Trinity gets top seed in D1 boys basketball tournament

For the second straight year, the Trinity High School boys basketball team will be the top seed when the Division I tournament begins Tuesday, and the Pioneers will be looking for their fifth championship game appearance in the last seven years.

Trinity (17-1) opens the tournament by host No. 16 Pinkerton (5-13) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The two teams did not play during the regular season. The Pioneers enter the playoffs having won seven in a row since their only loss of the regular season, while Pinkerton has lost five of its last six.

The winner of that game will take on either No. 8 Bedford (12-6) or No. 9 Winnacunnet (10-8) in the quarterfinals. Bedford won at Winnacunnet on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer during the regular season. The Bulldogs have won six in a row, and nine of their last 10 games, while the Warriors enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak.

No. 4 Nashua South (14-4) plays host to No. 13 Salem (8-10) on Tuesday. The Panthers beat the Devils by 12 points back on Jan. 15 and South enters the game having won six of its last seven games.

Either South or Salem will advance to face the winner of No. 12 Dover (8-10) and No. 5 Manchester Memorial (13-5). The Green Wave beat the Crusaders by 12 on the seacoast back on Jan. 4, handing Memorial its first loss of the season. The rematch will be in Manchester on Tuesday. The Crusaders have lost two of three to end the season, while Dover had lost three in a row before winning its regular-season finale.

No. 2 Manchester Central (15-3) has lost three in a row going into Tuesday's playoff game against No. 15 Londonderry (5-13). The two teams played on Jan. 11, with the Little Green winning big, 73-48. The Lancers have lost seven of their last eight games.

The winner of that game gets the winner of No. 7 Bishop Guertin (13-5) and No. 10 Alvirne (10-8). The Cardinals won the lone regular-season meeting on Jan. 15, 68-57, and the two teams ended the season going in different directions. Bishop Guertin won five of its six final games, while Alvirne lost three of four to end the year.

No. 3 Spaulding (15-3) will host No. 14 Keene (5-13) in the first round on Tuesday. It will be the Blackbirds second trip of the season to Rochester, as Spaulding won the first matchup 77-52 on Dec. 18. The Red Raiders enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak while Keene has lost four in row.

The winner will face either No. 11 Exeter (9-9) or No. 6 Merrimack (13-5), last year's champion, in the quarterfinals. The Tomahawks won in the regular season, beating the Blue Hawks in double overtime, but Exeter beat Merrimack in the Queen City Invitational.

All quarterfinal games will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. at the home of the higher seed, while the semifinals will be March 12, starting at 5:30 p.m., at the University of New Hampshire.

The championship game is slated for March 16 at 3 p.m., also at UNH.