Camden Hills has been one of Maine’s elite boys basketball programs of the new millennium, and the Windjammers hope to add to that legacy Saturday afternoon when they face Mountain Valley of Rumford in the 2007 Class B state championship game.

The game, as well as the Class B girls final between Waterville and Lake Region of Naples, originally were scheduled for tonight at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, but the Maine Principals’ Association on Thursday postponed the games until Saturday due to inclement weather expected Friday around the state.

Under the revised Class B schedule, Waterville and Lake Region will play at the CCCC beginning at noon Saturday, followed at approximately 1:45 p.m. by the Camden Hills-Mountain Valley boys game.

Camden Hills has won three of the last six state titles, in 2001, 2002 and 2005, while helping the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference claim the last six consecutive Class B championships.

That tradition has helped fuel the 17-4 Windjammers’ current run to the ultimate game.

“One thing about this team that they’ve been doing all year long, and it really started last year, is that they’re always watching tapes of other games, past state finals,” said veteran head coach Jeff Hart. “They see people they know making big plays, and they want to go out and do it.”

Also crucial to the team’s success has been its talent and balance, characteristics evident in the Windjammers’ ability to apply constant defensive pressure and in its spreading of the offensive wealth.

“This has definitely been the most balanced team,” said Hart. “Other years we’ve had good balance, too, but in other years we’ve had players like Tim Stammen or Jim Wilson who were our leading scorers, and you pretty much knew they’d be our leading scorer every night.”

Six different Windjammers scored in double figures in at least one Eastern B tournament game this year. Only one player – junior guard Paul Campbell – scored at least 10 points in each of the three games.

And the biggest individual scoring performance for a Camden Hills player during postseason play has come not from a starter, but sixth man’s Paul Draper’s 23-point effort in the team’s 84-59 quarterfinal victory over Winslow.

Sophomore forward Gordon Fischer, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season, teams with Campbell, Draper, junior guard Christian Pieri, senior forward Jared Mitchell, senior center Nick Wootton and junior forward Dylan Smith to make the regional champs a tough team to defend.

“They play with confidence,” Hart said. “They all want the ball. If we have a huddle at the end of a game and I ask them who wants the ball for a big play, they’ll all put up their hands.”

That balance and talent also enable the Windjammers to overcome foul troubles on most occasions, such as during the late stages of their 61-60 victory over Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln in the EM final.

“Coming in as a three seed, everyone on the team knew that by playing hard and as a team, we could win the tournament,” said Campbell.

Saturday’s state final matches two schools with a basketball history between them – former Boston College and University of Maine guard Andy Bedard scored 53 points as Mountain Valley defeated then-Camden-Rockport 84-71 in the 1994 title game – as well as a recent rivalry in wrestling.

Camden Hills and Mountain Valley shared the 2005 Class B state title on the mat before Mountain Valley ended the Windjammers’ six-year reign as champion a year later. Camden Hills regained the state wrestling title in 2007, with Mountain Valley placing third.

On the basketball court, Camden Hills will be challenged by a Mountain Valley team making its second straight state final appearance after dropping a 73-58 decision to Maranacook of Readfield last year.

Coach Dave Gerrish’s Falcons are led by 6-4 senior Andy Shorey, a 1,000-point career scorer who this week was named a finalist for the state’s Mr. Maine Basketball award.

Shorey, who quarterbacked Mountain Valley to the Class B football state championship last fall, is averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this winter. The Mountain Valley Conference player of the year also averaged 19 points in the Western B tournament while earning regional MVP honors for the second straight season.

Owen Jones has added 12 points and five rebounds per contest for the Falcons, while Justin Staires has averaged 10 points and point guard D.J. Gerrish has contributed eight points and five assists a game.