BINGHAM – The coach who guided the Upper Kennebec Valley High School boys basketball program to 101 consecutive victories and six straight Class D state championships at the turn of the century is retiring.

Dwight Littlefield, whose preferred up-tempo style of play defied his low-key approach on the sidelines, announced his decision this week to end a 39-year coaching career that included 31 years with the Valley boys varsity team.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” said the 64-year-old Littlefield, who had retired from teaching math at the school in 2004 but stayed on as its athletic administrator, a role he will maintain for at least one more year.

“A couple of years ago I almost got done, but now seemed like the right time to slow down a little,” said Littlefield.

The Albion native compiled a 471-125 career record at Valley, winning 21 East-West Conference championships, 10 Western Maine Class D championships and the run of six consecutive state titles from 1998 through 2003 that snapped the previous record of five straight state championships set by Jonesport -Beals in Class D from 1970 to 1974.

The height of Littlefield’s coaching career represents a success story unprecedented in Maine basketball annals, with the Cavaliers compiling a 147-1 record from the start of the 1997-98 season until they lost to Calvary Chapel of Orrington 72-69 in the 2004 state final to end their gold ball run.

The dynasty began with 101 consecutive victories, a streak that ranks among the top all-time nationally in high school basketball and resulted in four state titles.

That streak finally ended with a loss to Piscataquis of Guilford in the final regular season game of the 2001-02 season, but Valley immediately embarked on another 46-game winning streak that produced two more state crowns.

“Certainly my players were the most important part, they were great kids who loved to play the game of basketball,” said Littlefield, who in 2004 was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. “They played all the time, they enjoyed doing it and they were fun to work with.

“It takes a lot of luck, too, to win that many games and championships in a row, but it starts with kids who love the game.”

Valley went on to extend its streak of consecutive Western D championships to eight with its most recent regional title in 2005.

Last winter the Cavaliers finished 16-4 after earning the program’s 16th trip to the Western D championship game under Littlefield’s watch.

Littlefield was a stickler for scouting. One of his rites of tournament week each year was to attend the Eastern Maine Class D semifinals without fanfare to watch potential state-championship game opponents.

He also was a proponent of the offensive side of the game, encouraging his players to shoot at least 100 shots apiece during practice and providing them with the tools to thrive in a fast-paced basketball environment.

And it worked. Valley’s first gold-ball clinching victory, a 96-92 victory over Jonesport-Beals in 1998, was the highest-scoring state championship game in Maine high school basketball history, and the Cavaliers’ 90-81 win over East Grand of Danforth in the 2001 state final wasn’t far behind.

“I think kids love to play transitional basketball, and that’s what I always enjoyed,” said Littlefield.

Littlefield estimates that approximately a dozen of his players went on to compete at the collegiate level, among them center Brian Andre, who played on the Division I level at the University of Buffalo and the University of Maine, and guard Nick Pelotte, a Division III All-American at Plymouth (N.H.) State.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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