Desrosiers Leads Central to East Mass. Title

Central Advances to State Final

Wake Forest bound center Carson Desrosiers continues to show why he is the best player in Mass. by leading Central Catholic to a 59-50 win over Madison Park in the Division 1 Eastern Mass title game.

It is such a huge advantage when you have a kid that is 6'11" and can make plays leading the break for you, hit outside shots, score inside, rebound and block shots all at a high level. Desrosiers finished the game with 20 points 16 boards and 8 blocks.

The Red Raiders also received strong play from junior forward Jimmy Zenevitch and Andrew Oulette. For Madison Park, David Campbell kept them in the ballgame, leading the team with 15 points.

Central moves on to play St. John's Shrewsbury in the Division 1 State Final on Saturday.

Floras Ends Amazing Freshman Season

Scores 25 in Playoff Loss

If you've been following high school basketball in New Hampshire at all this year, you know the name Dimitri Floras by now. The 6'0" guard has had an incredible freshman season at Merrimack High, and it came to an end last night. The Tomahawks lost in the Class L preliminary round to Londonderry 53-47.

While Merrimack lost, it definitely was not Floras' fault. He had 25 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. Not bad for a freshman playing in his first ever state tournament game. Floras scored his points in a variety of ways. He was money from the free throw line, hit a couple threes, made some nice drives to the bucket for scores and got some baskets in transition as well. Perhaps the most impressive play was the blocked shot however. A Londonderry player went to the basket and throw up a shot when Floras came out of nowhere and swatted it away.

Floras is currently our #1 ranked freshman in NH. He is very poised on the floor, and he can shoot, drive and defend. He has the skills to play either the 1 or the 2 position.

Meanwhile for Londonderry, leading the way was 6'2" junior guard Mike Colby. Colby is one of the best shooters in the state, and he finished with 17 points.

Ruffin Leads Winnacunnet to Class L Finals

Lady Warriors Win 52 Straight Games

Last night it was the NH girls Class L semi-finals at Southern New Hampshire University. Winnacunnet and Pinkerton moved on to the championship games. Winnacunnet beat Keene 62-34 and Pinkerton toppled Londonderry 60-39.

There was plenty of talent on all four teams. 7 NH girls players in the Class of 2010 have already commited to playing basketball for good college teams next year. 6 of them were playing at SNHU last night.

The highlight of the night was being able to see the top 2 ranked players in the class playing against one another. Winnacunnet's Tiffany Ruffin, the #1 ranked player and Boston College recruit took on Keene and their #2 ranked prospect Cammie Warner, who takes her game to Quinnipiac next season. Ruffin is a 5'8" guard and Warner is a 6'2" forward, so they didn't match-up on the floor. But Ruffin got the better of Warner, on the stat sheet and on the scoreboard. She led all scorers with 25 points, leading her team to a blowout victory. Warner played well, especially early, and finished with 14 points. But she didn't get enough help from her teammates, and Winnacunnet has just too much talent.

The other game was also a route, with Pinkerton advancing past arch-rival Londonderry. The Astros were led by a pair of senior guards who will be playing college ball next year. A.J. Guidi had 20 points and 11 rebounds (UMass-Lowell), Laura Pierce (pictured above) chipped in with 12 (Wheaton College).

Conant Invades SNHU

Boys and Girls Teams Advance Saturday

On Saturday at Southern New Hampshire University it was a quadruple header of action in NH Class M where both the boys and girls semi-final games were held. Two players in particular stood out above the rest in these games.

Sean Martin, Conant (2010) - The 6'0" senior guard is the reigning Class M Player of the Year. This kid can really play. He is now ranked as one of the top 20 players in the class of 2010 for NH. He scored a game-high 20 points in Conant's 60-57 semi-final win over Mascoma Valley. Martin is explosive to the hoops, has great quickness and is all over the place defensively. Folks in NH Class M know all about him already, but it's time the rest of the area does as well. Martin's stock as a legit D-III prospect is rising.

Brooke Springfield, Conant (2011) The 5'8" junior guard is also the reigning Class M Player of the Year, as she won the award last season on the girls side as just a sophomore. Springfield (pictured left) is currently the #2 ranked junior in the state of New Hampshire. The Conant girls were only the #8 seeded team in the Class M tournament, but they have now advanced to the title game after beating #1 ranked Somersworth last Friday night and #4 ranked Mascoma Valley. In Saturday afternoon's 41-30 win Over Mascoma, Springfield scored a game-high 17 points.

Other players who stood out on Saturday at SNHU were Berlin's Curtis Arsenault and Conner Torrey of Mascoma. Arsenault is a 6'1" sophomore forward who can really play. He has a very strong build, and can score and rebound with anyone in NH. On Saturday night he led Berlin to an easy 49-23 win over White Mountains Regional. He had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Torrey meanwhile is a very talented post player for Mascoma. Although his team lost the game, Torrey was the player who kept them in it the whole way. He was a force inside on both ends of the floor, finishing with 20 points and 12 boards.