GORHAM, Maine — Gorham High School boys basketball coach Mark Karter earned his 400th career victory Thursday night as the Rams defeated Scarborough 60-46.
The win improved Gorham to 8-3 this season, good for first place in Class AA South.
The victory improved Karter’s career coaching record over 31 seasons to 400-198, according to high school basketball historian and Piscataquis of Guilford boys varsity coach Jamie Russell.
Karter’s coaching record translates into a .669 winning percentage.
Karter, a Waterville native, began his varsity coaching career at Rumford High School during the 1985-86 season.
He coached the Panthers for four years, then guided the Mountain Valley High School team created out of the merger of Rumford and Mexico high schools for its first three years of existence — including the Falcons’ 1990 Class B state championship season.
Karter then spent 21 seasons at Westbrook, where he guided the Blue Blazes to Western Maine Class A titles in 1994, 1996 and 2000.
He left Westbrook after the 2012-13 season and became the head coach at Gorham, which he improved from an 8-10 finish in his first year to 13-5 last winter.
Karter’s record includes a 373-171 regular-season record and a 27-27 postseason mark.
His teams have posted 25 winning regular-season records and advanced to postseason play in 28 of his first 30 years as a varsity coach.
Karter is the second Maine high school basketball coach to enter the 400-win club this season, joining Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook boys coach Bill McAvoy.
