AUGUSTA – The last time Bangor and Mt. Blue of Farmington met at the Augusta Civic Center, it was a meeting of arguably the two best boys basketball teams in the state during the 2006-07 season.

They had split two earlier meetings, with Bangor winning at home in overtime before Mt. Blue handed the Rams their only loss of that season, 54-46 at Farmington on Jan. 20, 2007.

Their third clash was in the Eastern Maine Class A semifinals, and Mt. Blue held an 11-point third-quarter lead before Bangor rallied for a 57-55 victory – its toughest tourney test en route to the 2007 state title.

The same teams meet again tonight at 8:30 in a 2008 semifinal, but the lead-up is vastly different from a year ago.

While Bangor graduated two players from its 2007 rotation – first-team All-Maine forward Alex Gallant and point guard Troy Jellison – Mt. Blue graduated its entire starting lineup.

With a roster 11 seniors strong led by center Ryan Weston, guards Jon McAllian and Lee Suvlu and forward Billy Zolper, Bangor roared through its regular season undefeated and with an average victory margin of 23.9 points. The Rams then blitzed No. 8 Brunswick 74-56 in its quarterfinal.

Mt. Blue is back in the semifinals behind a new-look lineup led by junior guards Ben Russell and Jamie Russell. The fifth-ranked Cougars went 12-6 during the regular season, then topped No. 4 Cony of Augusta 50-33 in the quarterfinals.

“When the season started I would have been very happy to get a prelim game, but to play in the semifinals I think is a tribute to the players and the effort they’ve made,” said longtime Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey.

Mt. Blue’s semifinal challenge is formidable, given that Bangor won two regular-season meetings by an average of 32 points. Bangor won 65-35 at home on Jan. 8, then blitzed the Cougars 82-48 at Farmington in its regular-season finale.

Mt. Blue’s game plan this time likely will focus on offensive patience.

“Shot selection is very important against a team like that,” said Bessey. “You’re only going to get so many shots, and you’re not going to get many second shots because of the way they rebound. You also have to make all your foul shots, and you can’t turn the ball over.

“Against a good team, you have to pass it and catch it. The longer we can pass it and catch it, obviously the better opportunity we have to get a good shot. I know I’m oversimplifying it, but that’s exactly what we have to do.”

Bangor will rely on the same formula that has earned it 29 consecutive wins since its loss at Mt. Blue 13 months ago – led by a defense that allowed barely 40 points per game this season and outrebounded its opponents by an average of more than 20 per game.

“They’re a good basketball team,” said Bangor coach Roger Reed. “They’ll be well coached, and we’ve just got to be solid and take care of ourselves in that game and limit the opportunities their two great guards have.”

The Bangor-Mt. Blue winner will play in Friday’s 7 p.m. Eastern A final against the survivor of tonight’s other semifinal between No. 2 Edward Little of Auburn (15-4) and No. 6 Lawrence of Fairfield (12-8).

This afternoon’s first Eastern A girls semifinal matches No. 2 Morse of Bath (16-3) against No. 3 Cony of Augusta (17-2) at 2:30 p.m., followed by No. 1 Lawrence of Fairfield (18-1) against No. 5 Oxford Hills of South Paris (13-6).

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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