Division II boys basketball preview

The Division II boys basketball season gets underway on Friday. Here’s a look at how the division could shake out.

Favorite

• Lebanon (21-1): Last year was the year the Raiders finally got over the hump, reaching the championship game for the first time in four straight trips to the final four … only to run into a Portsmouth team on a mission. With Portsmouth gone to Division I, and with four starters returning – including KJ Matte – Lebanon is the team to beat.

Challengers

• Hollis Brookline (12-8): The Cavaliers were moments away from reaching the final four, and HB has the lineup returning to make it at least that far this season. Leading the way for HB will be Nick Fothergill, an division all-state member a year ago.
• Pelham (21-1): After back-to-back titles in Division III, the Pythons are back in Division II, although without perhaps the two biggest keys (Matt Regan and Keith Brown) to those title teams. Longtime assistant Mike Larson takes over a team that has Kyle Frank and Joe Panteleo returning.
• Milford (16-4): The Spartans finished in the top four a year ago with a deep roster that ran Dan Murray’s offense better than any team since the 2010-11 championship teams. A lot of those players graduated, but Ryan Banuskevich is back, and might benefit from being the go-to guy, instead of one of several scorers.
• Bishop Brady (14-7): The Giants are in a position almost opposite of Milford – Bishop Brady returns most of its core, except its leading scorer, Joe Bell. With four starters back – including Matt Quirk and Bryce Johnson – the Giants will again be in the mix.
• Coe-Brown (11-9): One of the biggest challenges the Bears could face is finding playing time for all of their returning players. Leading the way for Coe-Brown will be Sam Lupinacci, an all-state honorable mention a year ago.

Dark Horses

• Manchester West (18-3): The Blue Knights lost a lot to graduation and prep school after making the final four a year ago. But since moving down to Division II, West and coach Danny Bryson have found ways to be among the contenders in the division.
• Pembroke (0-16): The Spartans move back to Division II after spending the last two seasons in Division I. Pembroke struggled with a young roster in Shannon Sciria’s first year as head coach, but returns starters Noah Cummings and Sean Menard, who are both sophomores.
• Goffstown (7-12): The Grizzlies always seemed close to a breakthrough during coach Mike Gasper’s first year, but just couldn’t get over the hump. Going through those experiences could help Goffstown take the next step this season.
• John Stark (8-11): Size won’t be an issue for the Generals, as Drew and Parker McQuarrie and Cooper Corski – all 6-3 or taller – move from the football field to the basketball court. That size should help John Stark be competitive in the division.

The rest of the field: Bow, ConVal, Hanover, Kennett, Kingswood, Merrimack Valley, Oyster River, Plymouth, Souhegan, Timberlane, Windham.

Final four: Lebanon, Hollis Brookline, Bishop Brady, Coe-Brown.

Championship: Lebanon over Bishop Brady.

Playoffs

Starting with the 2016-17 season, the NHIAA is implementing a 70-percent rule, meaning no more than that amount of teams will make the postseason. With 21 teams in Division II, that means 14 will make the playoffs, with the top two seeds getting byes into the quarterfinals.

• Preliminary round: Wednesday, March 8
• Quarterfinals: Saturdday, March 11
• Semifinals: Wednesday, March 15 at the University of New Hampshire
• Final: Saturday, March 18 at the University of New Hampshire