Basketball notebook: Richmond boys making most of quick start

The Richmond boys basketball team is off to a hot start, winning its first seven games.

The Bobcats (7-0) continued their winning ways with an 82-21 victory over Rangeley on Tuesday night in Richmond. Wyatt Cassidy led the Bobcats with 18 points, while Hunter Mason added 16.

“Last year, we had a great start to the season,” Cassidy said after the game. “This year, we’re off to another good start, and it feels great. … We’re very athletic this year. We have a lot of off-ball movement. We just know how to work with each other, we’ve been playing together for so long.”

Traditionally a Class D school in most sports, Richmond sits atop the Class C South standings, ahead of Monmouth Academy (5-1), Madison (5-0) and Mt. Abram (5-0).

The Bobcats finished 15-3 last season and entered the C South playoffs as a No. 3 seed. However, they were quickly ousted by Carrabec in the quarterfinals.

Six of Richmond’s first seven games have come against Class D competition. The Bobcats beat Carrabec 52-42 on Dec. 15 in their lone game against a fellow Class C program. The remainder of Richmond’s schedule remains Class D heavy. The Bobcats have a rematch with Carrabec on Jan. 12, followed by fellow Class C programs Boothbay (Jan. 16) and Monmouth (Jan. 30), as well as a game against Class B Waterville on Feb. 2.

“Even though the schedule isn’t as good as we thought, we’ve been putting the work in together,” Mason said. “Having all of our guys working together at once gets our chemistry good.”

Schultz added that the team has faced strong Class D competition, citing the team’s two victories over Valley (49-48 on Dec. 9 and 59-50 on Dec. 27) as examples.

“That was a good test,” coach Nathan Schultz said. “We were down 13 (points) in the middle of the third quarter against Valley last week, came back and won. I want a lot more of those games that are closer, but we’ve got to play who we’ve got.”

Offensively, the Bobcats are averaging nearly 71 points per game. Richmond nearly cracked 100 points in a 96-26 victory over Wiscasset on Dec. 12. Depth has been a strength of the Bobcats this year, Schultz said.

“We have a lot of scorers,” he said. “Everybody knows about (Mason), he can score the ball really well. We have Wyatt Cassidy. I think the development of Kenny Mecham has really helped lead the squad. He’s averaging about nine points (per game) and seven rebounds, seven assists, kind of being that glue. I think that development from him has really helped us.”

“There’s about seven or eight guys off the bench that can come in and step it up and have big moments,” Mason said. “It’s happened all season long.”

The Bobcats outmanned Rangeley on Tuesday night. In a blowout win, Schultz said keeping the team focused becomes the challenge, as opposed to the other team on the floor.

“That’s the tough part; keeping everybody focused on games like this. Rangeley was even down a couple of players who were sick,” Schultz said. “They’re Class D, and then down a couple of people, that’s even more of a mismatch. Keeping everybody focused is the real challenge. Sticking to the fundamentals, can we do what we really want to do, offensively and defensively?”

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Skowhegan’s Allie Frey looks to pass against Messalonskee during the second half of a girls basketball game Dec. 28 at the Capital City Hoop Classic at the Augusta Civic Center. Mike Mandell/Morning Sentinel

Several Class A North girls teams are on the move in the standings entering play Wednesday night.

After starting the season 2-2, Skowhegan has won two straight games, including a 52-15 rout of Messalonskee and a 52-47 nailbiter over Brewer. The River Hawks have moved to fifth in the A North standings.

“We’ve struggled a lot with our intensity and being ready to go,” Skowhegan head coach Mike LeBlanc said after the victory over Messalonskee. “But (against Messalonskee), we didn’t do that; we came out and played hard.”

Annabelle Morris continues to shine early for Skowhegan, scoring a game-high 20 points against the Eagles.

After starting 0-3, Gardiner won three straight and jumped to the No. 6 spot in the A North standings.

“We’re focusing on the high-low offense and getting (the ball) to Taylor (Takatsu) and Megan (Carver),” Gardiner head coach said Britney Gero after the Tigers’ 61-49 win over Mt. Blue at the Capital City Hoop Classic in Augusta last week. “They’re playing really well right now… We can’t let up when we feel like we’ve got a comfortable lead.

Camden Hills (4-4) sits atop the A North standings, followed by defending Class A champion Lawrence (5-0). Cony — off to a 3-3 start — is third in the standings.

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Gardiner’s Brayden Elliott shoots through the defense of Mt. Blue’s Tucker Fitch (2) and Joshua Greenlaw (5) during the Capital City Hoop Classic on Dec. 28 at the Augusta Civic Center. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Around the state: The Mt. Blue boys are still rolling. The Cougars (6-0) beat Gardiner (64-38) and Camden Hills (72-42) last week. Charles Stevens had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Mt. Blue in its win over Gardiner. The Cougars face a test Friday at Skowhegan (3-3). … The Madison girls basketball team (4-0) has been on a tear to start the season under new head coach Adam Rich. The Bulldogs are averaging 56 points per game, while limiting opponents to 25 points per game. …In Class AA South boys, No. 1 seed Gorham (6-0) is set up for a big game on Saturday against No. 2 Scarborough (6-1). The Rams have scored 60 or more points in each of their games. The same holds true in AA South girls, where No. 1 Gorham (4-2) will meet No. 2 Scarborough (6-1) over the weekend.

Staff writers Mike Mandell and Travis Barrett contributed to this report.