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BANGOR – Two teams seeking a first for their schools will meet Saturday in the last Class A boys basketball state final to be played at the Bangor Auditorium.
Neither Eastern Maine champion Hampden Academy nor Western Maine titlist Deering of Portland has won a state championship in boys basketball, and with the Eastern A tourney moving to Augusta next year, this marks the final chance to achieve that goal at the aging edifice considered by many as symbolic of high school hoops in the Pine Tree State.
Hampden won Eastern B boys titles in 1977 and 1982, and the Broncos’ girls team won a Class B state championship in 1976. Deering previously reached the Class A boys state final in 1937, 2001 and 2002, with the Rams’ girls team winning it all in 2004.
” It would be indescribable,” said Hampden sophomore guard Daniel McCue of the prospects of winning a gold ball. “I’ve been waiting to win this forever, it seems like. I can’t wait to get the opportunity.”
Both teams figured to be competitive this season, but neither was a preseason favorite to meet in this 3:05 p.m. matchup. Hampden (18-4) was solid throughout the winter, but couldn’t overcome top-ranked Bangor in three regular-season meetings and eventually earned the No. 9 seed to the Eastern A tournament.
Coach Russ Bartlett’s club won at Mt. Blue of Farmington in a preliminary-round game, then finally topped Bangor in the quarterfinals. From there, the Broncos defeated Brewer and Oxford Hills of South Paris thanks to timely offense and a man-to-man defense that allowed its three tournament victims to shoot a collective 27 percent (41 of 152) from the field.
“The only difference now is that we’re a lot more focused on what we can do,” said senior forward Pat Moran. “We’re playing defense much better than we were. The defense has just progressed game by game, but then one day in practice we were talking about it, and it seemed like it just came out of nowhere. It seemed that way, but that’s because it just progressed little by little.”
Hampden is sparked by 6-foot-10 junior center Jordan Cook, the EM tourney MVP who averaged 13.7 points per game during the tournament while also leading the Broncos in rebounding and blocked shots.
Senior Blaine Meehan (11.7 ppg in tourney play) and junior J Uhrin (9.0 ppg) team with McCue in the backcourt, while the 6-4 Moran complements Cook up front. Senior Josh McNutt (7.0 ppg) and junior Max Silver provide energy and production off the bench. Silver, McNutt and Uhrin all have previous championship-game experience. They helped Hampden win the Eastern A boys soccer title last fall before falling to Greely of Cumberland Center in the state final.
“Whenever you play in a game that’s hyped up like a state championship game or an Eastern Maine final, the next time is going to be easier,” said McNutt. “But losing in a state championship game your senior year really puts a different perspective on things. Losing that last game, you never want to have a feeling like that again.”
No. 3 Deering (17-4) defeated No. 2 Portland and No. 1 Cheverus of Portland in its final two games of the WM tournament to earn a third trip to the state final in five years.
Coach Dan LeGage’s Rams feature 6-2 junior guard Carlos Strong, a transfer from Cheverus who averaged 18.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.1 assists during the regular season and was named MVP of the WM tournament.
“He raised the expectations of everybody else on the team,” said LeGage of Strong, who played with most of his Deering teammates in middle school before attending Cheverus for two years. “They all saw what he could do, and they stepped it up.”
Strong’s cousin, 6-6 junior Martin Cleveland, is Deering’s primary inside threat. He averaged 14.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
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