It was a season of royalty for Division IV girls’ and boys’ basketball.
Concord Christian had both its programs reach their respective state championship games, with the girls’ winning their first title in program history and the boys finishing as runners-up.
The two teams combined for a regular-season record of 35-1. No typos or misprints there. Let’s take a closer look at the Kingsmen success and other area D-IV programs:
Key game: The 36-35 win over Derryfield on Jan. 18.
Key moment: Winning the program’s first championship.
Season end: Won the state championship, 46-28, against Derryfield.
Final marks: Is there a better way to win your program’s first state championship than to do it by going undefeated? Obviously not, and the Lady Kingsmen are just getting started. A bulk of their talent came from their eighth-grade class, so the rest of the division can strap in for a potential dynasty for the next four years. Names to watch for the coming seasons include Sarah Muir (All-State Defensive Team), Lilli Carlile (All-State Honorable Mention) and Emma Smith (All-State Honorable Mention).
Key game: The quarterfinal win over Lin-Wood to advance to the semis, avenging last year’s quarterfinal exit.
Key moment: The Kingsmen’s semifinal win over Holy Family to send them to their first championship since 1999.
Season end: Loss to Woodsville (58-49) in the state championship.
Final marks: Short of being named Mr. N.H. Basketball, the accolades for the Kingsmen senior Issac Jarvis rolled in. The 6-foot-8 forward had a double-double in CCA’s nine-point loss in the championship and spearheaded a 17-win regular season. Coach Eric Heizer retains a good amount of talent for next season as the Kingsmen will look to stay atop the division.
Key game: A 44-40 win over Lin-Wood on Jan. 28.
Key moment: The victory over the Lumberjacks, as it was Franklin’s last of the season.
Season end: Loss at Lisbon (62-27) in the regular-season finale.
Final marks: It was a tough go for first-year coach Mark Dionne and the Tornadoes. Despite the lack of immediate success in Dionne’s rebuild, Franklin won two games and will return 10 players to its roster next season. With some offseason work, Franklin should expect to see a real jump next season.
Key game: February’s 53-52 win over Pittsburg-Canaan, the win to eclipse last season’s victory total.
Key moment: Achieving six wins, capped by the road victory against Lisbon in the second-to-last game of the season.
Season end: Loss against Farmington (45-32) in the regular-season finale.
Final marks: The Tornadoes eclipsed last season’s four wins by getting six thanks in part to the program’s four-player senior class. Third-year coach David Bedard retains nine players, including a big freshman class of five. With valuable minutes this season, Franklin’s squad will look to turn its within-range-but-still-large-deficit losses into closer games next season.
Key game: Win against Nute (64-36) on Jan. 26.
Key moment: Pittsfield’s lone win of the season.
Season end: Loss at Portsmouth Christian (58-52) in the regular-season finale.
Final marks: In a seemingly get-back year for the Panthers, they had nine losses decided by 10 points or fewer. Despite having All-State Honorable Mention player Jordan Roode graduating, Pittsfield returns five juniors and could turn some of those losses into wins.