Newport basketball phenoms Cooper and Ace Flagg will make their highly anticipated return to Maine this weekend, when Montverde Academy takes on some of the nation’s top talent in Portland.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What’s the event?
The four-team, two-day affair is dubbed the “Maine Event,” and has been in the works since August. It will feature two games on Friday, and two on Saturday — including one Montverde game each night.
Which teams play on Friday?
Friday night’s games are at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland: No. 1 Montverde versus No. 16 Gonzaga College High at 7:30 p.m., and Nokomis — the Flaggs’ hometown school — versus Cony of Augusta at 5:30 p.m.
Montverde (13-0) and Gonzaga (11-0) are two of only three nationally ranked high school basketball teams that remain undefeated. Meanwhile, a young Nokomis team is on a surprising hot streak to start this season, winning six of its first eight games and five straight.
Which teams play on Saturday?
Saturday night’s games are at the Portland Expo Center: No. 1 Montverde versus CATS Academy Boston at 6 p.m., and St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire — where Maine standouts Landon Clark and Teigan Pelletier currently play — versus Kimball Union at 4 p.m.
Clark and Pelletier, natives of Bangor and South Paris, respectively, were teammates with Cooper and Ace on Maine United this past year. The Veazie-based AAU team finished runners-up at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball Peach Jam in South Carolina this July.
How can I watch the games?
Tickets for the Maine Event were sold out within 24 hours, but fans without tickets can stream all four games on whou.live with a subscription.