After more than a week of thrilling action on the floor of the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, the North regional basketball tournament is nearing an end.
But before the Class C, D and S brackets wrap up on Saturday, fans can still expect some fireworks from the final games of the regional high school slate.
Six games will be played in Bangor on Saturday, starting with the two Class S North title games in the morning, Class D in the afternoon, and Class C in the evening.
First up are the Class S girls at 10 a.m. with No. 2 Katahdin of Stacyville taking on No. 1 Wisdom of St. Agatha. The Class S boys are next with a championship contest between No. 2 Easton and No. 1 Jonesport-Beals.
In Class D, the No. 4 Penobscot Valley girls of Howland will face No. 2 Machias at 2 p.m. and the No. 2 Madawaska boys take on No. 1 Machias at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday’s regional championships will conclude in Bangor with the Class C matchups between the No. 3 Foxcroft Academy girls and No. 1 Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, and No. 3 Fort Kent boys against No. 1 Caribou.
Based on the action throughout the regional tournament, here’s how the regional finals could play out in Bangor on Saturday:
Class S Boys
The top two teams in Class S North didn’t play each other during the regular season, and now that Jonesport-Beals and Easton are finally meeting in the regional championship, it could be anyone’s game.
But the slight advantage has to go to Easton given that it boasts the tournament’s top scorer so far. Sophomore Mason Pelletier has put over nearly 80 points through two games, dropping 42 in the opening round last week and adding 34 in a semifinal win over a talented Katahdin boys team.
If Jonesport-Beals is going to be able to slow Pelletier and Easton, it will likely come down to a strong defensive effort from a Royals team working together throughout the game.
“We’re a close-knit group. I think that goes a long way,” Jonesport-Beals head coach Skipper Alley said after his team beat Shead of Eastport in the semifinals. “We’ve played pretty good D most of the year. So I think that’s gonna be key.”
Class D Boys
In a packed Class D boys field, the top two teams have managed to fight their way through to the finals. Machias battled through foul trouble in the semis against Hodgdon and Madawaska avoided another collapse against Fort Fairfield. Now the Bulldogs and Owls will take the court against each other for the first time this year.
Expect some of the region’s best players to show up in a big way on Saturday. Machias senior guards Mickey Fitzsimmons and Liam O’Connor are hungry for a shot at the state title after an early exit to last year’s tournament. And Madawaska freshman phenom Quinn Pelletier has made it no secret that he and his Owls teammates also have their hopes set on a Gold Ball after falling in last year’s Class C regional title game.
In a battle between Madawaska’s explosiveness and Machias’ senior leadership, Madawaska looks to have the slight edge — especially because much of the Owls team is just one year removed from a trip to the regional finals.
Class C Boys
Among a packed schedule of great Saturday games, the last one might end up being the best. The Caribou boys have looked dominant throughout the season, on the heels of last year’s Class B state championship. Senior Owen Corrigan has emerged as one of the top scorers in the state, and the Vikings have coasted through their first two Class C tournament games so far.
But in these playoffs, they haven’t yet faced a team like Fort Kent or a player like Aden Jeffers.
The Warriors junior has looked all-but-unstoppable through two games in the regional tournament. Jeffers scored 37 in the quarterfinals and took over in the second half of Thursday’s barnburner win over Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln.
“He’s tough. I don’t know if you really have an answer for that,” Caribou coach Kyle Corrigan said about Jeffers’ ability. “I don’t know if anybody has an answer for that.”
But Corrigan stressed that it’s Fort Kent’s depth that makes them a particularly tough matchup, pointing to other Warriors contributors like Mason Pelletier and Tobias Naranja.
“They have so many guys that contribute in more ways than one,” Corrigan said. “It’s not going to be easy.”
Caribou beat Fort Kent twice during the regular season, by four and nine points respectively. But Saturday could be a different story — and not just because of how Jeffers has dominated the tournament so far.
With its comeback win over Mattanawcook, Fort Kent has already been tested on the tournament floor in a way that this particular Caribou team hasn’t had to go through yet. While Corrigan stressed that his team doesn’t sit back and get complacent or take anything for granted, Fort Kent’s experience in that semifinal battle could give the Warriors just a slight edge heading into Saturday.
But this game is as close to a toss-up as you can get.