AUGUSTA, Maine — When the Lewiston High School boys basketball team played in last month’s Eastern Maine Class A championship game, the achievement far transcended the court’s 94-by-50-foot dimensions.
Lewiston is Maine’s version of Hockeytown, after all, and its boys basketball program hadn’t won a regional crown since 1966 and not even played for such a title since back-to-back losses in the 1990 and 1991 Western A finals.
That the Blue Devils fell to eventual state champion Hampden Academy 65-57 in the contest may have been disappointing, but the bigger picture was all good.
“For the basketball program at Lewiston it was just a huge step, and not just for the kids who played,” said Jason Fuller, the school’s athletic administrator. “The student body jumped on board. The community hopped in on it. It was great to walk into the Augusta Civic Center that day and see all the community support.”
A proposal to expand Maine’s high school basketball scene from four to five classes beginning next year would eliminate the opportunity for the state’s largest basketball-playing schools to play on the regional championship stage by establishing a new one-division Class AA with a single state tournament rather than the two regional tournaments that crown finalists for the gold-ball game in other classes.
Athletic administrators from about half of those would-be Class AA programs gathered at the Maine Principals’ Association conference center Friday to address that concern.
What they came up with was a plan similar to what is used in the state’s large-school football ranks, a two-region format that would restore regional tournaments in the proposed Class AA leading up to the state title game.
Under the plan endorsed by the athletic administrators in attendance, Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference members Bangor, Edward Little of Auburn, Lewiston and Oxford Hills of South Paris would be joined by Southwestern Maine Activities Association members Windham and three Portland schools — Cheverus, Deering and Portland High — in a new Class AA North.
Class AA South would consist of SMAA compatriots Bonny Eagle of Standish, Gorham, Catherine McAuley of Portland (girls only), Massabesic of Waterboro, Noble of North Berwick, Sanford, Scarborough, South Portland and Thornton Academy of Saco.
The top six teams in each region would qualify for tournament play, with the top two seeds in each region earning a quarterfinal bye.
“There was great energy here toward having the regional tournaments, with no opposition and very compelling reasons for it,” said Thornton Academy athletic administrator Gary Stevens, “so it was good to get everybody around the table for that conversation.”
The two-region plan will be sent to officials at all of the Class AA basketball schools for feedback before being considered by the Maine Principals’ Association’s Classification Committee en route to a final vote by the Maine Principals’ Association general membership on April 30 as part of the overall five-class proposal.
Classification Committee chair Bunky Dow, activities director at Mount Desert High School in Bar Harbor, attended Friday’s meeting and voiced his support for providing regional tournaments for the Class AA schools.
“To take that away would be a penalty,” added Fuller. “Playing in the Eastern Maine final this year was a special time whether we won or lost. We lost to a better team, but it was fun to be there, and I don’t want to lose that excitement and energy.
“I know it’s energized the kids in the basketball program. I’ve had to throw them out of the gym a couple of times already because they’re in there shooting and they want to keep it going, and I think it’s real important to maintain those regional championships because they bring the community together,” he said.
Fuller and other representatives from the KVAC schools in the proposed Class AA — who would be outnumbered 13-4 by their SMAA rivals — were most vocal in their quest to maintain regional tournaments for their teams.
“I think the leadership here did a good job of looking at all the issues, and I think there’s a willingness to compromise and be reasonable for the sake of kids,” said Bangor athletic administrator Steve Vanidestine. “A regional tournament for kids in all classes in every sport is something we absolutely need to have happen, and we got that done today within reason so I’m pleased.”
Representatives from both conferences also voiced optimism that they would be able to work together to provide at least some Class AA regular-season crossover games for the four KVAC schools.
“I do see willingness on the part of southern Maine to give us some games,” said Vanidestine. “The keys there are going to be travel, academic excellence and financial responsibility, but if we can get a reasonable schedule to get us to that regional tournament that will make it competitive for everybody in this room.”
Vanidestine suggested that Bangor would hope to schedule four to six regular-season games against SMAA opponents, in part to develop familiarity with teams they could face in the Class AA North regional.
The KVAC schools likely would fill out their schedules against many of the intra-conference foes they have faced in recent years, with Bangor’s slate probably including neighboring Hampden Academy and Brewer, which both would compete down an enrollment level in a revised Class A under the five-class format.
The prospect for increased interclass matchups in all divisions would be enhanced by an earlier proposal made in conjunction with the five-class scenario to reduce the Heal point differential used to rank teams during the regular season from five points per class to two points per class.
“This was a meeting that had to happen to give the [Maine Principals’ Association] some information to move forward on before April 30,” said Stevens, “and also to give ourselves an opportunity to have some preliminary discussions before we sit down to do the harder work that will follow in May and June.
“But I’m very confident it can and will be worked out. We have to determine what is that [scheduling] need, but I’m sure we can devise something that makes sense,” he said.
