Division II boys basketball semifinal preview
While the Division I tournament was full of surprising results in the quarterfinals, the Division II tournament went just about as according to plan.
Yes, No. 5 Bishop Brady went on the road to take out No. 4 Milford, but the top three seeds will be in Durham for the final four.
Here’s a quick look at the matchups for Wednesday night’s Division II boys basketball semifinals, which will start at 5:30 p.m. at the University of New Hampshire.
No. 3 Manchester West (18-2) vs. No. 2 Lebanon (20-0), 5:30 p.m.
If this semifinal is anything like the teams’ regular-season meeting, fans will be in for a treat. Lebanon took a big lead in the first half of that game and West did its best to come back in what turned out to be a 60-53 win for the Raiders.
This is West’s first semifinal appearance since 2002, and the Blue Knights haven’t played for a title since 1999 and haven’t won one since 1993, when they were in Class L. West has the advantage in size, but depth could be a key factor for the Blue Knights, especially considering the bigger floor at Lundholm Gym.
For Lebanon, getting to the semifinals won’t feel like enough, not after getting that far in the previous three seasons. The Raiders have their eyes on getting to the championship game for the first time since 1998, and anything short would likely be a disappointment for Lebanon.
No. 5 Bishop Brady (14-6) vs. No. 1 Portsmouth (20-0), 7:30 p.m.
It’s a rematch of last year’s championship game, but this could be nothing like that exciting matchup that came down to the final second.
Portsmouth has been trouncing teams left and right all season, including the Giants, whom the Clippers defeated 69-36 back on Feb. 23. Only four times this year has a team scored 50 or more points against Portsmouth, which is a big problem, since the Clippers have averaged 75.9 points per game during the regular season and playoffs.
The Giants looked like a team in trouble heading into the postseason after blowout losses to Portsmouth and Lebanon, but Bishop Brady bounced back to beat Hanover by 10 in the preliminary round and came back in the second half to win at Milford.
The winners move on to the final, which will be played Saturday at 3 p.m.
