Predictions for a wide-open Class A North boys basketball tournament came true during quarterfinal-round play at the Augusta Civic Center last Saturday.
There’s little to suggest that a return to regular-season form is necessarily in the offering when the regional semifinals are held Wednesday night as sixth-ranked Brewer (10-9) faces No. 7 Skowhegan (9-10) at 7 p.m. and top-ranked Cony of Augusta (15-4) plays No. 4 Lawrence of Fairfield at 8:30 p.m.
Brewer and Skowhegan both defied the seedings in their quarterfinal victories.
[Check out the latest A North boys bracket standings here]
Brewer topped No. 3 Mt. Blue of Farmington 71-60, marking the Witches’ second win over the Cougars in 10 days after a 54-31 victory at Brewer to close out the regular season and earn coach Ben Goodwin’s squad a last-minute tournament berth.
Skowhegan, meanwhile, knocked out defending regional champion Hampden Academy 68-63 behind a 28-point, eight-assist performance by senior Marcus Christopher.
Brewer defeated Skowhegan twice during the regular season, 49-44 at Brewer on Jan. 2 and 57-54 at Skowhegan on Jan. 25.
Cony, the winner of five straight games since a 61-60 homecourt loss to Brewer on Jan. 22, barely survived its quarterfinal, edging No. 8 Medomak Valley of Waldoboro 73-71 on Simon McCormick’s game-winning basket with seven seconds remaining.
Lawrence also was challenged in its postseason opener, falling behind No. 5 Erskine Academy of South China 16-6 early in their quarterfinal before roaring back for a 53-38 victory.
Cony owns two victories over Lawrence during the regular season, winning 66-55 at Augusta in the season opener on Dec. 7 and 80-79 at Fairfield on Jan. 17.
The Class A South semifinals, scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, will feature four of the top five seeds in the division.
[Check out the latest A South boys bracket standings here]
Top-ranked Greely of Cumberland Center, the two-time defending state champion, will face No. 5 Kennebunk at 7:30 p.m., following a 6 p.m. clash between No. 2 York and No. 3 Falmouth.
York (16-3) defeated No. 7 Fryeburg Academy 53-35 in the quarters while Falmouth (14-5) topped No. 6 Brunswick 45-31.
Falmouth defeated York 58-49 on Dec. 29 in the lone regular-season meeting between the teams.
Greely, 16-3 this winter and winner of 60 of its last 63 games over the last three seasons, topped No. 9 Mt. Ararat of Topsham 70-46 in the quarterfinals for for its ninth consecutive tournament victory
Kennebunk (15-4) defeated No. 4 Leavitt of Turner Center 72-55 in the lone quarterfinal upset of the seedings in the Class A South quarters.
Greely and Kennebunk have not met yet this season.
The Class A North championship game is set for 8:45 p.m. Friday in Augusta, while the Class A South matchup will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
