15.6 seconds left, Lincoln-Sudbury was only down 45-44. The Raiders made their free throws in the final seconds though to seal the win.

Wellesley was once again led by their dynamic duo of Blake Dietrick and Mary Louise Dixon. Neither player had a huge scoring game, but both still filled up the stat sheet. Dietrick, only a junior, had 14 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Dixon, the senior point guard, had 10 points to go with six assists, six rebounds and two steals. Both players are two of the better college prospects in Massachusetts and continue to have excellent seasons. Dixon will be taking her game to Stonehill College next fall.

Tuesday Night’s Top NH Girls Performers

Campbell’s Hrubowchak Has a Big Night

Campell is known for having an excellent boys basketball program, but last night it was the girls team which made the headlines. Kristen Hrubowchak was our player of the night, 31 points, 13 rebounds and five steals. This all came in a Campbell win, as they beat Conant by a final of 58-38.

Katie Stopera scored 22 points, including six three-pointers to lead Hollis/Brookline to a 72-53 win over Pelham.

Caitlin Ackerman scored 15 points to lead Nashua South to a 42-41 win over Dover.

Oyster River junior Danielle Walczak scored 11 in a 58-51 loss to Kennett.

Finally, Milford lost to St. Thomas 48-42. But it was a freshman for Milford who was the story. Dina Pitsas continues to have an excellent freshman season, as she finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

Kelley Pours in 39 Points in Loss

Brockton over Newton North in a Good One

In a rematch of last year's Division-I South Final, Brockton took down Newton North yesterday, 80-69. The Boxers got the win despite giving up 39 points to North senior Greg Kelley (pictured left). That's 39 out of his his team's 69 points! Leading the way for Brockton was senior guard Leonardo Medina and junior forward Traece Macklin with 18 points apiece.

Also contributing for North was sophomore Mike Thorpe. Thorpe, the #8 ranked player in his class, had 7 points including a three pointer which gave the Tigers their largest lead at 32-21.

The story of the game though was Kelley. The 6'9" center was getting it done inside and outside, as 15 of his points came from beyond the arc. Kelley, the #2 ranked senior in Massachusetts, will play basketball at Yale next season. Kelley also had a game-high 25 points on Friday night in a 64-39 win over Dedham.

Brockton and Newton North were two of the best teams in Mass. last year, and the same is expected to be true this season. With the win, Brockton improves to 12-1 overall, while Newton North is still an impressive 14-2 with the loss. If the Tigers hope to avenge this loss in the MIAA tournament, they will have to get stronger contributions from Kelley's supporting cast.

Elsewhere in Massachusetts, Oliver Ames senior Lauren Battista had a pair of big games over the weekend. Battista posted 30 points on Franklin, and notched 24 points and 11 rebounds against Foxborough. Both games were double digit wins for Oliver Ames. Battista, the #12 ranked girls player in Mass. for the Class of 2010, will be taking her game to Bentley next season.