BREWER, Maine — If you want to attend the season-ending boys and girls varsity basketball doubleheader between Brewer and Hampden Academy on Feb. 4, you’d better have your tickets already or be a participant in one of the games.
Brewer officials sold their final tickets for the contests, a little more than 400, in approximately two hours Wednesday during a special presale. It was prompted when the schools’ Jan. 2 twinbill at Hampden sold out on game night, leaving some disappointed fans outside the gymnasium unable to get in to watch the matchups.
Since Hampden’s gym seats approximately 1,100 fans and Brewer’s gym has a capacity of just 850, athletic administrators Dave Utterback of Brewer and Mike Bisson of Hampden Academy developed a plan to sell tickets in advance for the rematches.
One hundred tickets were released to Hampden Academy, while Brewer boys and girls varsity basketball players and cheerleaders were allowed early access to tickets to ensure their parents would be able to attend the games — Feb. 4 marks Senior Night for the two Brewer clubs.
After other tickets were distributed to season ticket holders, what remained were made available to the public Wednesday, an early release day at Brewer High School.
Officials were greeted by a line of about 20 people waiting to buy tickets when school was dismissed late in the morning, Utterback said, with a steady stream of people following until the final tickets were sold around 1:45 p.m.
This year’s Hampden-Brewer games have drawn considerable local interest, particularly the boys contest that matches the top two teams in Class A North.
Defending state champion Hampden is ranked first with a 15-0 record heading into Thursday night’s game at Skowhegan, while No. 2 Brewer is 13-2 entering its game Thursday at Cony of Augusta.
The Hampden boys defeated Brewer 55-46 in their first meeting of the winter.
The Feb. 4 schedule at Brewer High School begins with the Witches hosting Hampden in a unified basketball contest at 3:30 p.m.
After that game the gym will be cleared, with fans holding tickets for the varsity doubleheader being granted admission beginning at 5 p.m.
The Brewer-Hampden girls game is set for 6 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 7:30.
The Hampden girls entered Thursday’s play ranked fourth in Class A North with a 9-6 record while Brewer was ninth at 6-9.
The doubleheader is scheduled to be broadcast on WEZQ-FM, 92.9 The Ticket, and Utterback also is working on providing a live video stream of the games.
