WHO: Mt. Desert Island (18-3) vs. Wells (16-5)
WHEN: Friday, 7:45 p.m.
WHERE: Augusta Civic Center
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Wells (seeded third in the South) beat Maranacook (44-29), Spruce Mountain (53-52) and top-ranked Yarmouth (41-38) in the playoffs. MDI (seeded second in the North) beat Belfast (45-35), Central (48-38) and Orono (42-34) in the playoffs.
KEY PLAYERS
Mt Desert Island: Riley Swanson, sr., F (10.9 ppg, 3 rpg, 49 3-pointers); Graham Good, sr., F (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg); Andrew Phelps, jr., G (7.2 ppg, 3.2 apg, 1.8 spg); Russell Kropf, sr., C (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg); Gus Reeves, sr., G (4.3 ppg).
Wells: Deandre Woods, sr., F (12.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg); Cameren Cousins, jr., F (8 ppg, 5 rpg); Owen Berry, sr., G/F (9.5 ppg); Riley Dempsey, sr., G (4.5 apg, 2.2 spg), Tyler Dewey, sr., G (4.9 spg).
WHAT WELLS MUST DO TO WIN: Wells’ backcourt, including sophomore reserve Matt Sherburne, needs to handle Mt. Desert’s full-court pressure and then pound the ball inside and convert. In the upset of Yarmouth in the South final, Woods (16 points) got the Warriors off to a strong start and Cousins (13 points, 12 rebounds) finished the job. They will face a much smaller team in Mt. Desert, though the Trojans had a 26-13 rebounding edge on a bigger Orono team in the regional final. Wells doesn’t need to win the 3-point contest but it can’t be beaten in it decisively. Keegan Reidy and Dewey need to knock down a couple treys while Wells’ defense limits MDI, which averages seven made 3s per game.
WHAT MDI MUST DO TO WIN: Forget about the football championship they lost last fall to Wells, 44-0. Being too hyped up for revenge isn’t good, awed by Wells’ aura would be even worse. The Trojans have held all three playoff opponents under 40 points, employing a full-court press and a 10-man rotation to wear down opponents. If the Trojans can return to their in-season shooting form (51 percent overall; 42.7 on 3s), they will be tough to beat, especially if they control Wells’ inside duo of Woods and Cousins. Like Wells, MDI is a veteran group with nine seniors.
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