Veteran guard tandems frequently are the foundation for successful high school basketball teams.

Take last season. The state Class A champion Bangor High School Rams, for example, were led by the all-senior backcourt of Zak Ray and Wesley Day.

Experienced backcourts also are making their mark this season, including at East Machias where three senior guards have led Washington Academy to an 8-0 start, the Raiders’ best in recent years.

The combination of Whitney Stevens, Jared Gray, and Ryan Harmon have provided coach Chad Fitzsimmons’ club leadership both statistically and in fostering team chemistry through their roles as team tri-captains.

Stevens and Gray are both four-year varsity performers who are approaching 1,000 career points.

“They’ve been to Bangor every year because they both made varsity as freshmen,” said Fitzsimmons, “and they’ve played key roles since they were sophomores when we made the [Eastern Maine Class C] semifinals.”

Stevens leads the team offensively this season, averaging a team-best 22 points per game, while Gray is averaging 15 points per contest. That scoring is complemented by a solid inside attack led by junior forward James Ramsdell.

Harmon, meanwhile, has emerged this winter as an additional source of backcourt benefits. While not a major scorer for Washington Academy, he has been a key component of an improved defensive effort.

“He’s really picked it up and playing a lot better defense,” Fitzsimmons said. “On another team he could be a star, but for us he’s been really unselfish and a key to our team.”

The combination of half-court man-to-man and extended trapping defenses being employed by Washington Academy is at the core of the team’s early season run.

Through Monday night’s 62-41 victory over Calais – a team just two days removed from knocking Houlton from the unbeaten ranks – the Raiders are allowing approximately 47 points per game through their first eight games.

“We’re playing a lot better half-court defense,” said Fitzsimmons, whose team returns to action Wednesday at archrival Machias. “We’re not so much the Runnin’ Raiders everyone thinks we are. We’re also better in the halfcourt offense, and at running through the plays when we don’t have the fast break.”

Key games mark season’s midpoint

Only five weeks remain until the Bangor Auditorium opens its doors for the 2004 high school basketball tournaments in Classes B, C, and D, and the battles for bragging rights at the top of the schoolboy standings are kicking into high gear.

Here are a few other B, C, and D games to keep an eye on this week:

Houlton and Hodgdon, two neighboring schools that share a hockey team, renew their basketball rivalry at Houlton on Thursday. Both teams are enjoying their first seasons in new divisions. Led by senior swingman Jimmy Griffin, Hodgdon is unbeaten in Class D. Houlton, featuring sophomore forward Mark Socoby, fell from the unbeaten ranks in Class C on Saturday when it dropped a four-point decision at Calais.

“This is a big week for us,” said Houlton coach Sean Callahan, whose team faced Presque Isle on Tuesday night and has another huge home test Saturday when the Shiretowners host Stearns of Millinocket. Stearns fell from the unbeaten ranks Tuesday night in a 71-43 loss to Piscataquis of Guilford.

Another unbeaten, Class B Ellsworth, faces perhaps its toughest test to date Friday night when it hosts Foxcroft Academy, which avenged its only loss of the season with a 52-38 win over previously unbeaten Hermon on Tuesday night.

Coach Dan Clifford’s Ellsworth club features one of the top freshmen in the region in Corey DeWitt, as well as veteran point guard Joey DeWitt and sophomore forward Andy Tracy. Foxcroft counters with a veteran lineup featuring junior forwards Matt Carey and Bobby Gilbert and senior guard Josh Withee.

An important KVAC Class B clash Friday night is a rematch in Rockport between Maranacook of Readfield and host Camden Hills. Maranacook won their mutual season opener on a 3-point goal in the final seconds. Camden Hills hasn’t lost since then, though this will be a challenging weekend for coach Jeff Hart’s club as it also has a road trip to South China on Saturday to face twice-beaten Erskine Academy.

Also on Friday is a key rematch in Eastern D, as undefeated Calvary Chapel of Orrington treks to Danforth to face twice-beaten East Grand. Those teams met in Bangor last month, with Calvary Chapel pulling away in the third quarter behind brothers Kyle and Brock Bradford and 1,000-point scorer Josh Madden for a 64-48 victory. The game marks the start of a taxing weekend on the road for Calvary Chapel, which then must travel to Machias for a game Saturday.

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or eclark@bangordailynews.net