The high school basketball tournament looms large as boys teams across the state wrap up their regular season schedules this week. With only a few games remaining ahead of next week’s tournament tip-off, area teams will be looking to lock in their tournament positioning, sharpen their skills and build momentum heading into the playoffs.
After a weekend packed with multiple marquee matchups in North regional action, teams are settling in for their final contests of the regular season.
Messalonskee High School sits atop boys Class A North with a record of 14-2, with both Skowhegan Area High School and Lawrence High School still left to play this week. Brewer High School is in second place in Class A North with a record of 13-3 after a Friday night loss to Hampden Academy. The Broncos of Hampden remain just behind Brewer with a 12-4 record. Brewer will finish out the regular season against Nokomis on Tuesday and Bangor on Thursday. Hampden will play Bangor Tuesday night and Oceanside on Thursday night.
“I feel great,” Hampden senior guard Aiden Kochendoerfer said after Friday night’s win over Brewer. “We’ve got Bangor, which is always a tough place to play at, a little bit of rivalry going on. But I feel confident in our ability, and hopefully we can bump into that two-spot and have a good train of steam going ahead into the playoffs.”
In Class B North, the 16-1 Caribou Vikings beat the 8-9 Old Town Coyotes on Saturday to remain in first place. Caribou has one last regular season contest against 9-8 Presque Isle on Wednesday. The Ellsworth Eagles are perched in second place in Class B North, with a record of 15-2 after defeating the third place Orono Red Riots on Friday night. Ellsworth has one last game on Wednesday night against 10-7 Mount Desert Island High School, which is currently in fourth.
Ellsworth has won four straight, including back-to-back wins this weekend against Orono and Bucksport.
Orono closes out the regular season with a Wednesday night finale against Old Town. The Red Riots lost Monday night to Foxcroft Academy, bringing them to 11-6 on the season.
Following the loss to Ellsworth and ahead of Monday night’s game against Foxcroft, Orono coach Ed Kohtala said his team is ending the season with three tough teams in three tough venues, which he hopes will prepare the Red Riots for another successful tournament season. Orono is looking for its third straight Class B state championship.
“The intensity and the experience gained through that probably couldn’t be a better preparation for tournament play,” Kohtala said. “If we handle it the right way and compete each of these nights, it should be great preparation for the tournament.”
Last year’s championship squad was “great about preparing one game at a time” Kohtala said, and he hopes that will still be the case this year, noting that Orono is a new team this season.
“I think all teams come in with real high goals and expectations, and these guys want to get in the tournament and make a big run, because that’s what they’ve been part of, at least the older guys,” Kohtala emphasized. “But we are a very new team.”
He said he is hoping for growth in this last week, not just from his team, but from himself as a coach.
“Not only am I hoping they’re growing through this last stretch as we head to the tournament, I hope I’m still growing as we continue to tinker and find ways to help ourselves both offensively and defensively,” Kohtala said.
In Class C North boys, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and Madawaska High School both sport 17-0 records after sizable victories on Monday night, with one game each left to play. Mattanawcook beat Woodland 115-50 and will host Lee Academy on Wednesday. Madawaksa beat Ashland 70-24 and is away against Fort Fairfield on Thursday. Mattanawcook is looking for its first regional title in nearly 70 years.
“The unique thing about this group is they have played together for a long time and they are probably one of the most unselfish groups I’ve ever come across,” Mattanawcook first year head coach Adam Mahaney told the BDN in January. ”They share the ball. They don’t care who scores. As long as we win, they’re happy.”
In Class D North boys, 16-1 Schenck High School of East Millinocket is in first place with neighboring Stearns of Millinocket left to play on Wednesday. Katahdin is in second with a record of 14-3 and one matchup left against 8-9 Southern Aroostook on Tuesday night.
The Class D, C and B North tournaments will be held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor starting next week. First round action at the Cross Center will get under way on Friday, Feb. 14 after a few preliminary games starting Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Class A North tournament will be held at the Augusta Civic Center. The Class C and D state championship games will take place in Bangor, the Class B state championship game will be held in Portland at the Cross Insurance Arena, and the Class A state championship game will be in Augusta.
