BANGOR, Maine — Two of the bigger mysteries of the high school basketball season will be resolved Friday night at the Cross Insurance Center — but not on the court.
Instead, the arena’s grand ballroom will be where the 28th annual recipients of the state’s Mr. and Miss Basketball awards are announced as the culmination of the Maine McDonald’s High School Senior All-Star Basketball banquet, which is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.
Contending for Mr. Basketball honors are Kyle Bouchard of Houlton, Nick Mayo of Messalonskee of Oakland and Jack Simonds of Falmouth. Miss Basketball finalists are Hannah Graham of Presque Isle, Victoria Lux of Thornton Academy of Saco and Ashley Storey of Greely of Cumberland Center.
And while some previous banquets have provided a coronation of sorts for clear-cut favorites, this year’s contenders for both awards present some intriguing options.
Bouchard, for instance, has been a star for Houlton since he stepped onto the court as a freshman who led the Shiretowners to the 2012 Eastern Maine Class C final. Since then the 6-foot-5-inch forward has thrived despite being a marked man for opposing defenses during a career in which he scored more than 1,800 career points and led Houlton to the 2014 state championship.
This winter Bouchard, a two-time Bangor Daily News All-Maine choice headed for Division II Bentley University on a basketball scholarship, averaged 21.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as the Shiretowners advanced to the regional semifinals.
Then there’s Mayo, the 6-8 forward who averaged a double-double as a junior at Class A Messalonskee before exploding into the state’s basketball consciousness during the 2014 AAU season, where he drew the interest of numerous Division I college recruiters before accepting a scholarship to play at Eastern Kentucky next year.
Mayo then backed up that attention this winter, earning Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A player of the year honors after averaging 24.2 points and 13.4 rebounds for Messalonskee.
And the sweet-shooting Simonds, like Bouchard a two-time BDN All-Maine selection, helped Falmouth make a smooth transition to the Class A ranks after leading the Yachtsmen to the 2013 Class B state championship as a sophomore.
The 6-5 Simonds, bound for Bowdoin College, led Falmouth in scoring in each of its first two seasons in Western A, helping his team reach the regional semifinals in 2014 and the championship game in 2015.
Among the Miss Basketball finalists, the 5-10 Graham was a four-year varsity player who helped Presque Isle win two state championships, reach a third state final and compile an 83-4 career record.
The Bowdoin College-bound guard eclipsed 1,000 career points and was a BDN All-Maine honoree after her junior season.
Lux, a 6-0 center, was part of three straight Class A state championship teams at Portland’s Catherine McAuley School before transferring home to Thornton Academy for her senior year.
There she led the Golden Trojans to their first Western Maine Class A championship and her fourth straight state final before TA fell to Lawrence of Fairfield. Lux will play at Bentley next winter.
Storey, a 6-3 center bound for the University of New Hampshire, capped off her senior year by leading Greely to its first Class B state title since 2004, contributing 13 points and 13 rebounds to the Rangers’ 56-39 victory over Presque Isle in the final.
The three-year starter averaged double figures in scoring and rebounding each of the last two seasons, and Storey also was one of the state’s top shot blockers.
Maine McDonald’s weekend activities continue Saturday at Husson University with four East-West senior all-star games. The A-B boys play at 9:15 a.m., followed by the A-B girls at 10:45, the C-D girls at 1 p.m. and the C-D boys at 2:30.
