Last year at this time, teams in Eastern Maine Class A’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference were going up against five players who would eventually go on to play at the NCAA Division I level and others who are now members of some of the top Div. III teams… Read More
A generation ago Bangor was the hub of the Eastern Maine Class A basketball world – with the likes of Presque Isle, Caribou, Houlton, Stearns of Millinocket, and Fort Kent battling the Rams and teams as far south as Gardiner for regional big-school supremacy. Demographic… Read More
With four starters back from a team that won the 2007 Class B state title, the Waterville girls basketball team is considered a favorite to repeat as Eastern Maine champion. With two starters back, 2007 runner-up John Bapst of Bangor is, too. Mattanawcook of Lincoln… Read More
It’s hard not to perceive the chase for this year’s Eastern Maine Class B boys basketball title as anything but a two-team race. Defending champion Camden Hills of Rockport returns three stellar starters in junior forward Gordon Fischer and senior guards Paul Campbell and Christian… Read More
It has been a long time since anyone other than Dexter was considered a preseason Eastern Maine Class C girls basketball favorite. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a clear-cut preseason darling. Far from it. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
The Eastern Maine Class C boys basketball world faces the same challenge it faced last winter – trying to knock off the Calais Blue Devils. No one has been able to do that since the 2005 Eastern Maine tournament, as coach Ed Leeman’s club has… Read More
Woodland girls basketball coach Arnie Clark is ready to lead the Dragons back to the Bangor Auditorium and possibly a return to the top of the Eastern Maine Class D ranks this winter after his team struggled to a 10-7 record last winter. Woodland, which… Read More
For the last two seasons, the Eastern Maine Class D ranks arguably had some of the most appealing tournament match-ups once action moved to the Bangor Auditorium. And although there were talented teams in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth slots capable of knocking off… Read More
Bangor High School made seven appearances in the Class A state championship game during a 12-year span between 1992 and 2003 – winning six of those finals and the gold balls that were the spoils of those victories. That streak means that the three years… Read More
There’s no rest in the North. That’s the North division of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference, where there are so few marginal teams that every night will likely be a battle. As one coach put it, there could be an awful lot of 9-9 records… Read More
Maranacook Community School of Readfield began last season without much of a tradition in boys basketball. Never before had the Black Bears won a regional championship, let alone a state crown, and the program had competed in Western Maine Class B for many years before… Read More
Every team, at some point, has to deal with losing starters and talented players to graduation. For both the defending Class B state champ and the Eastern Maine Class B runner-up, how they deal with their graduation losses could determine the course of their 2006-07… Read More
Class C almost always ranks among the most competitive divisions in Eastern Maine schoolboy basketball. No team has repeated as regional championship since Hodgdon won back-to-back state titles in 1995 and 1996. Only two programs – Penquis Valley of Milo and Calais – have won… Read More
The Dexter girls basketball team is out to defend its run of four straight Eastern Maine Class C titles, in addition to last year’s state crown. If it happens – and there are plenty of teams out there who seem ready to end the Tigers’… Read More
The Central Aroostook High School Panthers have done it the hard way en route to winning two straight Class D boys state championships. They’ve had to beat the third and top seed each of the last two times, plus the No. 2 seed last season. Read More
The Lee Academy girls basketball team experienced something rare in last year’s Eastern Maine Class D tournament: A first-round exit from the Bangor Auditorium. Fast forward 10 months later, and the Pandas are eager to return to the old barn on Dutton Street and make… Read More
Eastern Maine Class A basketball covers a wide geographic swath, from just north of Portland to the Canoe City, Old Town. But the bulls-eye within the division isn’t in the center of that area, but to the north – Bangor High School, a regional finalist… Read More
The biggest threat to the Cony girls basketball team this year could be themselves. The Rams of Augusta, who won the program’s ninth Eastern Maine Class A title last season, are injured. That’s thrown the starting lineup into a bit of disarray. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Bragging rights in Class B schoolboy basketball knows only one home at present: the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference. In Camden Hills of Rockport (2001, 2002), Winslow (2003) and Erskine Academy of South China (2004), the KVAC has won the last four state championships. Some of… Read More
Looking for the same Camden Hills team that won the Eastern Maine Class B title last year? Well, you won’t find it. Most of it, anyway, according to coach Jay Carlsen. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = [];… Read More
