The tourney's four Dual Valley Conference teams - defending Clark champion Hopedale (13-4), DVC titlist Blackstone-Millville (12-2), Nipmuc (12-4) and Sutton (11-6) - could make things interesting in the Small Schools.

Two Mid-Wach teams - Maynard (11-6) and Groton-Dunstable (9-8) - round out the eight-team field. Maynard opens with Lunenburg while Groton-Dunstable meets Millbury.

Maynard's DeLeon brothers, Armando and Jarreau, require special attention.

ONLY LEAGUE GAMES

In order to save its junior varsity and eighth-grade programs, Blackstone-Millville has played only league games this season.

BMR opens against Sutton in what should be an interesting matchup. BMR is led by Mike Trudel (18 ppg). Sutton is paced by Ken Stockhaus (17 ppg).

Nipmuc, which faces Hopedale, is led by Mike Webster and Kyle Wood, each of whom averages 14 points. Hopedale's Chris Tattrie and Tim Mooradian, who helped the Blue Raiders to the Clark title last year, are both back.

In the Large Schools, Milford, which won back-to-back crowns in 1987 and '88, hasn't won a Clark in four years. But the Scarlets Hawks have been there, losing in the semis last year to eventual champion North Middlesex and falling the year before in the final.

Milford boasts one of the area's premier big men in 6-6 Luis Galindo (18 ppg, 15 rpg). David Hava is an excellent point guard and Jose Colon can fill it up from the other guard spot.

SOME DEPTH

"We've had a lot of guys step up depth-wise," said Manguso. "That allows us to use 10 guys. And we may be needing all the help we can get with so many good teams in this tournament."

Two of those good teams are Ayer and Westboro, which tied for first place in the Mid-Wach B. They could meet for a third time - the season series is 1-1 - in the semis.

Coach Dick LaDuke's Rangers, who handed Ayer its first loss of the season last week, won the district title last year after losing to Milford by 2 points in the opening round of the Clark.

Tom Keane, a three-year starter, is Westboro's offensive leader (17 ppg, 5 apg). Point guard Andy Kassatly may be the most indispensable Ranger. The 6-4 Steve DeBoer is an excellent all-around athlete. P.J. Matson, the football quarterback, and 6-4 Greg White, who is improving each game, round out the starting five.

EXPERIENCE

Ayer, which won back-to-back Clark titles in 1989 and '90, has eight seniors and four juniors. Don Kelley, who coached at Notre Dame of Fitchburg for nine years, is in his first year with the Panthers.

Junior Steve Ross, who leads Mid-Wach B in scoring (22.5 ppg), is the only non-senior starter. The other starters are 6-3 forward John Speidel, 6-1 guard Shawn Murphy, 6-4 center Dietrich Bormann and 5-8 guard Tony Thomas. Mike Boston gives the Panthers a big boost off the bench.

Bartlett has played in 15 Clark finals, winning six times. Strangely enough, the last three years Bartlett won district titles - 1985, 1987 and 1988 - it did not win the Clark crown.

Coach Don Cushing says this year's club is one of his most explosive. Guard Todd Minarik (23 ppg) has already made more 3-pointers than the team made all last year. Guard Todd Daskowski (13 ppg, 6 apg) and Bob Bourget (11 ppg) also start in the Indians' three-guard offense.

MORE QUALITY

Dan Woznicki (10 ppg, 9 rpg) and Jeremy Stawiecki (6 ppg, 8 rpg) key the frontcourt. Joe Flynn and Jason Grudzien provide offensive punch off the bench.

Auburn (11-5), Bay Path (10-6), Oxford (11-6) and Tantasqua (10-6) are the bottom four seeds, but each is capable of pulling an upset because of some talented individuals.

Oxford's Mike Sampson leads the SWCL in scoring with a 25-point average.

Auburn boasts three of the Border Conference's top 10 scorers - 6-3 Mark Donahue (17 ppg), 6-3 Mike Milewski (15 ppg) and Dan Natoli (12 ppg). The Dandies; 5-5 pepperpot, John Krikorian, who has returned from a broken hand, is one of the top 3-point shooters around.

Bay Path has an exciting guard in Pedro Morales while Tantasqua forward Matt O'Connell is a force.

Pairings

LARGE SCHOOLS Tomorrow

Milford (14-3) vs. Auburn (11-5), 2 p.m.

