Friday, May 25, 2012
By Tom Chard tchard@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
During the regular season, Western Maine Class A boys' basketball was full of parity. Every year, it seems coaches talk about parity. This season, they weren't exaggerating.
Jon Amabile and the Deering Rams are the No. 1 ranked boys’ basketball team in Western Class A despite losing twice to crosstown rival Portland, including a 46-22 defeat in their regular-season finale.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
Junior guard Nick Volger has been a spark plug for second-seeded Portland, which has won 13 of its last 15 games.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
WHO’S IN
The Western Maine Class A boys’ basketball field:
• 1. Deering (15-3)
• 2. Portland (14-4)
• 3. Bonny Eagle (15-3)
• 4. Cheverus(13-5)
• 5. Thornton Academy (13-5)
• 6. Marshwood (13-5)
• 7. South Portland (10-8)
• 8. Scarborough (10-8)
• 9. Biddeford (9-9)
• 10. Westbrook (8-1)
• 11. Sanford (10-8)
Starting with Tuesday's preliminary round games at the higher-seeded schools and continuing with this weekend's quarterfinals at the Portland Expo, upsets could be the rule rather than the exception.
Then again, when it comes to Western Class A boys' teams this season, it's difficult to predict what will happen.
How can anyone explain Deering, the No. 1-ranked team, scoring only 22 points against No. 2 Portland on Friday night?
It's that unpredictability that could make the Western Class A boys' tournament one of the most entertaining in years.
"No one knows what's going to happen," said Labson Abwoch, Deering's 6-foot-6 junior center.
That's for sure.
Part of the reason is that there is no dominant team, a role played by Cheverus the last few seasons.
The Stags were knocked down a bit with an early loss to Bonny Eagle. Then came a loss to Scarborough -- which enters the tournament seeded eighth.
The Stags finished the regular season with losses to Portland, Thornton Academy and Deering and enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed with a 13-5 record. Their quarterfinal opponent? Fifth-ranked Thornton, which edged Cheverus by a point just over a week ago.
Cheverus and Thornton (13-5) open the quarterfinals at the Expo at 7 p.m. Friday.
In prelim games Tuesday, No. 11 Sanford is at No. 6 Marshwood, No. 10 Westbrook goes to No. 7 South Portland, and No. 9 Biddeford travels to No. 8 Scarborough.
After Deering beat Cheverus at home last week, Deering Coach Dan LeGage was asked about the tournament.
"It's wide open. It should be a lot of fun," he said.
LeGage couldn't find much fun after his team shot 8 for 39 against Portland.
Despite the poor showing, he acknowledged that his team did have a good regular season. But now it's on to the tournament where, LeGage said, "everyone is 0-0."
Realistically, the top six teams have a chance to win it all. Some might add No. 7 South Portland to the mix, although the Red Riots have yet to win a big game despite keeping most of their losses close. The Riots lost twice to Portland by four points and gave Cheverus a good game Friday night before losing by six. Their biggest win was 66-60 over Marshwood in mid-January.
No. 8 Scarborough owns wins over Cheverus and Thornton. No. 9 Biddeford has the league's top scorer in Bobby Cote at 22 points per game. No. 10 Westbrook has been up and down but has the talent to spring an upset. The same goes for No. 11 Sanford, which is led by Ryan Camire.
"The team that wins it will have to put three good games together," said Joe Russo of Portland.
The winner will be the team that can perform the best in back-to-back games when the pressure is on. The semifinals are Friday, Feb. 24 and the final is the next night.
Cheverus Coach Bob Brown, who has close to 50 seasons of tournament experience, spoke about the upcoming playoffs.
"It's anyone's game," said Brown. "You better come ready to play every game."
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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Third-seeded Bonny Eagle, with point guard Dustin Cole, made it to the Western Class A final last February and is a contender again. John Patriquin/Staff Photographer |
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Cam Olson and No. 4 Cheverus stumbled late in the regular season, but the defending state champions can't be overlooked. John Ewing/Staff Photographer |
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Adam Ek and No. 5 Thornton Academy have a quarterfinal matchup against Cheverus – a team the Trojans have already beaten once. John Patriquin/Staff Photographer |
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Ben Burkey and seventh-seeded South Portland hope to engineer an upset or two in the Western Class A tournament after several close regular-season losses. John Patriquin/Staff Photographer |
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Bobby Cote, right, the SMAA’s top scorer, leads No. 9 Biddeford into a preliminary-round game against Connor McCann and No. 8 Scarborough. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer |
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