Nolan Colby and the Souhegan Sabers are driving into the Division II tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing 17-1. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The Souhegan High School boys basketball team grabbed the top spot in the Division II boys tournament by virtue of its stellar 17-1 season.

That has earned the Sabers a first-round bye, and they will start their postseason on Friday night at 7 p.m. vs. the winner of the preliminary round game between No. 9 Coe Brown and No. 8 Laconia, scheduled for this past Tuesday.

The Sabers didn’t play Coe-Brown but rallied to beat 10-8 Laconia 66-61 last Thursday. Souhegan’s only loss was at home to 15-3 Lebanon, and if they win Friday they could possibly see the No. 4 Raiders, or No. 5 Pembroke, in the semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 15 at

Oyster River.

Meanwhile, the Milford Spartans are also in the Sabers’ bracket. Milford, No. 12 after a competitive 8-10 regular season, was scheduled to play at Pembroke (13-5) in this past Tuesday’s prelims. Milford was beaten by the Spartans 55-43 back on Dec. 18 in Milford.

If the Spartans pulled the upset, they would be facing either Lebanon or No. 13 Oyster River in Friday’s quarterfinals, the latter at home and the former on the road.

In the Division II girls tournament, the No. 12 Milford Spartans finished 9-9 after entering the season with a 38-game losing streak.

They were scheduled to visit No. 5 Laconia on Wednesday night. Laconia (10-8) beat Milford 60-38 back on Dec. 22.

Were the Spartans to pull off the upset win, they would face the winner of No. 4 Merrimack Valley vs. No. 13 Coe-Brown on Saturday – the former on the road or the latter at home in the quarterfinals.