While higher-seeded teams have had a fairly successful track record in Maine’s high school boys basketball tournament over the years, the coaches who have guided their teams to such lofty regular-season heights are more than willing to share the mantle of favorite once postseason play arrives.
It’s no different this year as Tourney Week 2015 is set to kick off Friday, with Eastern Maine Class A teams gathering at the Augusta Civic Center, while title hopefuls from Eastern B, C and D converge on the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
“I feel the Eastern Maine tournament is as balanced as I’ve seen in my 12 years at Hampden,” said Broncos’ coach Russ Bartlett, whose second-seeded squad begins its quest for a fourth consecutive Eastern A boys basketball title against No. 7 Brunswick on Saturday.
“I truly feel after the first weekend any of the eight teams competing could still be playing,” he said.
Medomak Valley of Waldoboro head coach Nick DePatsy shares a similar sentiment about Eastern B, where his Panthers are the top seed.
“This tournament’s wide open as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Class A: The road to this championship likely will have to pass through the top two seeds, Edward Little of Auburn (17-1) and Hampden Academy (16-2).
Not only have those schools combined to win five of the last six regional crowns, save for Hampden’s season-opening loss at Brewer, the teams’ lone losses this winter have been to each other.
But while Edward Little is a senior-laden squad, Hampden has rebuilt on the fly with a talented junior class led by returning starters Nick Gilpin and Brendan McIntyre.
“With our team specifically, establishing an identity has taken some time,” said Bartlett. “We have been fortunate to have great leaders in the past, and our guys have learned from those guys what it takes to be successful and hopefully carrying on a winning tradition.”
But there’s reason for both top seeds to be concerned, as star power permeates the division. Eastern Kentucky-bound 6-foot-8 forward Nick Mayo, the KVAC Class A player of the year, makes No. 3 Messalonskee a threat in any matchup, as does 6-6 junior forward Andrew Fleming of No. 6 Oxford Hills of South Paris, which reached the regional final a year ago.
Five to watch: Andrew Fleming (Oxford Hills), Nick Gilpin (Hampden), Lew Jensen (Edward Little), Nick Mayo (Messalonskee) and Liam Stokes (Cony).
Class B: Medomak Valley edged Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rival Winslow for the No. 1 seed.
The Panthers are relatively young, but familiarity within the roster was crucial to the 16-2 regular season.
“We’ve been playing very well lately, but basically it’s been the chemistry,” said DePatsy. “They’re sharing the ball, they’re defending very well, and we’re rebounding and we’re running. There’s no secret about what we’re going to do.”
Defending state champion Old Town has won 27 of its last 28 games since the middle of last season, and while coach Brian McDormand’s club will surprise no one this year after emerging from the No. 6 seed to win it all in 2014, the fast-paced Coyotes — 17-1 this winter — remain a favorite in the division.
Five to watch: Nicholas DePatsy (Medomak Valley), Eric Hoogterp (Old Town), Todor Imsir (Maine Central Institute), Justin Martin (Winslow) and Dayne Savage (Caribou).
Class C: Virtually all eight qualifiers can visualize a path to the regional championship, with the lowest seeds in field, No. 7 Orono and No. 8 Lee Academy, benefitting late in the season from the return of key players — Nate DeSisto of Orono and Lewis Wang of Lee — from injuries.
Two of the hotter teams meet in the 1-8 quarterfinal when top-ranked Calais (16-2) faces No. 8 Lee (12-6) in the rematch of a 2014 semifinal won by Lee in overtime.
Calais has won nine straight since a loss at defending state champion Houlton, a defeat the Blue Devils avenged at home with a 31-point victory. Lee has won 11 of its last 13, with one of the losses a two-point overtime decision on Feb. 4 at Calais.
Third-ranked Houlton (15-3) remains a favorite, the champions paced again this winter by All-Maine senior forward Kyle Bouchard. The Shiretowners have won 11 of their last 12 games, including two victories over quarterfinal foe No. 6 Washington Academy of East Machias.
The hottest team in Eastern C is No. 2 George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill, which closed out the regular season with 15 consecutive victories, while No. 4 Central of Corinth is coming off its best season in 16 years, and No. 5 Piscataquis of Guilford boasts the momentum of a 15-win regular season.
Five to watch: Kelsey Allen (George Stevens), Kyle Bouchard (Houlton), Gage Feeney (Washington Academy), Kyle Ham (Central) and Kyle Johnson (Calais)
Class D: Six of the qualifiers have at least 15 victories after all of the higher seeds scored preliminary-round victories.
Top-ranked Washburn may be on a mission of sorts after earning the No. 1 seed a year ago only to be ousted in the prelims, but the hottest team in the division is No. 2 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook, winner of its last 12 games including road victories at Washburn and No. 3 Fort Fairfield on back-to-back nights last week.
Another hot team is No. 5 Machias. The Bulldogs have won 11 straight contests, including five during the final week of a regular-season schedule backed up by heavy snowfall Down East.
Looking for a darkhorse? How about No. 6 Schenck, which plays the toughest schedule in the division with 10 games against Class C opponents. The Wolverines already own victories over defending Class C state champion Houlton and Class C seventh seed Orono this winter.
And in Western D, sixth-seeded Searsport (14-5) will make its first quarterfinal appearance since 1986 on Saturday against No. 3 Hyde School of Bath (14-4) in Augusta.
Junior guard Troy Reynolds led the Vikings to their prelim win over Islesboro, matching his career high with 37 points in the program’s first postseason victory since 1980. Searsport last reached the quarterfinals as an Eastern C team in 1986, when the fifth-seeded Vikings fell to No. 4 John Bapst of Bangor 61-56 at the Bangor Auditorium.
Five to watch: Nolan Altvater (Southern Aroostook), Logan Halvorson (Easton), Jarrett Olson (Washburn), Justin Thompson (Schenck) and Robbie Watson (Fort Fairfield).
