Back in December, the two teams many hoops observers thought were the two best in the state hooked up in a “meaningless” preseason exhibition game.

After 32 hard-fought minutes and another four in overtime, Brunswick’s boys walked off the court with a 71-70 win over Deering of Portland.

Welcome to Round Two, also known as the Class A state championship game.

“After that game, players on both teams were saying ‘See you in March, see you in March, see you in March,’ so I think we’ve had our eyes on each other the whole year,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson.

Three months and 41 combined victories later, those players won’t have to strain their eyes much as they’ll all be on the same court again. Only this time, the sold-out game will be at Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland and there’s nothing meaningless about it as the first gold ball in either program’s history is what’s on the line.

The 9 p.m. game will be the third state final for Deering. The 19-3 Rams are hoping the third time’s the charm after losing the lowest-scoring A boys title game (16-14 to Winslow) in 1937 and a 57-56 heartbreaker to Bangor last year.

This is all-new territory for the 22-0 Dragons as they had never advanced to a regional, let alone state final, before last week.

Both coaches predict a straight-up, mano-a-mano kind of game.

“These kids have banged heads in AAU now for a few years, so they know each other,” said Rams coach Mike Francoeur. “There are no surprises. It’s going to be a fun game for the fans.”

Maryland-bound 6-foot-7 Rams forward Nik Caner-Medley vs. 6-5 Dragons center Dan Hammond, star swingmen Ralph Mims of Brunswick and Walter Phillips of Deering, and cool-shooting guards Pat Conway of Deering and Drew Pelletier of Brunswick. To say these are intriguing matchups is a gross understatement.

“I agree with Mike,” Hanson said. “In fact, I kind of wish I could sit up there and watch it myself.”

Both teams are on a mission: Deering’s is to wash away the lingering taste of last season’s bitter ending and Brunswick’s is to erase the memory of their last Civic Center game – a semifinal loss to Westbrook last year.