WORCESTER - Nipmuc Regional is the top seed, but once again Ayer High is the favorite.

Ayer High has won the Clark Tournament's large school division title in three of the past four years. This year, the 15-2 Panthers dropped to the small division, where they're the third seed. They take on Grafton at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the opening game of the tournament.

"As much as I enjoy being the No. 1 seed," said Jim Grant, coach of 16-1 Nipmuc, "I don't consider it to be a safe seed."

"Ayer worries me the most," admitted Tom Flynn, coach of second-seeded Bromfield. "They have the best player in Steve Ross."

Ross, a guard, averages 27.1 points a game, second to Maynard's Jarreau DeLeon (27.9) among all players in the Clark Tournament this year.

Bromfield plays Maynard at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow. Hopedale takes on Groton-Dunstable at 6 and Nipmuc meets Sutton at 7:45. Small school semifinals will be played Tuesday night. The final is set for 7:45 p.m. Friday.

Nipmuc hasn't won the Clark Tournament since 1964. Grant started as a junior on that team, and Grant's current assistant coach, John MacDonnell, was the star.

Nipmuc has already beaten Sutton, its first-round foe, twice, but Grant won't let his team grow overconfident. Last year, Hopedale beat Nipmuc twice during the regular season, but Nipmuc downed Hopedale in the Clark. In 1989, Grant's eighth-seeded Warriors knocked off top-seeded Millbury in the opening round.

"If Sutton is shooting the ball well from the outside, we could be in trouble," said Grant.

WORCESTER - With six minutes to play, and his team - which had led by as many as 10 points - clinging to a two-point lead, Groton-Dunstable center Todd Allen decided there was no time like the present.

"I had just committed a bad turnover," he said, "and I remember thinking, "Somebody's got to step up and win this game for us,' and, as I ran down court, I said to myself, "Why not me?' "

Allen scored five of the Crusaders' final 11 points as they defeated Hopedale, 50-40, in the first round of the small school division of the Clark Tournament before more than 700 fans at the Kneller Athletic Center.

HITS THE HOOK

Groton-Dunstable (12-5) will face Nipmuc at 7:45 p.m. tomorrow in the semifinals.

The Crusaders led, 37-35, when Allen wheeled into the lane and lofted a hook shot (a hook shot?) with 5:59 to play to put G-D up by four.

"I like the hook," said the 6-foot-8 senior. "I don't use it as much as I should, but when I need it, it's usually right there."

Just 60 seconds later, on the Crusaders' next trip, Allen meandered from his normal spot in the lane and swished a 12-foot jumper to put the troops ahead by six. With 22.7 seconds to play, Allen sealed the victory for Groton-Dunstable by making a steal and then nailing the front end of a one-and-one opportunity to give the Crusaders a 46-40 lead.

Allen, who played all 32 minutes, finished with a game-high 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, three blocked shots and the aforementioned steal.

Allen got help from the yellow-stockinged Josh DeWitt, who tossed in 13 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.

HATES WHITE SOCKS

"I just hate to wear white socks," DeWitt said in explaining his bright hosiery. "I usually wear gray socks with maroon stripes, but I figured since this was a special occasion I should pick up a special pair."

The Crusaders' Dave Brogan drew the toughest defensive assignment as coach Bill McGuirk asked him to shut down Hopedale's Bryan Tattrie, who came in averaging 14 points a contest. Brogan was equal to the task, holding Tattrie to just 10 points by forcing him into the middle of the defense and a 3-for-12 shooting night from the field.

"My strategy was to keep him dribbling and force him in to the big guy," Brogan said, pointing to Allen. "During one possession, Todd had two straight rejections. I knew after that they'd be intimidated, so I tried to force him to the middle even more."

Groton-Dunstable outrebounded 12-6 Hopedale, 34-27, had nine more assists (15-6) and six fewer turnovers (14-8).

"I thought the biggest key was our switching from the zone, which they were eating up, to the man-to-man, which caused them trouble," said McGuirk. "We led, 12-4, went to the zone, and all of sudden it was 14-11 and then tied (at 22) at halftime."

ANKLE HURTING

Brian Reickert, playing on a not-quite-100-percent, recently injured ankle, led the Blue Raiders with a team-high 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

"We were done in by Black Monday," said Tattrie. "Last Monday we lost our leading rebounder, Steve Cooper, to grades during the day and then lost Brian Reickert to a badly sprained ankle in a game that night.

"But we're young. Reickert, Matt Conlin and I are all juniors. We'll be back," he said.

This may be the 54th edition of the Clark, but it's a tournament where anything is possible and hope springs eternal.

GROTON-DUNSTABLE (50) Greg Gillette 1-2 4-4 7, Josh DeWitt 6-12 1-1 13, Brian Wells 3-12 0-0 6, Dave Brogan 2-4 2-2 6, Todd Allen 6-12 2-4 14, Dan Hutchinson 0-2 0-0 0, Jeff Ridel 2-3 0-0 4, Eric Roensch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 9-11 50.

HOPEDALE (40) Neil Kosciak 2-7 0-2 5, Brian Reickert 3-8 7-8 13, Bryan Tattrie 3-12 4-4 10, James Howard 1-4 0-0 2, Matthew Conlin 0-3 0-0 0, Nick DeGellonaldo 2-6 0-0 6, Jason Potty 1-3 0-0 2, Clint Milhomme 1-1 0-0 2, Joshua Piccirillo 0-0 0-0 0, Tony Aquafresca 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-44 11-14 40.

Halftime: Groton-Dunstable 22, Hopedale 22. Three-point goals: Groton-Dunstable 1-6 (Gillette 1-2, DeWitt 0-1, Wells 0-2, Hutchinson 0-1), Hopedale 3-10 (Kosciak 1-6, DeGellonaldo 2-4). Rebounds: Groton-Dunstable 34 (Allen 11), Hopedale 27 (Reickert 12). Assists: Groton-Dunstable 15 (Wells 5), Hopedale 6 (Tattrie 3). Total fouls: Groton-Dunstable 11, Hopedale 14. Fouled out: Howard. Technical fouls: None. Records: Groton-Dunstable 12-5, Hopedale 12-6. A: 717.