The Eastern Maine Class B boys basketball championship has been property of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference for the last five years.

But that league hasn’t settled for just a regional title – as Camden Hills (2001, 2002, and 2005), Winslow (2003) and Erskine Academy of South China (2004) went on to bring the state championship back to Eastern Maine each time.

None of those specific teams is favored to challenge for the regional title this year. Erskine is now in Class A, Winslow didn’t qualify for the playoffs, and Camden Hills has been in a rebuilding mode – though its victory over Maranacook of Readfield suggests anything is possible for coach Jeff Hart’s Windjammers.

That’s not to say the KVAC is without powers. Maranacook has been top-ranked for much of the season and finished No. 1 at 17-1 behind the division’s most exciting player, sophomore guard Ryan Martin. Medomak Valley of Waldoboro, back in Class B this season after a stint in the Class A ranks, has a premier player in senior forward Matt MacKenzie and has been ranked in the top four virtually all winter.

Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield has used the all-around play of senior Andy Tracy to evolve into a contender, while Mount View of Thorndike is riding a strong wave of late-season momentum into the playoffs – including a season-ending victory over Medomak Valley – after a sluggish start.

But this year may be the Big East Conference’s turn, with several deep, veteran clubs poised to challenge the KVAC’s elite at the Bangor Auditorium.

Presque Isle was a regional semifinalist a year ago and has held down the No. 2 position throughout most of the 2005-06 regular season. Versatile senior forward Greg Whitaker has been the primary catalyst for coach Tim Prescott’s Wildcats, who got off to a 12-0 start before suffering their first loss. Senior guard Matt McGlinn and 6-foot-6 senior center Chris Coffin – who like Medomak’s McKenzie and Mount View’s Kyle Tripp has committed to play at Husson College in Bangor next year – give Presque Isle a three-pronged level of production few teams can match.

But several Big East rivals have tandems capable of carrying their teams deep into postseason play.

Ellsworth shook off a change at the top as preseason began, with veteran coach Jay Brown taking over for Dan Clifford after Clifford became athletic director at Sumner of East Sullivan. But 6-2 junior guards Corey Dewitt and Demetrios Katsiaficas have provided plenty of matchup problems for the Eagles’ opponents this season, and forward Anthony Britt is a lightning-quick defensive specialist.

Making the move from Class C to B is supposed to be a significant challenge, but for Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln the upgrade has gone quite smoothly. The Lynx feature coaching experience in Rick Sinclair, the last Big East coach to win an Eastern B title when he guided Hermon to the 2000 crown, and a balanced attack involving guards Dylan Hanscom and Steve Andrews, frontcourt players Levi Slike, Adam L’Italien, and Isaac Young, and perhaps the team’s most dangerous player in sophomore sixth man Derek Libbey.

Mount Desert Island entered postseason play coming off impressive victories over Class C contender George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill and Ellsworth (in overtime). MDI Coach Wilton Jones’ Trojans are led by poised guard Kyle Staples and versatile forward Robin Daley.

And, of course, there’s Camden Hills. Senior forward Cameron Puls is the only veteran with considerable tournament experience, but some younger players, among them sophomore Paul Campbell and freshman Gordon Fischer, have emerged to make the Windjammers a tough out for anyone who draws them in a preliminary-round or quarterfinal matchup.