Yarmouth Coach Ilunga Mutombo glances at the game clock during a game against Medomak Valley earlier this season. The Clippers started the season 1-5 have won four of their last five games. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographe
It was a surprising sight at the start of the season. The Yarmouth boys’ basketball team, state champions two years ago and a B South finalist last winter, was languishing near the bottom of the standings with a 1-5 record.
Anyone concluding the Clippers weren’t going to be a factor this year, however, is seeing that forecast corrected. Yarmouth has heated up as the season moved into the second half, and pulled off wins in four of its last five games.
At 5-6, the Clippers are still in the middle of the pack. But they’re playing with a confidence that, Coach Ilunga Mutombo said, never really left.
“Now we know who we are. Once we found our identity, we keep playing to that,” Mutombo said. “We’re not where we want to be, but we constantly keep improving every day.”
Even in the midst of the slow start, there were signs the Clippers’ record wasn’t telling the story. Yarmouth made it a point to load up its schedule with the best competition it could find, and as a result had York (11-1), Oceanside (10-0), Freeport (8-2), Falmouth (8-2) and Medomak Valley (11-1) on the slate within the first six games. The Clippers dropped all five matchups, but the losses to Freeport, Falmouth and Medomak Valley were within five points.
“The type of losses we had were very tough,” Mutombo said. “Those are the games that you can either come out of it stronger, or come out of it hurt. … When things were tough for us, we never put our head down. We just kept on working. We knew that something would turn around at some point.”
Mutombo credited his seniors, in particular Evan Hamm and Matt Gautreau, with leading the team through the lull. While last year’s team had a meeting led by vocal senior Stevie Walsh after a 2-2 start, Mutombo said this group has led primarily by example.
“This year, we didn’t have any seniors do that,” Mutombo said of a rah-rah moment. “They just showed it.”
Medomak Valley’s Gabe Lash, right tries to block a pass from Yarmouth Evan Hamm earlier this season. Hamm, a senior at Yarmouth, has helped the Clippers turn their season around. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Four wins, including one over Spruce Mountain in which Yarmouth turned a 15-point deficit into a six-point win, followed. The identity that was being worked on early has solidified of late.
“We figured out who we are,” Mutombo said. “We’re a defensive team, and we want to keep increasing our defensive mentality at all times.”
With seven games left, there’s confidence that this can be the formidable Yarmouth playoff team fans have come to expect.
“It’s about peaking at the right time,” Mutombo said. “Regardless of who we’re facing, we know we’re going to bring our best.”
ANOTHER SLUMPING TEAM has found a rhythm. After starting the season 3-4, the Kennebunk boys have earned four straight wins to move to 7-4. Entering Tuesday, the Rams were sixth in Class A South.
“They’re being very unselfish, and moving the ball around,” Kennebunk Coach Paul Maguire said. “We’ve introduced a few new offensive concepts to them, and they’ve bought in 100 percent. They really have (been) seeing the results of playing just great team basketball.”
The Rams came into the season facing the prospect of a year without forward and dynamic athlete Max Andrews, who was hurt during the football season, and a stretch without point guard Cole Perkins.
“I’d be lying if I said there was no frustration,” Maguire said, “…but I think the kids knew we might need a bit of time to get started.”
Perkins returned in the sixth game, and since then has helped Kennebunk find a flow.
“He’s a floor general, he’s also a very confident driver,” Maguire said. “He’s someone that the rest of the team trusts.”
Maguire, who credited assistants Jamie Jensen and Tad Kane with spurring the turnaround, said the Rams have also committed to defense during their winning streak, and found success with their man-to-man halfcourt scheme.
“Offense can be fleeting, defense is consistent,” said Maguire, whose team has allowed 47.3 points over its last four games. “Having that ability to say ‘OK, it’s our turn to stop them so we have another chance to score,’ that’s what we’re all about.”
THE MASSABESIC GIRLS are 2-9 and have lost eight straight games. But in a larger sense, the season has already been a success.
Last year, the Mustangs were forced to drop out of varsity play with only 11 players in the program. There are 27 players this year, allowing Massabesic to field a full varsity and JV team and enjoy the kind of season it didn’t get to last year.
“The message has been we’re on to the next play, we’re on to the next game. … Not trying to think about last year,” Massabesic Coach Joe Parsons said. “They’ve really loved the season so far, and we’re trying to keep that mindset that we’re trying to move forward and we’re headed in the right direction.”
Parsons said the bump in numbers was player-driven. The players returning to the team made the pitch to play basketball on their other teams, be it field hockey, soccer or softball. Parsons said there are seven players in the program who are brand-new to basketball.
“I don’t want to say recruiting, but that’s basically what it was,” Parsons said. “They want to get back to being competitive and they only have a year or two left. They recognize that, and they put in the work to get girls back.
“I think it’s exciting for the future going forward here.”
MASSABESIC’S LAST GAME against Lewiston featured an act of good will, as the team worked with Waterboro-based RSD Graphics and owner Jen Abbott to design “We Are Lew1ston” warm-ups that were worn by both teams. The game was at Massabesic, but fans were encouraged to wear Lewiston blue, and Parsons said concession revenue was donated to fundraisers supporting Lewiston following the shootings in the city in October.
“We just wanted to do something for Lewiston to show the unity and coming together as communities, even though we’re playing each other. It’s kind of bigger than that,” Parsons said. “It was a fun game to watch … and it was a pretty cool moment.”
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