Berlin, Littleton get top seeds in D3 and 4 boys basketball

The Berlin High School boys basketball team is in a pretty good spot to try to win back-to-back championships for the first time since 1936-37.

The Mountaineers will be the No. 1 seed in Division III, while Littleton, the runner-up in Division IV last year, will be the top seed in the D4 tournament.

Division III

The Mountaineers (17-1) won the Division III title in 2012, their first basketball championship since 1940, and finished in a three-way tie with Conant (17-1) and Newport (17-1) for first in the division this year.

But thanks to two wins over Division II Kennett, Berlin won the tiebreaker based on a better rating. And with one win over Con-Val, also from D2, Conant got the second seed ahead of Newport.

With 20 teams in the field, the tournament opens on Tuesday with four games, all starting at 7 p.m. No. 13 Belmont (8-10) hosts No. 20 Fall Mountain (6-12), with the winner of that game moving on to face No. 4 Gilford (15-3) in the second round on Thursday.

No. 17 Winnisquam (7-11) will play at No. 16 Farmington (7-11) in the first round, and the winner moves on to play No. 1 Berlin in the second round.

No. 15 White Mountain (7-11) hosts No. 18 Monadnock (6-10) Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the second round to face No. 2 Conant.

No. 19 Kearsarge (6-12) heads to No. 14 Inter-Lakes (7-11) in the final first round game, and the winner of that game will play at No. 3 Newport in the second round.

Four other second round games are scheduled for Thursday, also at 7 p.m. No. 5 Campbell (14-4) will host No. 12 Stevens (9-9) and No. 9 Raymond (11-7) will play at No. 8 Mascoma (12-6). No. 10 Prospect Mountain travels to No. 7 Somersworth (13-5) and No. 6 Hopkinton (14-4) hosts No. 11 Bow (10-8).

Second round winners will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. at the home of the higher seed. The semifinals are scheduled for March 5 at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Southern New Hampshire University.

The championship game will be held March 9 at 3 p.m., also at SNHU.

Division IV

Littleton (17-1) is the top seed in the tournament and will host No. 16 Portsmouth Christian (4-14) in the preliminary round, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

The winner of that game will face either No. 9 Concord Christian (12-6) or No. 8 Pittsfield (12-6), who will also play on Tuesday.

No. 4 Derryfield (14-4) hosts No. 13 Canaan-Pittsburg (6-12) in the first round on Tuesday, and the winner moves on to the quarterfinals to face either No. 5 Colebrook (13-5) or No. 12 Gorham (7-11).

Second-seeded Newmarket (16-2) plays host to No. 15 Woodsville (4-14) in the first round Tuesday. The winner advances to play the winner of No. 7 Epping (12-5) and No. 10 Sunapee (8-10) in the quarterfinals.

No. 3 Profile (14-4) takes on No. 14 Groveton (5-13) in the first round, with the winner moving on to face either No. 6 Lisbon (13-5) or No. 11 Moultonborough (7-11), the defending division champs.

All quarterfinal games are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at the home of the higher seed. The semifinals will be held on March 5 at 5:30 and 7 p.m. at Plymouth State University.

The championship game will be played March 9 at 1 p.m., also at PSU.