One of the great things about the high school basketball tournament is that on any given night, just about any team could find a way to win. Sure, there will be mismatches and some of the favored teams may have no problem showing how they earned their spot at the top of the standings.
But if you ask some of the coaches heading into the boys basketball North regionals — especially in Class A and Class B — you’ll likely hear a lot about parity this year.
“There’s not one team that I’m not nervous about playing,” Ellsworth coach Matt Mattson said earlier this week. His team is the second seed in Class B North. “Any of these teams, they all are talented and well-coached, and it’s just going to be a battle. It will be fun.”
There is no crystal ball for a tournament like this, and we’re surely missing some of the players, teams and story lines that will captivate fans during another exciting regional tournament season. But here is our preview heading into the North boys games.
Class AA Boys
Cheverus of Portland (15-3) and Windham (14-4) enter the AA North regional as the teams to beat. Windham ended the Bangor boys’ season on Wednesday night in a 76-40 win, and heads to quarter final AA action in Portland.
Class A Boys
Messalonskee leads the pack in Class A North with a record of 16-2, followed closely by Hampden (14-4) in second and Brewer (15-3). Hampden won both its regular season games against Brewer to help secure that second spot as they look to repeat as regional champions.
“I feel good about us, hopefully we go in and play well,” Hampden coach Russ Bartlett said this week, noting that his team will lean at least to start on the players who’ve been to the tournament before. “It’s all about us being able to make shots offensively, and defensively we need to have a constant amount of effort at all times.”
These top three squads have established themselves as bracket leaders, but don’t be surprised if a team like fifth-ranked Camden Hills makes a run, powered in part by standout junior guard Nolan Ames.
Ames, Hampden senior guard Aiden Kochendoerfer and Brewer freshman forward Oli Higgins are just some of the players to watch for in Class A North.
“Most people think that there isn’t much disparity between any of us, and hopefully the disparity will be to our advantage,” Brewer coach Carl Parker said this week. “That’s what we’re hoping.”
Class B Boys
Orono heads into the tournament looking for its third straight Class B championship. But the road to a three-peat could prove to be a challenging one, with No. 1 Caribou (17-1) and No. 2 Ellsworth (16-2) looking particularly strong this year.
“If this team advances in the tournament and makes a run, it really will be based on their closeness,” Orono head coach Ed Kohtala told the BDN last week. “They’re a tremendously close team emotionally. They play for each other. And it’s sort of the secret sauce of this group, I think.”
Caribou and Ellsworth split their two regular season games.
“I think our defense is what sets us apart,” said Mattson, the Ellsworth coach. “Caribou has an elite offense. So when you put an elite offensive against an elite defense, what happens is half the time the offense wins, and half the time the defense wins. And that’s what happened this year, we split with them.”
Lower seeded teams like Old Town could make things interesting, with the Coyotes featuring one of the tournament’s best players in senior forward Emmitt Byther. Other Class B North players to watch include Caribou senior forward Tristan Robbins and Orono senior forward Will Francis.
Mattson emphasized that there are “a lot of really good teams in this tournament,” and that his team, like other teams, is “going to take it one game at a time and grind through it.”
“You’ve got to put your best effort forward, and some of it has to do with talent, some of it has to do with coaching, some of it has to do with being prepared, and some of it has to do with just being lucky, and having the right draw and having the right people healthy, and getting the right bounce of the ball at the right time,” Mattson said. “There is some luck involved here.”
Class C Boys
Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln stands alone at the top of Class C with an 18-0 record. The Lynx are looking for their first regional title in almost 70 years. Machias (16-2) is right behind them in second, followed by a 17-1 Madawaska team that was undefeated until dropping its final regular season game against Fort Fairfield in double overtime.
Class D Boys
Schenck of East Millinocket leads the way in Class D with a 17-1 record, followed by Katahdin at 15-3. But keep an eye on fourth seeded Bangor Christian, the returning Class D champions who feature two players in particular to keep an eye on this tournament in junior power forward Jessie Booker and sophomore guard Rajon Reed.
