Bishop Guertin, Milford take top boys basketball seeds

Both the Bishop Guertin High School and the Milford High School boys basketball teams have earned the No. 1 seed in their respective divisions' postseason, which begin this week.

The Cardinals (16-2) finished the regular season on a 12-game winning streak and will host a first-round game in the Division I tourney on Tuesday. Milford (18-0) ended the regular season without a loss and will be at home for a Division II first-round game on Wednesday.

Division I

Bishop Guertin, which hasn't lost a game since  an overtime loss at Spaulding on Jan. 14, will play host to No. 16 Concord (4-14) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Nashua. The Cardinals won the regular-season meeting between the two on Feb. 25, 85-36. The winner will face either No. 8 Spaulding (11-7) or No. 9 Dover (10-8) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Nashua North (7-11) won its regular-season finale to snap a seven-game losing streak, and the Titans enter the tournament as the 12th seed. They'll take on No. 5 Salem (13-5) in the preliminary round at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Salem won the regular-season game, 53-42, on Jan. 21.

The winner of that game will face either No. 4 Manchester Central (14-4) or No. 13 Nashua South (6-12), which has won four of its last five games, in the quarterfinals. Central won the only regular-season meeting between the two 71-41 on Feb. 8, and the Little Green will host Tuesday's preliminary round game at 7 p.m.

No. 6 Merrimack (12-6) will host No. 11 Alvirne (9-9), which has bounced back from an 0-6 start to win nine of its final 12 games. These teams played the regular-season opener on Dec. 17, with Merrimack taking a 54-42 win in Hudson. Tuesday's preliminary round game will be at 7 p.m. in Merrimack, with the winner advancing to play either No. 3 Manchester Memorial (15-3) or No. 14 Manchester West (6-12) in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Trinity (15-3) hosts No. 15 Exeter (6-12) in the first-round at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, with the winner moving on to face either No. 7 Londonderry (11-7) or No. 10 Pinkerton (9-9) in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals are scheduled to take place on March 15, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the University of New Hampshire. The championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on March 19, also at UNH.

Division II

For the second straight season, Milford is the top seed and will host No. 16 Laconia (6-12) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the preliminary round. The two teams didn't meet during the regular season.

The winner will take on either No. 8 Coe-Brown (12-6) or No. 9 Bedford (12-6), who will also play Wendesday at 7 p.m., in the quarterfinals. Those teams also didn't play during the regular season.

No. 4 Pelham (15-3) will take on No. 13 Kingswood (9-9) on Wednesday, and the winner of that game will face the winner of No. 5 Goffstown (14-4) and No. 12 Oyster River (11-7).

Souhegan (12-6) enters the tournament as the No. 10 seed and the Sabers will have to travel to face No. 7 Lebanon (13-5). The Raiders won the regular-season meeting on March 3, 60-58, in the finale for both teams. That game was also at Lebanon, and Wednesday's will start at 7 p.m.

The winner will face either No. 2 Pembroke (16-2) or No. 15 Kearsarge (7-11) in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Portsmouth (15-3) is the No. 3 seed and the Clippers will host No. 14 John Stark (9-9) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round. The winner gets to take on the winner of No. 6 Hanover (14-4) and No. 11 Merrimack Valley (11-7) in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals are scheduled for March 16, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the University of New Hampshire. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on March 19, also at UNH.