The real Mount Rushmore is full of presidents, but in the sports world, the phrase is often used to list four iconic players or moments.
Since today is President’s Day and the Maine high school basketball tournament is underway, here’s our Mount Rushmore of the top four moments we’ve seen in the tourney so far:
Allie Bivins takes charge
With her Ellsworth team up by one point and less than 10 seconds left in the game against Old Town on Friday night, the junior forward made the ultimate selfless play on defense.
She took a charge, and took a hard hit in the process. The gutsy play got Ellsworth the ball back at a critical moment
“She’s that type of player,” Ellsworth coach Andy Pooler said after his Eagles took home the upset win. “That was unbelievable.”
Cony offense rocks the rim
The high-powered attack from the Cony Rams of Augusta traveled up to Bangor on Saturday, and the boys gave the Cross Insurance Center fans a show with three different players throwing down emphatic dunks in a 63-51 win over Presque Isle.
The No. 1 ranked team in Class B North has one of the more dangerous offenses in the state and teammates Ben Hanke, Parker Morin and Carter Brathwaite all made that clear with their power around the rim in Saturday’s win.
“We just play our basketball. We get out in transition, these guys, they fly around,” Cony coach Isaiah Brathwaite said about their dunking ability after the victory. “That’s what we do in practices, we work on that. They seize the moment when they can.”
40-point scorers get things going
Early round Class S action in Bangor last week didn’t produce many close games, but it did highlight some prolific scorers. Wisdom girls senior guard Ava Lerman and Easton boys sophomore forward Mason Pelletier each scored over 40-points in their tourney openers.
Lerman scored 41 and Pelletier scored 42, both in quarterfinal wins for their teams.
“It didn’t feel like 41 but it was a great feeling,” said Lerman, who also had 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists on Thursday afternoon.
“That’s my career high,” Pelletier said. “We have the biggest crowd throughout our whole season, and it feels great to hear the crowd cheer and them call your name after.”
He also had nine steals and five assists.
Nate Grunkemeyer takes over in 4th quarter
He’s only a sophomore, but Grunkemeyer has already turned into the Bangor Rams’ top scorer and rebounder. And his team needed that scoring ability down the stretch in Saturday night’s win over Lewiston.
Grunkemeyer had 11 of his 17 points in that final period, helping Bangor come back and beat Lewiston 54-43.
“They told me to be aggressive, and that’s what I did,” Grunkemeyer said after the Class A North victory in Augusta.
