Hampden seeks EM boys hoop title tonight

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BANGOR – They have waited a long time for a crack at their first Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball championship.

So two extra days shouldn’t be an inconvenience for Hampden Academy and Oxford Hills of South Paris.

Those schools meet Monday night for the regional title, with the opening tip at approximately 8:45, just after the 7 p.m. girls final between top-ranked and undefeated Cony of Augusta and No. 2 Skowhegan.

The games originally were scheduled for Saturday, but were postponed to Monday due to inclement weather. It’s not that Hampden and Oxford Hills haven’t won regional basketball titles, but never in Eastern A. Oxford Hills won the 1990 Western A championship before falling to Lawrence of Fairfield in that year’s state final.

Hampden last claimed regional glory in 1982, when the Broncos won the Eastern B championship before losing to Gorham in the state title game. That marked Hampden’s second Eastern B crown in six years, as the Broncos also earned their way to the state final in 1977 before falling to Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.

Hampden coach Russ Bartlett said there was some talk about practicing over the weekend – an optional practice Sunday was nixed by the administration, Bartlett said – but decided in the end to go with a walkthrough and shootaround before Monday’s game.

“We’ll talk about game plan, strategy,” Bartlett said Sunday. “We won’t do anything differently other than talk about matchups.”

Bartlett welcomed the postponement for two reasons: a break between games is more like what the Broncos are used to, and it gives the team a chance to regain some strength.

Forward Max Silver has had the flu and forward Josh McNutt has been struggling with a sinus infection.

“We haven’t played back-to-back games all season,” Bartlett said. “We’ll be fresher. I know [Oxford Hills] will be fresher, too, but I think we’ll be better off this way.”

Both programs have made their way to the 2005 Eastern A final thanks largely to their defensive strength. No. 2 Oxford Hills (17-3) switched from a trapping zone defense to man-to-man after a midseason slump, and the results have been impressive.

Coach Scott Graffam’s Vikings have won eight straight since the change, and have not allowed an opponent more than 50 points in a game during that span. That run includes a pair of tournament victories, 30-26 over No. 7 Cony of Augusta in the quarterfinals and a 55-39 win against No. 6 Gardiner in Friday night’s semifinals.

No. 9 Hampden (17-4) also has fed off its man-to-man defense in recent weeks, particularly during its tournament run. The Broncos went on the road for a 63-38 victory at No. 8 Mt. Blue of Farmington in the preliminary round to earn its trip to Bangor, then knocked off No. 1 Bangor 44-40 before handling No. 13 Brewer 55-34 in its semifinal.

While both teams play man-to-man sets, both defenses will adapt to help guard the strengths of the opposing offenses. For Oxford Hills, that offensive strength comes from its perimeter shooting and ability to attack from along the baseline. The former strength came into play against Gardiner, as the Vikings shook off their recent Bangor Auditorium shooting woes to strike early from the perimeter to build their lead.

Senior guard Matt McDonnell, the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference player of the year, was particularly sharp, scoring 23 points and hitting three early 3-pointers. Other keys to the Oxford Hills attack are 6-foot-4 identical twins Leif Kothe and Thomas Kothe, both of whom have 3-point shooting range.

Defensive catalysts for the Vikings have included seniors Josh Powell and Corey Saunders, who at 6-2 and 6-1, respectively, have more than held their own against taller foes during tournament play. Powell did much of the work in the quarterfinals holding 6-5 Cony star Doug Joerss to five points, while Saunders helped limit talented 6-7 Gardiner sophomore Sean McNally to 14 points – just four in the second half – during the semifinals.

Oxford Hills will face another imposing frontcourt threat in the regional final in 6-10 Hampden junior Jordan Cook. Cook came up big against Brewer with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and his inside presence was complemented by the strong perimeter play of guards Blaine Meehan, J Uhrin and Daniel McCue.

The Vikings contained Gardiner’s 6-7 center Sean McNally in the semifinals and after the game Graffam said he envisions defending Cook with the same kind of double- and triple-teams.

Bartlett is confident Cook will play through that special attention.

“I trust that he will make the right decisions,” Bartlett said. “He knows how to assess the situation, whether he can shoot or get the ball back outside. I think we’ll be ready for that.”

Meehan and Uhrin have come up big defensively, making some key steals late in the quarterfinal win against Bangor and holding Brewer standout Chris Wilson in check during the semifinals. Senior forward Pat Moran has provided the Broncos additional strength on the interior, while senior McNutt has fit nicely into the sixth-man role and junior Silver also has provided quality minutes off the Broncos’ bench.

Bartlett said he’s liked his team’s defense, particularly from Moran and Meehan.

Meehan has had to guard some of the top players in the tournament, including Bangor’s Aaron Gallant and Brewer’s Wilson. Meehan has held those two to a combined 8-for-32 shooting.

Plus, Moran has showed a scoring touch. He averaged about eight points per game in the regular season but that’s gone up to about 12 ppg.

“That’s been a nice surprise for us,” Bartlett said.

The girls’ game will be a rematch between the top two KVAC Class A teams from the regular season.

And Cony will certainly have some incentive to beat the Indians. After two regular-season wins over Skowhegan, the Rams fell 54-52 in the Feb. 26 non-countable KVAC championship game.

Miss Basketball finalist and returning tourney MVP Katie Rollins heads up a trio of 6-footers who have had a big impact so far. The 6-2 Rollins and 6-1 sophomore standout Cassie Cooper have been the top two scorers in the tourney so far. Rachael Mack, a 6-0 freshman, has come off the bench and could be critical to Cony’s chances tonight if either Rollins or Cooper gets into foul trouble.

Rollins, Cooper and Mack combined for 45 points and 25 rebounds in the semis against No. 4 Messalonskee of Oakland, and 45 points and 27 rebounds in the quarterfinals against No. 8 Lewiston.

They’ll go up against Skowhegan starters Megan Smith and Megan Franklin, who are 5-10 and 5-8, respectively.

The key to the Indians’ KVAC win was fine shooting. Junior guard Nicole Paradis hit five 3-pointers en route to 16 points and sophomore guard Beth Sevey made one and finished with 10 points.

But neither guard has shown that kind of shooting touch in the tourney so far. The Indians have instead relied on senior forward Franklin and bench players Jessica Abbott, Zara Saydjari and Ali LaGross.

The Indians have been playing excellent man-to-man defense, however, limiting No. 7 Oxford Hills of South Paris to 26 points in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Nokomis of Newport to 33 in the semis.