Medomak Valley's 6-foot-8 center, John Murray, is a Mr. Basketball semifinalist and an obvious source of attention for opponents. Murray was double-teamed every time he got the ball against Mt. Desert Island in the Eastern Class B final. While he was being contained, the Panthers were slow starting on offense.

Finally, the Medomak Valley guards began making plays - outside shots, drives to the basket - and that opened up space for Murray and 6-5 Ryan Ripley. The result was a 56-50 win for the Panthers.

“It took a little bit for the guards to get going,” Medomak Valley guard Jonathan Henrickson-Belloguet said. “Our bigs weren’t getting anything. John’s our go-to guy and we had to work around that.

“But our team chemistry is good. We could work around it.”

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VarsityMaine The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram put a priority on high school sports coverage, and this blog is a place for all our reporters to put news and notes from around the state.

From football to field hockey, from cross country to volleyball, our goal is to keep you informed of the happenings in all high school sports.

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About the Author

Maine High School Sports Bloggers

Paul Betit is an Augusta native and graduate of the University of Maine. He has covered Maine high school sports for more than 30 years and is entering his seventh season as a beat writer covering the Portland Pirates. In his spare time, Betit writes mystery-suspense novels. Occasionally, he tries to sink his second career hole-in-one.

Glenn Jordan came to Maine in 1994 to cover the nascent Portland Sea Dogs. After eight baseball seasons and three children – the last two within 18 minutes of each other – he became a part-time writer. Among the sports he covers are now are tennis, skiing, swimming and running. He has a degree in philosophy from Dartmouth, a decent forehand and a penchant for checkers.

Mike Lowe is a Massachusetts native who feels he's lived long enough in Maine (since 1982) to have roots here. He graduated from Boston University and has worked in New Hampshire and Maine, covering everything from the Little League World Series to the Summer Olympics. When he has free time – Ha! – he likes to read, collect comic books and watch the grass grow from his hammock.

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