Bartlett (15-2) vs. Bay Path (10-6), 4 p.m.

Westboro (14-3) vs. Oxford (11-6), 6 p.m.

Ayer (16-1) vs. Tantasqua (10-6), 8 p.m.

SMALL SCHOOLS Today

Blackstone-Millville (12-2) vs. Sutton (11-6), 2 p.m.

Millbury (16-1) vs. Groton-Dunstable (9-8), 4 p.m.

Hopedale (13-4) vs. Nipmuc (12-4), 6 p.m.

Lunenburg (17-0) vs. Maynard (11-6), 8 p.m.all-star for the third straight year. Mooradian was captain of the golf and basketball teams. He helped Hopedale win the Clark Tournament and District E, Division 3 titles in basketball. He was named DVC player of the year in basketball. He is the son of Kenneth and Marilyn Mooradian of 134 Green St., Hopedale.

It wasn't a Nipmuc Warrior that spelled defeat for Hopedale last night, it was a Brooklyn Dodger.

Jackie Robinson was Mike Grant's childhood hero, and with the game on the line the struggling freshman guard invoked the spirit of the Hall-of-Famer.

Grant then relaxed and sank four free throws in the final 41.1 seconds, as fifth-seeded Nipmuc rallied to upend fourth-seeded Hopedale, 64-60, in the opening round of the Small Schools division of the Clark Tournament.HERO WAS ROBINSON

"Michael's hero growing up was Jackie Robinson," explained Nipmuc coach Jim Grant, who doubles as Mike's father. "He had courage, not necessarily the courage to always win, but the courage to always try. So, before he went to the line I said, "Remember Jackie Robinson!"'

Hopedale had opened a 46-34 lead when Tim Mooradian (21 points) canned a three-pointer with 10:47 remaining. Momentum then shifted as the Warriors got their inside game untracked and went on a 19-4 scoring burst.

Kyle Wood (16 points, 13 rebounds) tied the game at 50 for Nipmuc, splitting the lane between a pair of Blue Knights for an easy layup. Greg Gorman (16 points, 5 assists) then put the Warriors ahead to stay at 53-50, converting a three-point play by nailing a jumper and tossing in the ensuing free throw.

"If we played Hopedale 10 times, we'd probably beat them once, they're that good," said Jim Grant, whose 13-4 Warriors had lost their previous two encounters with Hopedale. "We moved our feet better on defense in the second half. We did a good job on the boards, and we also had a much better shot selection."42 PERCENT SHOOTING

The Blue Knights had completely dominated Nipmuc in the first half, taking a 31-23 halftime lead. That was due to 42 per cent shooting from the floor to the Warriors' paltry 31 per cent.

"I didn't feel comfortable when we were up by eight at halftime or when we led by 10 or 12 later on," explained Hopedale coach Don Klocek. "I thought we were impatient on offense. We never got into a regular flow. We took too many quick shots."

Mooradian was joined in double figures by teammate Chris Tattrie, who tossed in 20. Michael Webster had 12 for Nipmuc, to go along with leading scorers Wood and Gorman, but Grant's 13 may have been the most significant.

NIPMUC (64) Michael Grant 3-9 4-6 13, Anthony Ferrucci 2-6 3-4 7, Michael Webster 4-13 3-3 12, Kyle Wood 7-13 2-5 16, Greg Gorman 6-17 4-6 16, Matt Wagner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 16-24 64.

HOPEDALE (60) Daniel Antonellis 2-4 0-0 5, Bryan Tattrie 1-3 0-0 2, Bryan Reickart 0-2 1-1 1, Chris Tattrie 7-21 6-8 21, Timothy Mooradian 9-20 0-0 21, Jason Bucell 4-7 1-2 9, Kevin Milhomme 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-58 8-11 60.

Halftime: Hopedale, 31-23. Three-point goals: Nipmuc 4-13 (Grant 3-5, Webster 1-7, Gorman 0-1), Hopedale 4-12 (Mooradian 3-8, Antonellis 1-3, C. Tattrie 0-1). Rebounds: Nipmuc 40 (Wood 13), Hopedale 38 (C. Tattrie 9). Assists: Nipmuc 15 (Gorman 5), Hopedale 9 (Antonellis 5). Team Fouls: Nipmuc 12, Hopedale 22. Fouled Out: B. Tattrie. Technical Fouls: None. Records: Nipmuc 13-4, Hopedale 13-5.