If the tournament games are lasting just a bit longer at the Bangor Auditorium this year, the blame may lie with a little black box on the scorers’ table.
Thanks to a deal struck between representatives of Nevco Scoreboard Company and officials at Bass Park, the Precision Time System is making its Maine high school tourney debut this year.
“I just talked to Steve Jones with Nevco and said ‘let’s just give it to them and let them use it.’ What better advertising?,” said former John Bapst and Bangor High boys basketball coach Bob Cimbollek, now a Nevco sales representative.
The system – which includes a base unit designed to interface with all existing time-keeping equipment plus two belt packs and two omnidirectional microphones worn by officials to signal the starting and stopping of play – allows officials to start and stop the clocks at the speed of light with the blow of a whistle. The system has been shown to eliminate human lag time in stopping or starting clocks and its creators estimate that it recovers about 90 seconds of actual game time normally lost to that human error.
For the purpose of easing into the system, the tourney timekeeper is the one charged with restarting the clock.
How is the system being received? Depends on who you ask.
“Everybody seems to like it,” Cimbollek said. “They already knew about it because it’s six years old. It’s already in use in two hockey rinks in Western Maine.
“We’ve had a few times when the whistle has not stopped it, but the timer was there to do it. There’s a red light that tells them when it hasn’t come back if someone forgets to trigger it.”
The timekeeper for the tournament is Hal Stewart.
“After 20 years of doing it by hand, it takes some getting used to,” said Stewart. “Ask me again later this week. Right now, it’s one more thing to keep track of. Now I’m watching the red light more than I’m watching the game and it’s a little frustrating.
Officials have noticed a change.
“You’ve got a big pack on your waste that feels like an oversized cell phone. In the second period of the Bucksport game, it kind of loosened up and slipped off the wasteband, so I had to stop play and fix it,” said longtime official John Plourde. “It’s just one of those things we’re going to have to get used to as officials, but really, once you get going, you don’t even notice it.
“If it’s gonna help the game. It’s not a huge issue.”
A base system costs $2,195. At $200 per officials pack, a system with enough packs to outfit six officials would run about $2,800.
Maybe I’ll change my mind,” Stewart said. “I’m open to trying whatever they put in front of me, but I don’t know if you’re going to see high schools paying $3,000 to put this in the system or not.”
Anxious moment for Cyr
Kristine Cyr didn’t realize that she needed just 14 points during her Madawaska squad’s Class C quarterfinal game to reach the magical 1,000-point plateau.
But when coach Merilda Plourde called timeout with just over a minute to play, Cyr found out.
“I went to sit down, and my coach says, you have three more points to make your 1,000,” Cyr said.
Plourde drew up a play for Cyr, Cyr got open at the top of the key, and nailed a 3-pointer with 56 seconds to play.
Then, Cyr admits, things got interesting.
“That was so funny,” she said. “I was so excited and overwhelmed, I just lost it.”
After a whistle with 5.6 seconds to play, Cyr clutched her hands to her face and became ill. Then she rushed over to the press table and lay down in front of it.
Plourde came across to tend to her player, and both were laughing about what had happened.
“That big 1,000 was a lot of pressure, baby,” Plourde said.
“I’m sorry,” Cyr said, sheepishly.
Cyr said that her sudden illness was entirely due to nerves, and she hadn’t felt sick during the game. She also said (with a chuckle) that she didn’t mind people writing about what happened.
That’s not to say that she wasn’t a bit embarrassed at the time.
“There’s six seconds left and they have to stop the game for like 10 minutes just so they could clean,” she said.
For the record, she didn’t re-enter the game and finishes her stellar career with exactly 1,000 points.
Basketball bon voyage?
Woodland High School senior forward Ashley Marble wants to savor this year’s Eastern Maine Class D tournament, and for good reason.
This may be the last time the 2001 All-Maine third-team selection plays competitive basketball because the talented Marble has accepted a volleyball scholarship to the University of Maine.
“I’ve thought about that,” said Marble following her 20-point, 12-rebound, six-steal performance in Woodland’s 83-42 quarterfinal win over Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook on Monday.
“In my dad’s birthday card, I wrote this is one of the last times you’ll get to see me play basketball,” said Marble, who also had expressed a desire to give her dad a birthday win so he’ll have more opportunities to watch her.
She said she will miss basketball but was quick to point out that “I’m very pleased with my decision [to attend Maine for volleyball].”
She hasn’t completely ruled out playing basketball again, but after trying to help lead her Dragons to a second straight state Class D championship she will turn her attention to volleyball.
Hometowns for schools
Frequently, during tourney time, readers will ask the NEWS for a list of hometowns for schools which do not have the same name as the town. Here’s the list:
Averill of Hinckley
Bonny Eagle of Standish
Camden Hills of Rockport
Carrabassett Valley of Kingfield
Carrabec of North Anson
McAuley of Portland
Central Aroostook of Mars Hill
Central of Corinth
Cheverus of Portland
Cony of Augusta
Deering of Portland
Dirigo of Dixfield
East Grand of Danforth
Edward Little of Auburn
Erskine of South China
Forest Hills of Jackman
Foxcroft Academy of Dover-Foxcroft
George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill
Georges Valley of Thomaston
Gould Academy of Bethel
Greely of Cumberland
Hall-Dale of Farmingdale
John Bapst of Bangor
Katahdin of Sherman Station
Lake Region of Naples
Lawrence of Fairfield
Leavitt of Turner
Lincoln Academy of Newcastle
Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield
Maranacook of Readfield
Marshwood of South Berwick
Massabesic of Waterboro
Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln
Medomak Valley of Waldoboro
Messalonskee of Oakland
Morse of Bath
Mount Abram of Strong
Mount Ararat of Topsham
Mt. Blue of Farmington
Mount View of Thorndike
Mountain Valley of Rumford
Narraguagus of Harrington
Noble of South Berwick
Nokomis of Newport
Oak Hill of Sabattus
Oxford Hills of South Paris
Penobscot Valley of Howland
Penquis Valley of Milo
Piscataquis of Guilford
Sacopee Valley of Hiram
Saint Dominic of Lewiston
Schenck of East Millinocket
Shead of Eastport
Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook
Stearns of Millinocket
Sumner of East Sullivan
Telstar of Bethel
Thornton Academy of Saco
Traip of Kittery
Valley of Bingham
Washington Academy of East Machias
Waynflete of Portland
Wisdom of Saint Agatha
Woodland of Baileyville
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