West Cruises Past Salem

Valentin and LaRosa Meet in Big Backcourt Match-up

The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report was at Manchester West High School last night to see the Blue Knights take on Salem High. West won this one in a blowout 58-33. Salem played without their second best player, junior forward Joe Gallant. Gallant missed the game with a sprained ankle.

Even if Gallant did play however, the match-up everyone would be watching didn't involve the big men. It was in the backcourt, as two of NH's top 5 guards went head-to-head for 32 minutes. The match-up involved a pair of 5'10" senior guards, and both players lived up to the hype. Both players, Richard Valentin from West, and Alex LaRosa (pictured above) from Salem, played excellent basketball last night.

Valentin got the better of the match-up, finishing with 20 points and 5 assists. He displayed a killer crossover dribble which allowed him to get int the lane and make plays all evening. The 5'10" Valentin continues to show that he is the most explosive player off the dribble in NH Class L. He also played some lock-down defense on the perimeter.

Although Valentin had a better all around game, LaRosa still played well for the Blue Devils. He's a silky smooth player, and is also one of the state's best shooters. He scored 18 of Salem's 33 points on the game. On Tuesday night LaRosa scored 40 points, including 9 three pointers in a win over Alvirne.

Elsewhere in NH, Trinity had a big win over Bishop Guertin last night 48-45. Trinity's David Madol led the Pioneers to the win with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. Both teams now have a 9-3 overall record.

Finally, the winning streak that the Winnacunnet girls basketball team has had for 2 years running was kept alive last night...just barely. The Warriors needed a buzzer beating jump shot from Tiffany Ruffin in overtime in order to escape with a 60-58 win over Manchester Central.

Concord's Carlise Turns Weston Over

The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report visited Concord Carlisle High School last night to watch our #12 ranked 6'7" senior Alex Levine (pictured left) and our #7 ranked 6'7" freshman Alec Brennan. Levine had a good night netting 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks but it was not enough as the athletic Concord Carlisle team pressured and forced Weston into turnovers all night long in a 48 - 40 win.

The story of this game was Concord Carlisle's 5'9' junior point guard Brima Rogers who controlled the game from start to finish. Rogers had 16 points on the evening and scored them in a variety of ways. He hit two nice pull-up jumpers after getting in the lane and he had a pretty drive and neat lefty finish. Best of all, Rogers made several pretty passes that his teammates were able to convert for easy finishes. On the defensive end, Rogers gave his Weston opponent fits all night long causing turnover after turnover, one of which he converted to an uncontested layup.

Concord Carlisle went in the locker room with a 21 - 19 lead and would extend that lead to 39 - 28 late in the third quarter before Levine ended the quarter with a nice steal and 2-handed dunk to end the quarter with Weston down 9 points. Levine would add another impressive dunk in the fourth quarter, but Weston could get no closer than 6 in the final frame.

Although Weston freshman Alec Brennan didn't play as many minutes as he should have, we are very impressed by this young man. At 6'7", he runs the floor, has good hands, and nice touch. He also showed he can play on the perimeter but has some nice post moves as well. We are convinced that this young man has a bright future ahead of him.

Also impressing for Concord Carlisle was 6'6" sophomore Dana Hines who has a great body and looks like he would be a great middle linebacker. Hanes used his impressive body to gobble up and put back a couple of Concord Carlisle misses and was on the receiving end of a couple of nice passes from Rogers that turned into easy baskets. Hines is going to be a tough match-up for his opponents over the next two years.

St. Thomas over Portsmouth in Girls Hoops

Drummond and Beauregard Impress in Loss

The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report saw some quality girls basketball tonight between St. Thomas and Portsmouth. Not only was this a rivalry game involving two New Hampshire seacoast schools, but it was a battle between the two best girls teams in NH Class I. Over the first 3 quarters there was 7 lead changes, with neither team leading by more than 5 points. But in the fourth quarter St. Thomas took control, and cruised to a 56-44 victory.

Although Portsmouth lost the game, it was clear that the two best players on the floor were on their side.

Senior forward Rosa Drummond is a very versatile player. She's 6'2", and is a tough, strong inside player who can score and rebound in the paint. She also has the quickness and shooting ability to play on the perimeter. Drummond finished tonight's game with 1o points and 9 rebounds. She could have had even more points but she had some tough luck with a couple of threes and inside shots just barely rimming out.

Ali Beauregard (pictured above) also stood out for Portsmouth. The 5'7 junior guard also has a good inside-outside game. She can handle the ball and defend on the perimeter well, and she also has the strength to finish down low against bigger players. She scored a game-high 18 points to with with 4 steals. Beauregard is a tough player who gets after it on both ends of the floor and is very effective when driving to the basket.

The efforts of Drummond and Beauregard still weren't enough for the Clippers to get the "W". Portsmouth missed way too many easy shots in the paint. And although St. Thomas had over 20 turnovers, they played better team basketball down the stretch to get the win.

St. Thomas was led by senior guards Caleigh MacDonald and EC Chojnicki. MacDonald, a smooth player and sharpshooter led the team with 13 points. Chojnicki, a tough, hard nosed slasher netted 12.

Following the game, both teams now have identical 12-2 records and sit together atop the Class I girls basketball standings in NH.

Brockton Beats Top-Ranked Lynn English

Team Effort for the Boxers

On Friday we saw two top 5 NH boys teams go at it with Trinity and Dover. Well yesterday it was a matchup of two top 5 MA boys teams between Lynn English and Brockton. Lynn English was a perfect 15-0 heading in, and they were the consensus top team in Massachusetts. But Brockton got the win at home by a final of 75-60 to improve to 15-1 on the season.

The key for Brockton was a 21-4 run that they went on in the fourth quarter to give themn their largest lead of 75-55. During this run they got great contributions from senior guards Leo Medina (pictured above dribbling) and Kyle Houston and junior center Traece Macklin. Medina was the game’s high scorer with19 points to go with 10 rebounds. The 5’10” Houston had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Macklin chipped in with 10 points and 6 boards.

The other key for the Boxers was containing Lynn English’s dynamic duo of Ryan Woumn and Jarell Byrd. The pair of senior guards have been tough on teams all year, especially Woumn who poured in 39 points last year against Brockton in the state tournament. This time however, Brockton held the pair to only a combined 15 points. Woumn, the #5 ranked senior in MA, only scored 5 thanks to some great defense by Brockton’s Houston. And Byrd, the #10 ranked senior, was limited to 10 points.

What’s more impressive about the win for Brockton was that they continue to beat quality opponents without much of a contribution from their highest rated prospect. 6’8” Mario Monroe, the #7 ranked senior in MA, was once again a non-factor in yesterday’s contest. Monroe is still trying to get back into game shape after his petition for an extra year of high school ball was recently accepted by the MIAA.

Also contributing for Lynn English was sophomore center Keandre Stanton who had 6 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks.