Hollis Brookline's Alton Williams dirves to the hoop during Friday night's quarterfinal win over Coe-Brown in Hollis. (Photo by Dan Attorri)

And then there were….only two???

It’s the second and final week of the NHAA basketball and hockey tournaments, and this is usually the time when we go though the list of a handful of survivals.

Well, the survivor pool after this past weekend’s surprising results is just about out of water. The area went 2-10 in quarterfinal results; the real stunner was Division II hockey top seed Alvirne-Milford bowing by five goals at the hands of eighth-seeded Somersworth-Coe-Brown, and Hollis Brookline’s girls hoop team saw its 13-game winning streak end after falling by just a single point to Pelham, 44-43. And let’s not forget No. 6 Alvirne boys basketball losing 62-60 to No. 3 Trinity in the Division I quarters. Friday night No. 4 Nashua South was eliminated by No. 5 Exeter in the Division I girls quarters.

We could go on. But yes, there’s just two teams that are still alive for the 2025-26 winter sports season, and one of them is in action tonight. The unbeaten, No. 1 Hollis Brookline boys basketball team (19-0) will take on No. 5 Hanover at 7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Recreation Center. Not exactly walk down the street for either team, especially the Bears. Hanover (16-4) beat Sanborn and then knocked off No. 4 Pembroke on Friday.

The other survivor? Third seed Bishop Guertin boys hockey, which scored three goals in the third period to beat No. 6 Keene. The Cardinals were expected to see No. 2 Trinity in the semis at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Manchester’s JFK Coliseum. But nope, the Pioneers were upset by none other than the No. 10 Hanover Bears. Hanover was the last team to qualify at 8-10, and has now won two games.

Here’s a quick look:

BOYS BASKETBALL

A couple of weeks ago, Cavaliers head coach Ryan Kelley pointed to Hanover as one of a couple of teams that might pose a big test in the tourney.

“Their defense is so pristine, it’s cleanly physical,” Kelley said. “It’s the best way I can describe it.”

Still, with 6-6 Alton Williams, James Arthur as another scorer and Dylan Kelley leading a tenacious defense, the Cavs are a tough out.They beat Da Bears 58-45 in Hanover back on Jan. 16, scoring 25 in the second quarter to take control. Williams had 22 points while Hanover was led by senior Wyatt Daigle with 14. One thing about the Bears, they have 11 seniors on the roster. Seniors often win.

BOYS HOCKEY

The Cards actually lost to Hanover 6-4 back on Jan. 10 at Hanover, giving up a hat trick to Rex Chany and three third period goals. Jordan O’Hearn had two goals to lead the Cards.

Guertin and Concord seem to be staring each other down until they can meet in a possible rematch of last year’s three-plus overtime final, won by the Tide. BG is the only team to have beaten Concord this season. Saturday both were on the ropes, the Tide down 2-0 early to Bedford and BG 1-1 with Keene going into the third.

WRESTLING

The area had three wrestlers show up on the stat sheet at the New England Championships in Providence, R.I.on Saturday. BG’s Bishop Kearns finished fourth in the heavyweight division, while Hollis Brookline’s Jacob Critchfield took fifth at 165. Nashua South’s Benny Byrne took sixth at 157, all capping highly successful championship seasons.