The last two postseasons have ended in frustrating fashion for the Machias boys basketball team.
The Bulldogs have come up one game short of the Class D regional championship game, and fell to Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in last winter’s semifinals.
But coach Jim Getchell’s team welcomes everybody back from a squad that went 16-2 in the regular season last year, and he believes the third time will be the charm for his Bulldogs.
“This year, we’re ready to take the next step,” said Getchell, who returns his entire roster from last year.
“They’ve had a tremendous offseason, they’ve worked really hard,” he said.
Among the talent Getchell welcomes back are junior center Jacob Godfrey, junior guard Jordan Grant and senior guard James Mersereau.
Both Mersereau and Grant averaged close to 20 points per game last year, while Godfrey, who is 6-foot-7, averaged around 16 points per game.
Senior forwards Mark Anthony and John Massaad also could have large impacts, Getchell said.
Juniors Russell Hanscom and Alessandro Marotta will be running the point on a team Getchell said is the deepest he’s had in his 10 years at the school.
“Any five guys that I can put out there, we’re going to be pretty balanced,” said Getchell, who also will have one of the tallest teams in Class D North.
In addition to the 6-foot-7 Godfrey, Mereseau stands 6-foot-5, while Anthony is 6-foot-6. Getchell said Godfrey also has the quickness of a guard.
“We’ve got pretty good size to go with our guard play,” Getchell said. “If we play defense, rebound, show good composure and show up every single night and take each game one step at a time, we’ll have a great season.”
The team that knocked the Bulldogs out of the postseason last year, Southern Aroostook, also returns its entire roster, and that has veteran head coach Bill McAvoy excited.
“If we stay healthy, I just think that we’re going to be awfully good,” McAvoy said.
The Warriors return arguably two of the best players in Class D North in Jackson Mathers and Nolan Altvater, seniors who have eclipsed 1,000 points in their respective careers.
Both players also averaged more than 20 points per game last season, and both have worked hard on adjusting to junk defenses that they could be facing this winter.
“I think those two kids are as good as anybody in the state,” McAvoy said. “They can do an awful lot of things.”
Like Machias, the Warriors will be deep, with senior guards Tyler Batchelder, Rob Lillis and Luis Morales expected to provide some scoring depth.
“We’re going to be eight deep,” McAvoy said. “For Class D, it’s not bad at all.”
McAvoy will be mentoring an experienced team that has a seven-member senior class.
“I’ve got a bunch of seniors who have been together since fifth, sixth grade,” he said. “They’ve improved tremendously from last year to now.”
Another senior, Riley Robinson, the Warriors’ tallest player at 6-foot-3, is hopeful to play this year after suffering two concussions during the soccer season, McAvoy said.
Sophomores Steve Radcliffe, Jayden Burpee and Garrett Stiles and senior Tanner Batchelder could provide the Warriors with valuable minutes off the bench.
“It’s fun to go to practice because these kids come to work and they listen,” McAvoy said. “To me as a coach, that’s half the battle.”
What Southern Aroostook lacks in size, it’ll make up for with quickness and tenacity on the defensive end.
“Our strength is going to be without a doubt our quickness,” McAvoy said.
While Machias and Southern Aroostook could be considered the favorites, don’t count out reigning Class D North champion Easton.
The Bears won the first regional championship in program history under first-year head coach Manny Martinez, and should field a contending team again this winter.
Easton did graduate a regional all-tournament team honoree in Logan Halvorson, along with Drew Sotomayor, but Martinez will have regional tourney MVP Jordan Doody back in the fold this winter.
The Bears also welcome back sophomore guard Carson Flewelling, junior guard Hunter Brown, senior forward Jacob Flewelling and junior forward Collin Sotomayor.
“They will play hard,” McAvoy said.
Central Aroostook of Mars Hill will be looking to take another step forward under second-year coach Jason Woodworth. The Panthers got to the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor last winter, along with Bangor Christian, another 2015-16 regional quarterfinalist.
While Bangor Christian only graduated two seniors, Central Aroostook lost four seniors.
Teams with dark-horse potential include Katahdin of Stacyville, Shead of Eastport and Wisdom of St. Agatha.
