Like the NFL’s New England Patriots and Oyster River in New Hampshire Class I, the Salem boys basketball team finished the regular season undefeated.

By thrashing Alvirne in Hudson, 73-59, on Friday, Feb. 29, the Blue Devils completed their schedule with an 18-0 record, the first season without blemish in school history. It also marked the 28th straight Class L victory for the locals.

Now, coach E.J. Perry is focused on exterminating the upset bug that plagued the aforementioned squads.

Oyster River fell, 45-44, to No. 9 Pembroke in the Class I quarterfinals, and the Pats tale is already one of cautionary legend.

“Upsets happen, and it is sad for Oyster River, but this is a focused group who has dealt with (the pressure of being the favorite) in the past,” said Perry of his defending Class L champs. “We have played in close games and just have to be ready for the other team’s best game. My worry in the past has always been with taking a team lightly, but once you make the playoffs, then you know that every team is good, so we will try to avoid that.”

While Perry admitted there is little he can do to take the pressure off the players once they are on the court, he said their continued focus on execution, rather than the final result, has keyed their success thus far.

The effort against Alvirne was the most recent example. Josh Jones, who Perry said is a leading candidate for Class L player of the year, led a balanced attack with 20 points and five rebounds.

Shawn Stoodley, with 14 points and 17 rebounds, helped shut down 6-foot-5 Alvirne standout Brennan Donnelly. And Kevin Sledge hammered the host’s defense, coming off the bench in the second half, with Salem leading 32-28, and initiating a 10-2 run with his up-tempo play and sleek passing. He finished with 10 points and seven assists.

A week after playing 32 minutes against Manchester Central, Josh Frederico was on the court for 31 minutes against Alvirne. Sean Bergeron, forced into action when both Stoodley and Dan Kinney ran into foul trouble, tallied two points, four rebounds and one “spectacular” block, said Perry, and more importantly, gave his coach confidence to turn to him in the postseason.

For the second straight season, Salem enters the Class L tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Blue Devils host Manchester Memorial on Thursday, March 6, at 7 p.m. in the preliminary round.

Should they win, their quarterfinal matchup, against either No. 8 Pinkerton or No. 9 Winnacunnet, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham.

“Once in the playoffs, you can’t fear anything,” said Perry. “Some people said that it would have been good to lose one, but I disagree. Play your best every night and good things will happen.”