Heal Points could steer Bangor-Edward Little Class A tourney game

You’d think the Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball tournament would be all about familiarity – all 19 teams are from the same league, the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

But the top of the standings offer a sense of mystery, as the top two teams have not met and have very little basketball history between them.

Edward Little of Auburn was undefeated and ranked No. 1 entering the final week of regular-season play. The school hasn’t won a regional title since 1957, and is seeking its first state championship since 1946.

And the program didn’t have a 1,000-point scorer until Troy Barnies surpassed the milestone this year.

EL had a strong regular season last year, finishing fourth in the final standings. But its season ended suddenly with a loss to 13th-seeded Cony of Augusta in the preliminary round that dashed the Eddies’ hopesof playing in the first Eastern A tournament at the Augusta Civic Center.

Bangor, ranked first for much of the winter before being overtaken by Edward Little, remains a primary contender to return to the state final for the first time since 2003.

Other hopefuls include Mt. Blue of Farmington, which handed Bangor its only loss, and a Gardiner club that has rebounded from a early season coaching change behind University of Maine-bound center Sean McNally.

Yet much of the talk when the tourney begins will center on the top two seeds that have yet to meet.

Edward Little, coached by the state’s 1990 Mr. Basketball Mike Adams, features a prime contender for this year’s Mr. Basketball in Barnies, a 6-foot-7 senior who will join McNally at Maine next fall.

Barnies, who quarterbacked the EL football team last fall, has proven to be a tough matchup for anyone, using his size near the basket but also having the ability to extend his game well onto the perimeter.

He’s not even the only Barnies on the roster, as twin Travis has provided his more highly touted sibling a strong frontcourt complement. Guard Eric Prue is another talented performer for the Red Eddies.

While EL is trying to establish a basketball tradition at a school known more for hockey, Bangor has been a perennial force in Class A. Its 1993 state title was the first of six the Rams have won in the last 14 years under coach Roger Reed. Their most recent title came in 2003, but each year since then Bangor has been eliminated by the eventual regional champ.

Bangor is led this year by Alex Gallant, a 6-4 senior forward who has emerged as one of the region’s top players. He is joined by a deep and rangy roster of teammates that includes 6-5 junior center Ryan Weston, 6-3 junior forward Lee Suvlu, 6-4 senior guard Jon McAllian and senior point guard Troy Jellison.

Will Bangor and EL finally meet when the Eastern A tournament heads toward its conclusion? The Heal Points suggest they will, but plenty of other teams have championship goals of their own.