Class “B” Semifinals

Ellsworth Standout Ryan Petros (photo courtesy of Maine Sports Report)

Wednesday afternoon opened with the Class “B” boys semifinals at the Bangor Auditorium featuring #2 Ellsworth Eagles taking on #3 Mount View Mustangs. The Eagles were too much for the Mustangs to handle pulling away late in the 3rd quarter finishing with an 84-65 victory. The Eagles hit three big three pointers to help them pull away. Ellsworth shot 79 percent from the free throw line (23-29) ending the Mustangs run to gold. Ryan Petros had a game high 27 points for the Eagles including a staggering 13-14 from the charity stripe. Zachary Babin had 16 points to lead the Mustangs’ losing effort.

The second class “B” boys semifinal pitted the #1 Camden Hills Windjammers against #5 Medomak Valley Panthers. The Windjammers only led 17-16 after the 1st quarter, but in the final three quarters, it was all Camden with a rout of the Panthers 69-48. Tyler McFarland had both a game high and team high 23 points to lead the Windjammers to victory. Camden shot 74 percent from the foul line going 23-31 and knocked down five three pointers to pull away from the Panthers. The #2 Ellsworth Eagles will face #1 Camden Hills Windjammers at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon for a chance to win an Eastern Maine championship. The winner will play on February 27th for the class “B” boys state championship at the Bangor Auditorium.

The girls took the floor on Wednesday night starting with #2 MDI Trojans taking on #3 Winslow Black Raiders.  There was sloppy play from both teams from start to finish, but the Trojans prevailed with a 32-23 victory. Megan Phelps led the Trojans with 12 points to help the Trojans secure the win. Winslow never got anything going and the Trojans shut down Winslow star sophomore forward Megan Pelletier. One good thing for the Winslow Black Raiders is that they don’t have a senior on the team, so they will be a force to reckon with in the coming years.

In the finale Wednesday night, #1 Presque Isle Wildcats were taken down by #4 Nokomis Warriors 41-35. It was a battle from start to finish, but the Warriors were too much for the Wildcats to handle. The fast paced game by the Warriors along with pressure defense gave the Wildcats fits that they could not overcome. Marissa Shaw, sophomore forward, led the Warriors with 16 points to propel them to victory. Chandler Guerrette scored 15 points for the Wildcats in a losing effort. The #2 MDI Trojans will face the #4 Nokomis Warriors at 2:05 on Saturday afternoon for a chance to win an Maine Championship. The winner will play Saturday February 27th for the state championship at the Bangor Auditorium.

Photo from Maine Sports Report Photo Gallery

Class C Quarterfinal Action

Class C Quarterfinal scores:

Boys, No. 3 Lee 50, No. 6 Penquis 42
Boys, No. 2 Calais 61, No. 7 Madawaska 42
Girls, No. 6 Calais 58, No. 3 Woodland 56 (OT)
Girls, No. 2 Central 54, No. 7 Orono 44
Boys, No. 5 Foxcroft 54, No. 4 Stearns 52
Boys, No. 1 Washington Acad. 69, No. 8 Penobscot Valley 52
Girls, No. 5, Washington Academy 45, No. 4 Houlton 38
Girls, No. 1 Foxcroft 52, No. 9 Fort Kent 36

Class D Quarterfinal Action

Class D Quarterfinal scores:

Girls, No. 3 Southern Aroostook 67, No. 6 Deer Isle-Stonington 39
Girls, No. 2 Fort Fairfield 49, No. 7 Shead 30
Boys, No. 4 Jonesport-Beals 64, No. 5 Washburn 41
Boys, No. 1 Schenck 75, No. 8 Greater Houlton Christian 43
Girls, No. 5 Bangor Christian 41, No. 4 Washburn 26
Girls, No. 1 Central Aroostook 60, No. 8 Jonesport-Beals 26
Boys, No. 3 Fort Fairfield 67, No. 6 Southern Aroostook 61
Boys, No. 7 Shead 69, No. 2 Central Aroostook 55

MDI, Medomak, Nokomis, Camden, and P. I. Win to Advance to Class “B” Semi-finals

#1 Camden Hills Leaps Past MDI (photo courtesy of Maine Sports Report)

The second day (Saturday February 13) of the high school tournament  at the Bangor Auditorium started with the #2 seed Mount Desert Island Trojans holding off the determined #7 Hermon Hawks 49-41. The Trojans were lead by Sara Carroll with 19 points.  Also contributing to the scoring was senior captain Megan Phelps who finished with 12. Carroll was named the McDonald’s Player of the Game by WZON radio. Ashley Thayer led the Hawks with 14 points while Kayla Snow added 12 points off the bench for Hermon.

