NEPSAC Class B&C Playoff Preview

While lacking in Division 1 players in comparison to the NEPSAC Class A, the Class B and C playoffs won't be lacking on high major talent, or Providence targets.

Instead of breaking it down team by team, as I did with the Class A playoffs, I am going to preview the paths Tilton, St. Mark's, St. Andrew's and Lawrence Academy will take to get to championship Sunday.  The championships of all three classes take place on Sunday afternoon, in what should be a tremendous day of basketball at Endicott College in Beverly, MA.

The hope here is that we'll see St. Andrew's vs Tilton in the B final, and Lawrence Academy and St. Mark's in the C championship.  That would set up an afternoon of basketball including Gerard Coleman, Nate Lubick, Mike Carter-Williams, Ricky Ledo, Shabazz Napier, Alex Murphy and more.

Class B

Tilton School:

As the top seed, the defending champions get a bye in the first round, meaning a second round matchup with either Kimball Union or Hotchkiss awaits Gerard Coleman and Co. in round 2 Friday.

Those hoping to see Coleman in the championship on Sunday should pull for a Kimball victory on Wednesday night.  Tilton is 2-0 against Kimball this season, while Hotchkiss features the dynamic duo of Derrick Wilson (undecided junior) and Jason Morris (Georgia Tech) who give Tilton all they can handle in the semis.

St. Andrew's:

At 24-9 St. Andrew's is the second seed and will take on Brimmer and May in round 1.  Brimmer and May shouldn't be a problem, they've handled them easily twice, but a second round game against Marianapolis (#3) or Cushing Academy (#6) could present problems.  Marianapolis is hot, having beaten both St. A's and Tilton over the past month.  Cushing features well regarded sophomore Domonique Bull.

Dream Scenario:

In a dream scenario for Providence fans, Coleman and Tilton go head to head with Carter-Williams, Ledo and St. A's.  Tilton won the teams' first, and only, matchup of the season at the BABC tournament in January.  Trailing by 9 at the half, Tilton won by 10, as Coleman netted 28 points.  St. A's was held to a mere 19 points in the second half on the afternoon.

While Coleman, Carter-Williams, and Ledo will be the headliners, the X-factor could end up being Tilton's Georges Niang, an underrated inside-outside scoring sophomore who is emerging (36 versus Brewster Academy).

Class C

Lawrence Academy:

Anything but St. Mark's and LA meeting in the finals would be a shock.  Napier's squad is undefeated at 25-0 and won't come into this tournament cocky, as they were eliminated in an early shocker a year ago. 

LA pasted first round opponent Rivers, 61-39, a week ago.  Awaiting in round 2 would be Holderness, who LA beat by 21 in the season opener behind 21 from Napier, or Milton Academy who fell to Lawrence by 9 three weeks ago. 

St. Mark's:

In December St. Mark's fell to Lawrence Academy in Groton, their second of three straight losses.  After the losing streak St. Mark's record stood at 2-4.  Since then Alex Murphy has upped his level of play, and his team joined him, winning 17 of their final 18 games, with wins over St. Andrew's, Worcester Academy, Winchendon, and a 30 point drubbing of the same Marianapolis team that recently took out Tilton and St. A's. 

Since Nate Lubick's buzzer beater against Winchendon at the National Prep Invitational they've won their next 8 games by: 36, 60, 19, 27, 28, 46, 22, and 27 points.  This team is a buzzsaw right now.

Dream Scenario II:

How nice would it be to see LA and St. Mark's at 2, Tilton v. St. A's at 4, and Winchedon v. Brewster at 6? 

The Class C final seems the most likely.  If this were to occur it would be a classic guards versus bigs matchup.  In the first meeting Napier pressured St. Mark's point guard and forced Lubick to bring the ball up the court, taking St. Mark's out of their offense a bit.

Napier, Denzil Brito, Marcus Grant, and Sarkie Ampin make up an athletic LA team that is lacking on size and depth, while St. Mark's has Lubick, Murphy, a Friarbasketball favorite Melsahn Basabe (Siena), with sophomore Kaleb Tarczewski coming off of the bench. 

The biggest difference in this game might be a more assertive Alex Murphy, who didn't look to score much in December.  On paper, St. Mark's might be the favorite, but Napier plays his best in the biggest games and I'd never count a team out who has him.