They have been basketball brothers in arms since the first grade, building steadily for the season to come. They came up through the junior high ranks together, and even took the AAU route – but as a team, not as individuals on separate teams. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
For most Eastern Maine Class C coaches, the question isn’t which team is going to represent the region in the 2005 state championship. For those coaches it’s, who’s going to have to play that team in the regional final? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Last season was a fairly wide open one in the Eastern Maine Class D schoolboy basketball ranks. This season promises to be even more so. Consider the following pool of worthy tourney title contenders: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
Most seasoned high school hoops observers eagerly anticipated a championship clash between the top two girls basketball teams in the Eastern Maine Class D Tournament last season, but a funny thing happened on the way to the finals. Although No. 2 seed Lee Academy made… Read More
Early this fall Johanna Ghiringehlli insisted she preferred basketball to soccer. It was hard to believe, watching the speedy forward score goals for the Hampden Academy girls soccer team. After all, Ghiringehlli is an exchange student from Paraguay, and don’t they prefer soccer in South America?… Read More
With six state titles in the last 11 years – including three of the last four seasons – Bangor High School has established itself firmly at the top of the Class A schoolboy basketball ranks. “I still think that Eastern Maine A runs through Bangor,”… Read More
In some ways, the Presque Isle girls basketball team will look the same as it did last year. In other ways, it’s completely different. The Wildcats have moved from Class A to Class B, and the team is still trying to get used to the… Read More
The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference has produced the Class B boys basketball state champion four of the last five years, with Winslow winning last March and Camden Hills of Rockport the best in 1999, 2001 and 2002. This year, the league figures to be even… Read More
To take a look at the roster of returners for the Dexter girls basketball team, it would seem the Tigers are a lock to repeat as Eastern Maine Class C champions. And why not? Dexter has what could be the tallest starting lineup in the… Read More
The 2003-04 Eastern Maine Class C boys basketball season begins with change in the air, and competitiveness within the division. Reigning state champion George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill has a new lineup on the floor and a new leader on the sidelines. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
They return four starters from a squad that compiled a 17-4 record last year, they’re coming off two straight trips to the Eastern Maine Class D championship game, and the team that beat them last year is no longer in Class D. Sounds like the… Read More
After two straight trips to the Class D state championship game, Bangor Christian’s reign atop the Eastern Maine small school heap may be over. There are several teams eager and well-suited to end it as the with 2003-04 season under way. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
Where’s the power in Eastern Maine Class A boys? Apparently it’s spread around. From three teams in the Big East Conference to maybe three or four teams in the Kennebec Valley Conference. It obviously begins in Brunswick where the Dragons return NEWS All-Maine Schoolboy team… Read More
Expect to see Nokomis and Cony once again rise to the top of Eastern Maine Class A. It’s as simple as that. Both teams return at least three starters, or fill in the graduated players with more-than-capable substitutes from last year. Each team has a… Read More
It figures to be a rocky start for defending Class B state champion Camden Hills of Rockport. The Windjammers lost its entire starting five from last year. Still coach Jeff Hart isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. “We still return six lettermen who… Read More
When you’re a two-time defending state champion who graduated just one starter, it’s not a stretch to make you a favorite. That’s the situation MDI will be in this year. Another year of a tough schedule – the Trojans will face Class A power Nokomis… Read More
Ask the coaches. They’ll tell you. Eastern Maine Class C boys is wide open. George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill coach Matt Mattson lists no less than eight schools as having a chance at being top dog. His team included. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
Let’s face it – Eastern Maine Class C has been relatively easy to talk about over the past decade or so. There have been plenty of good teams. Then there’s been Calais, the winner of nine of the last 12 regional titles. But this season,… Read More
One of the happier moments in Bangor Christian history occurred on Dec. 6 when the Patriots hosted Schenck of East Millinocket in their season opener. There, running the basketball court again, was David Chrisos. The 6-foot senior has made it all the way back from… Read More
For the past two years, the Woodland girls basketball team has vanquished all comers in the Eastern Maine Class D tournament. Then, the Dragons went out and won two straight state crowns. This year, because of graduation and the improvement of other teams, defending those… Read More