The four teams left standing after the boys North regional basketball tournament in Bangor can all boast strong representation on this year’s All-Tournament teams from the Bangor Daily News.
The Gardiner, Fort Kent, Machias and Easton boys are all heading to the state championships this weekend, and each of them will be led by an all-tourney MVP winner.
Gardiner senior forward Brady Atwater has been named the Class B North MVP, Fort Kent junior guard Aden Jeffers has taken home the Class C North nod, senior guard Mickey Fitzsimmons of Machias won the honor in Class D North and Easton Sophomore Mason Pelletier has been crowned Class S North MVP.
All four players have now won the BDN’s William C. Warner Award given to MVPs of the North regional high school basketball tournament.
And those stars of Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center have plenty of familiar company on their respective all-tourney squads. Three of the four are joined by at least one teammate on the list of the regional tournament’s top performers.
For Gardiner, it’s a version of the Brady Bunch with both Atwater and fellow senior Brady Peacock representing the Tigers in Class B. They are joined by Cony senior Parker Morin and freshman Carter Brathwaite, who also had an impressive tournament in Bangor until Gardiner could barely miss from 3-point range in the regional final. Rounding out the Class B team is Ellsworth senior forward Jackson Barry, who put in one of the grittiest performances of the week anchoring the Eagles down low.
The Class C North all-tourney team almost looks like a reprint of the Fort Kent roster. Jeffers was the tournament’s biggest star, both with his play throughout and his spellbinding buzzer-beater to win the championship over Caribou in the final seconds. And he is joined by teammates and fellow guards Tobias Naranja and Mason Pelletier (yes, there are two of them from different schools). Caribou senior Owen Corrigan, who would have had a strong case for Class C MVP if Jeffer’s final shot didn’t go in, joins the Warriors on the all-tourney team along with Mattanawcook Academy senior forward Andrew Oliver.
Class D champ Machias is similarly well-represented in that division, with senior Liam O’Connor joining Fitzsimmons among the top players. Madawaska freshman Quinn Pelletier is already on the all-tourney team for a second year after winning last year’s Class C MVP as an eighth-grader, and is joined by Owls teammate Isaac Bealieau. Rounding out the Class D list is Hodgdon standout Cyran Ciarleglio.
In the newly created Class S, clear MVP Pelletier was joined by a pair of Jonesport-Beals standouts in sophomores Koben Robinson and Anderson Alley. Katahdin leader Calvin Richardson once again earned an all-tourney nod in his senior season, and Shead of Eastport senior center Isaiah Lawrence secured a spot as well.
Class B
Atwater, a senior forward, cemented his MVP and his team’s trip to the state championship with a 27-point performance in the regional final. That exclamation point followed his 12 points and six rebounds against Herman and 14 points and six rebounds against Erskine. His Gardiner teammate Peacock, a senior guard, added 16 points against Cony in the regional final.
As for the Cony Rams, freshman guard Brathwaite looked plenty comfortable on the big tourney stage with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists against Gardiner. Cony senior Morin poured in points for the Rams throughout the tournament with 16 in the final, 26 and eight rebounds in the semifinals against Ellsworth, and 21 points in the opening round.
Speaking of Ellsworth, Barry’s two games in the tournament were as dominant down low as any other player. The Eagles senior forward had 13 points and 14 rebounds in an opening upset over rival Mount Desert Island, and followed that up with 18 points and 14 rebounds against Cony.
Class C
Nobody had a better regional tournament than Aden Jeffers. He averaged 28 points per game and made the critical plays that solidified two of his Fort Kent team’s three wins en route to the Class C North title. His unconventional four-point play at the end of the third quarter against Mattanawcook gave the Warriors vital breathing room in that comeback semifinal win, and his last-second buzzer-beater knocked off top-seeded Caribou 48-47 in Saturday night’s thrilling final.
Caribou senior Owen Corrigan was right behind Jeffers in the race for MVP, scoring 20 against Fort Kent, registering 30 points and eight assists against Washington Academy, and 26 points against Calais.
Naranja and Pelletier were also pivotal in Fort Kent’s ascension to the top of Class C North. Naranja had 14 points in the regional final, and Pelletier’s 20-point statement helped power the Warriors past Mattanawcook.
Lynx senior forward Oliver had 10 points and six rebounds for Mattanawcook in that close loss to Fort Kent, and he looked near-unstoppable with 27 points the previous round against Orono. Oliver was on fire from beyond the 3-point arc in that game, making seven of 11 shots from downtown.
Class D
Fitzsimmons and O’Connor tasted disappointment with an early exit from last year’s tournament, and they wouldn’t let that happen again this year. Fitzsimmons left no doubt about his MVP status after a 20-point, five-assist regional final. And O’Connor was there throughout the Bulldog’s title run with steady leadership and reliable point production, including 12 in the final.
Madawaska’s freshman phenom Pelletier had another dominant tournament that he finished off with 28 points in the final, and Owls teammate Isaac Beaulieu was there again with his timely shooting. Senior guard Beaulieu had 11 points in a regional final loss to Machias, as the Owls fell just barely short of a regional title for the second straight year.
Hodgdon’s Ciarleglio stormed into the tournament with 23 points and 12 rebounds in an opening upset over Bangor Christian. And he added 13 and six in a loss to Machias. The junior looks well positioned to be an even more imposing force in the tournament next year.
Class S
Easton’s Pelletier was the only real choice for Class S MVP. He was relentless in the first two rounds of the tournament with 42 and 34 points, and ended up averaging 29 per game after adding 11 in the regional championship.
Solid performances by Robinson and Alley, with 15 and 10 points, respectively, in the final, weren’t quite enough for Jonesport-Beals to get past Easton.
Katahdin senior Richardson once again demonstrated his scoring quality and relentless effort on the Cross Center floor, including a double-double to start the tournament with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Lawrence proved a force down low for Shead, averaging a double-double across his team’s two tournament games. The senior center averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds in his first time playing at the regional tourney in Bangor.
