NH HS Season Wrap-Up

New England Recruiting Report | Saturday, April 2nd, 2016

Our sixth and final state recap looks back on the season that was in New Hampshire.

Manchester Central took the Division I crown with a dramatic 60-58 overtime win over Merrimack, only after a potential game winning three-pointer was ruled after the final buzzer.

Jaylen Leroy led Central with 25 points, 7 of which came in overtime. Jon Makori added 13, including 4 in overtime. Merrimack was led by Zak Kerr’s 21 points while Ian Cummings had 14, Ian Roberts 11 and Andrew Wojciak 11.

In Division II, Portsmouth capped a perfect 22-0 season by winning the state championship with a 43-29 decision over Lebanon. It was Portsmouth’s first state championship since 2012 and their last in the D2 ranks, as they’ll move up to D1 next season.

Cody Graham fought through a cold shooting performance to finish with a game high 17 points while Shon Parham added 11. Lebanon star K.J. Matte was the priority for Portsmouth’s defense all night long and was held to just 8 points despite attempting 20 shots from the field.

Top-seeded Pelham took the Division III championship with a 43-39 win over third seeded Kearsarge.

Keith Brown, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in New Hampshire earlier in the month, was the hero down the stretch. First, he made a pair of free-throws to push the Pelham lead to five with 22 seconds left on the clock, then after Kearsarge made a three and got the ball back for one final possession, he came up with a steal and knocked down two more free-throws to solidify the championship.

Pelham finished the season 21-1, winning their second consecutive NHIAA state championship despite losing four starters from last year’s championship team.

Littleton took the Division IV state championship with a 38-36 win over Portsmouth Christian at Dover in a match-up of the top two seeds in the field.

Shortly after the state champions were crowned, the NHIAA released their post-season award recipients.

Division 1 Player of the Year - Jaylen Leroy, Manchester Central

Divion 1 First Team: Jaylen Leroy, Manchester Central; Bryant Holmes, Exeter; Nate Hale, Nashua North; D.J. Frechette, Nashua South; Brennan Morris, Pinkerton; Jake Coleman, Londonderry.

Division 1 Second Team: Ronnie Silva, Nashua North; Mat Vartanian, Salem; Cody Morissette, Exeter; Cal Connelly, Spaulding; Connor Walsh, Trinity; Brandon Scott, Manchester Memorial.

Division 2 Player of the Year - K.J. Matte, Lebanon

Division 2 First Team: K.J. Matte, Lebanon; Joe Bell, Bishop Brady; Joey Glynn, Portsmouth; Cody Graham, Portsmouth; Austin Whaley, Lebanon; Joe Simpson, Manchester West.

Division 2 Second Team: Keenan Caron, Manchester West; Ryan Banuskevich, Milford; Shon Parham, Portsmouth; Kirk Palladino, Milford; Ryan Milliken, Lebanon; Jerrell Webster, Souhegan.

Division 3 Player of the Year - Keith Brown, Pelham

Division 3 First Team: Keith Brown, Pelham; Christian Serrano, Winnisquam; Josh DeGrenier, Conant; Trent Noordsij, Kearsarge; Dana Bean, Franklin; Simeon Hodgson, Conant.

Division 3 Second Team: Kenney Torres, Franklin; Alex Swartz, Mascoma; Brandon Ford, Conant; Kyle Frank, Pelham; Henry Yianakopolos, Hopkinton; Zach Swanson, Inter-Lakes.

Division 4 Player of the Year - Kuba Kubkowski, Littleton

Division 4 First Team: Kuba Kubkowski, Littleton; Matt Tenney, Sunapee; Trey Carrier, Wilton-Lyndeborough; Jaret Bemis, Woodsville; Sam Anderson, Derryfield; Logan Briggs, Littleton.

Division 4 Second Team: Sedrick McKinnon, Colebrook; Kylani Lafleur, Portsmouth Christian; Ian Bentley, Newmarket; Corey Gadwah, Groveton; Cam Darrah, Pittsfield; Colby Wilson, Epping.