The boys took the floor for the second game of the morning session featuring #4 seed Presque Isle Wildcats and #5 Medomak Valley Panthers. The Panthers were too much for the Wildcats to handle pulling out a tough fought 46-42 victory. Medomak led by as much as 13 and held off a late Presque Isle charge to get the victory. The Panthers were led by Alexander Mackenzie scoring a game high 15 points. He was named the McDonald’s Player of the Game and the U.S. Army Strong Player of the Game by WZON. Travis Dyer poured in 14 points for the losing Wildcats.

The afternoon session featured a girls matchup between #4 seeded Nokomis Warriors and #5 Medomak Valley Panthers. The Warriors used their defensive pressure in the second half to roll to a 46-32 victory.  Nokomis was led by Julie Smith scoring 16 points with ten of those coming in the second half. Smith was named the McDonald’s Player of the game by WZON. Alanna Vose led the losing cause for Waldoboro with 11 points.

The defending state champion in Class “B” Camden Hills boys came to the Bangor Auditorium to prove to everyone that they are for real. The Windjammers finished the regular season with a 16-2 record and the #1 seed in Eastern Maine Class “B”. Camden defeated the #9 MDI Trojans 54-39. The Trojans held a 12-10 lead after the first quarter, but the final three quarters were a different story. Camden outscored MDI 44-27 in the final periods to earn the victory. Camden will face Medomak in the semi-final round on Wednesday afternoon. The Windjammers were led by junior forward and standout Tyler McFarland.  McFarland scored 15 points while Joel Gabriele added 10 points for the winners. Caleb Macdonald had 10 points for the Trojans in the losing effort.

In the final game of the class “B” Quarterfinal round, #1 seeded Presque Isle Wildcat girls defeated #8 Waterville Purple Panthers 52-37. The Wildcats led by only seven points at halftime extending their lead on the away to victory. The Wildcats were led by senior Chandler Guerrette scoring a game high 29 points to help the Wildcats advance to semi-finals where they will face #4 Nokomis Warriors on Wednesday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Maine Sports Report & Photography (Ron Hawkes)

High School Basketball Brings Hoop Fans to Bangor, Maine

EM Tournament 2010

The 2010 high school basketball tournament gets under way tomorrow night as the class “B” teams (boys and girls) warm up the Bangor Auditorium floor. There is a long storied tradition of high school basketball in Maine, but especially at the Bangor Auditorium (aka the Mecca).

Bangor attracts fans from all around state to watch their teams compete for championships. Also, in the long history there have been buzzer beaters, 1,000 point scorers, Eastern Maine and State Championships won at the Mecca.

School enrollment determines which class a school plays in. The boys and girls for classes B, C, and D all play at the Bangor Auditorium for Eastern Maine starting February 12th, 2010. All teams play during school vacation week hoping to get a chance to play on Championship Saturday on February 20th.

Click here for updated scores, tournament schedule, and discussions threads.

Hermon Boys Defeat MDI to Lock Up the #5 seed

Last night, the Hawks of Hermon got off to a slow start in the first quarter scoring only three points, but after the huge DUNK by Andy Ball in the second quarter of the contest they never looked back. The Hawks went onto win 54-43 on their homecourt to lock up the #5 seed in Eastern Maine class “B” Boys Basketball healpoint standings. They face Mattanawcook at home on Wednesday, February 11th for a chance to play at the Bangor Auditorium and possibly make a run to the Eastern Maine Finals.  Their leading scorer was Andy Ball scoring 15 points. Kevin Tarr and Taylor Gross chipped in with 14 apiece to pace the Hawks over the MDI Trojans. Colton Gross added five, Aaron Jellison with four and Alex Pederson with a bucket also contributed to the Hawks scoring column.

The Hawks are coming off a .500 season from a year ago, losing to Camden Hills in the preliminary playoff round to this year winning 14 games. The Hawks also have a new coach Mark Reed, who stresses defense. The first week of practices this season he did not let his team touch a basketball. The Offense will come, but you need good defense to win a championship. A huge turn around from last season going 9-10 and this year going 14-4.

Let's Go Hawks