Scarborough (17-4) vs. Edward Little (17-4)

When: approximately 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Cross Insurance Arena, Portland

How they got here: Scarborough, seeded first in the South, defeated Noble (71-31), Bonny Eagle (61-35) and South Portland (55-43) in the regional tournament; Edward Little, seeded second in the North, defeated Cheverus (59-47), Oxford Hills (55-33) and Windham (50-35).

Key players: Scarborough – Nick Fiorillo, jr., F (20.4 points per game, 8.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 42 3-pointers), Morgan Pratt, sr., G (32 3-pointers, 9.6 points, 4.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds), Jaquan Seme, sr., G (4.6 points, 2.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds), Reece Lagerquist, sr., F/C (6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds); Edward Little – Wol Maiwen, jr., C (18 points, 9 rebounds), Darby Shea, sr., F (18 points, 3 rebounds), Ibn Khalid, sr., G (14 points, 6 rebounds), Tyler Morin, sr., G (4.7 assists).

What Scarborough has to do to win: When Scarborough beat visiting EL 61-56 on Dec. 29, guard Brian Austin (8.3 points, 28 3s) led the Red Storm with 19 points, with Fiorillo and Pratt also reaching double figures. Having multiple scoring threats will again be key, because the Eddies will focus on containing the 6-foot-7 Fiorillo. At the other end, Scarborough needs to stop at least one of EL’s three primary scorers. In the regular-season game, both Maiwen and Shea scored well, but Khalid was well off his average. Seme, a solid ball-handler who can score inside, did not play in the first meeting because of injury. His return has made Scarborough an even better rebounding team. If the Red Storm are close to their +9.5 average rebounding margin, expect them to win their first boys’ basketball championship.

What Edward Little has to do to win: The Eddies have the height and length to contest shots, something they did exceptionally well in the North regional. But they will have to prove they can keep Scarborough off the boards. The Eddies beat Windham in the North final despite being -11 in rebounding margin and giving up 12 offensive rebounds. That won’t work against a team that can score inside like Scarborough. Shea has big-time range from the perimeter. Shea and Khalid need to knock down some 3s to give Maiwen more room to swoop through traffic and finish around the rim. For EL to win its first state title since 1946, its Big 3 of Maiwen, Shea and Khalid must produce and stay out of foul trouble. They have combined for 146 of EL’s 162 playoff points, and the bench has only three points in three tournament games.

NOTE: Originally scheduled to start at 9 p.m., the game will now begin as soon as possible after the Class AA girls’ final.