While scoring at the high school basketball tournament seemingly trends lower each year, Taylor Schildroth of George Stevens Academy has remained offensively defiant.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard has averaged 24.1 points in nine regional tournament games — all victories — during the last three years while leading the Eagles to two Class C state championships and a third Class C North crown.
Schildroth’s most recent showcase, averaging 27.1 points for three games last week as top-ranked GSA rolled to its third straight regional title, has placed him among rare company as a three-time William C. Warner tournament most valuable player.
Schildroth joins Tyler McFarland of Camden Hills of Rockport (2009-2011 in Class B) and Zach Gilpin of Hampden Academy (2012-2014 in Class A) as the only three-time East/North boys tournament MVPs since the award was instituted in the name of the late Bangor Daily News sports editor in 1994.
Schildroth is joined as a 2018 North MVP by three other players from championship teams: Ian McIntyre of Hampden Academy (Class A), Keenan Marseille of Hermon (Class B) and Justin Worden of Woodland (Class D).
The BDN did not select a Class AA North all-tournament team.
Others named to the Class A North all-tourney squad were Kory Winch of Hampden Academy, Jordan Roddy of Cony of Augusta, Gabe Allaire of Medomak Valley of Waldoboro and Josh Smestad of Nokomis of Newport.
Along with Marseille on the Class B North squad are Griffin Guerrette of Presque Isle, Andrew Phelps of Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor and Hermon teammates Cody Hawes and Garrett Trask.
Senior center Max Mattson of George Stevens, Isaac Cyr and Jared Harvey of Fort Fairfield and Caden Spencer-Thompson of Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln join Schildroth on the Class C squad.
Class D all-tournament choices in addition to Worden are Woodland’s Drew Hayward, Alessandro Marotta of Machias, Adam Robinson of Jonesport-Beals and Riley Dionne of Schenck of East Millinocket.
The teams are chosen in voting among tournament personnel, media members and Maine Principals’ Association representatives.
In Class A, McIntyre controlled the lane both offensively and defensively as the top-seeded Broncos captured their first regional title since 2015. The 6-5 senior averaged nearly 12 points per game while anchoring a Hampden defense that yielded just 34.7 ppg in the tourney.
Winch, a 6-foot junior guard, provided offense either from 3-point land or driving to the basket. He scored 14 points in both the semifinal and championship games.
Roddy, a 5-10 senior guard who earned all-tourney honors for the second straight year, scored 23 points during a quarterfinal victory over Camden Hills, then had 12 against Hampden in the semifinals before leaving the game in the third quarter with a leg injury.
Allaire, a 6-4 sophomore forward, averaged 10.5 points as No. 6 Medomak Valley upended No. 3 Skowhegan in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Nokomis in the semis.
Smestad, a 5-11 senior point guard, displayed versatility for Nokomis as he averaged 12.0 points and often played interior defense successfully against much taller opposition.
In Class B, Marseille sacrificed individual scoring potential to serve as the chief playmaker for a deep and talented Hermon team. The senior guard still averaged 11.3 points in the regional, with 16 points in semifinals as the top-ranked, undefeated Hawks defeated No. 4 Winslow.
Guerrette, a 6-foot senior guard, was the leading scorer in the tournament regardless of class, averaging 33 points for Presque Isle. He scored 36 points in a quarterfinal win over Orono and 30 in a semifinal loss to Mount Desert Island.
Hawes, a junior guard, scored a game-high 16 points in Hermon’s regional-final victory over MDI and averaged 10 ppg while contributing to a stifling defense that allowed just 36.7 ppg in the tourney.
Phelps, a senior guard, fully recovered from an appendectomy that forced him to miss several games late in the regular season. He averaged 14.0 points in leading MDI back to the regional final.
Trask, a junior guard, supplied perimeter shooting that opened up the middle for Hermon’s other threats. He averaged 9.0 points, with two 3-pointers in the semifinals and three in the championship game.
In Class C, Schildroth’s was the point man for GSA’s pressure defense, as his ability to tip the ball away from opposing ballhandlers led to much of his offense. He scored 30 points in GSA’s semifinal victory over Fort Kent.
The 6-6 Mattson, also a repeat all-tournament choice, was the key complement to Schildroth during GSA’s 11 consecutive postseason victories as he averaged 11.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.3 blocked shots during this year’s Class C North tourney.
Cyr, another second-year all-tourney pick, led Fort Fairfield to its third regional final in the last four years. The senior guard averaged 21.7 points, including a 27-point outburst during the Tigers’ quarterfinal win over Piscataquis of Guilford.
Harvey, a 5-10 senior forward, had two double-doubles in helping Fort Fairfield reach the championship game and averaged 12.7 points and 12.3 rebounds in the tournament.
Spencer-Thompson, a 6-4 junior, was as electrifying in the air as he was productive in the scorebook while averaging 15.5 points during the tournament after helping Mattanawcook rebound from a one-win season in Class B last winter to 13 victories and a C North semifinal berth this year.
In Class D Worden, a 6-4 senior center, returned after missing his junior season due to injury to average 12.3 points during the tournament and served as the defensive anchor of a top-seeded Woodland team that captured its first regional title since 2009.
Hayward sparked the Dragons’ transition game as the junior guard averaged 14.7 points per game during the D North tourney.
Marotta emerged as the team leader as the undermanned Bulldogs, state champions in 2017, returned to the semifinals. The senior guard averaged 19.5 points as No. 6 Machias defeated No. 2 Katahdin of Stacyville.
Robinson, a 6-foot sophomore guard, scored a team-high 16 points in the regional final as youthful Jonesport-Beals took Woodland to the limit. He averaged 12.0 points.
Dionne scored 22 points in the quarterfinals as No. 5 Schenck knocked off No. 4 Greater Houlton Christian Academy. The senior guard averaged 16.0 ppg in two games.
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