Merrimack, Manchester Central matchup one for ages in Division I boys basketball title game

There are two types of sports rivalries.

The first, and most comment, is rooted in geography. Rivals like Spaulding and Dover, Milford and Souhegan, all of the Manchester schools and the Nashua ones, too, end up reaching that level thanks to location and familiarity.

The other type of rivalry occurs when two schools – or more specifically, two programs – are really, really good and repeatedly play each other with a lot on the line.

That’s the type of rivalry that exists between the Merrimack and Manchester Central high school boys basketball teams. Saturday’s Division I championship game will mark the third time the two teams meet with so much at stake, but it’s not the only time this century that they’ve played in big postseason games.

Here’s a look at some of those games.

March 11, 2002: No. 8 Manchester Central 70, No. 1 Merrimack 59 (quarterfinals)

• The Little Green was the two-time defending champions, but had 10 new players on its varsity roster, including a sophomore center by the name of Sam Carey. But in this quarterfinal matchup, Central shot 61 percent from the field and pulled away in the fourth quarter. The teams had played twice before that year, once in the final of the Queen City Tournament and during the regular season, both Merrimack wins. Nate Truncellito had 15 of his 17 points in the second half  and Carey added 15 points of his own for Central. Chris Burns scored 13 points for Merrimack.

March 18, 2004: No. 3 Merrimack 49, No. 2 Manchester Central 47 (semifinals)

• The Tomahawks were on their way to a second-straight Class L championship behind Corey Hassan and Steve DeLuca, but just as important was the defense of freshman Jordan Lawrence on Central’s Carey. The Little Green center finished with 21 points, but when DeLuca got into foul trouble, Lawrence stepped in and slowed Carey down. Merrimack rallied from a nine-point deficit to take its first lead in the third quarter, and the teams went back and forth from there. A last-second jump ball went Merrimack’s way and the ‘Hawks went on to beat Salem in the title game.

March 18, 2006: No. 1 Manchester Central 54, No. 6 Merrimack 39 (final)

• It was the championship game everyone expected the year before, but Merrimack, the undefeated top seed, lost to Dover in the semifinals and the Little Green went on to win the title. Without Hassan, Austin Denton and Chris Rush, the Tomahawks got back to the title game with upsets of Exeter and Nashua North on the back of senior Eric Anderson. Meanwhile, with Tyler Roche leading the way, Central entered the game undefeated, including a 39-37 regular season win over Merrimack. The Tomahawks got within six points in the fourth, but Central had too much, led by Roche’s 19 points.

March 17, 2012: No. 7 Merrimack 65, No. 4 Manchester Central 56 (final)

• After mixing and matching a lineup for most of the season, the Tomahawks got healthy at the right time, and behind a 23-point performance by Dimitri Floras, won their first title in eight years. Merrimack led by four at halftime and then exploded for 43 points in the second half. This was the first championship game appearance for either team since the 2006 title game. Two players who played key roles in this final will also be playing Saturday, Merrimack’s Eric Gendron and Central’s Dawson Dickson.