The winter sports regular season is winding down, but the drama is only beginning to build.

Here’s an overview:

Boys basketball

Falmouth senior Davis Mann plays defense during last week’s home loss to Windham. Hoffer photo.

The Falmouth, Greely and Yarmouth boys basketball teams are all tournament-bound, while Freeport and North Yarmouth Academy have some work to do.

The Navigators were second to Noble in the Class A South Heal Points standings at press time following a 75-72 home loss to reigning Class AA champion Windham, a 69-48 home win over reigning Class AA South champion Gorham and Monday’s 59-45 victory at Greely. Against the Eagles, Davis Mann scored 34 points and the Navigators led by 15 points with five minutes to go, but they couldn’t hold on.

“We just ran out of gas,” longtime Falmouth coach Dave Halligan lamented. “They sped us up and we lost our patience. We had control of the game. We knew they were going to come with pressure and we had to continue to attack it, but we didn’t perform under pressure. Who knows, maybe we got tired. It was frustrating.

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“Windham’s a good team. That’s what championship teams do. Give them a lot of credit for coming back. We got the ball to the right people in the right places, then we tried to sit on (the lead) a little bit. You can’t make mistakes against good teams. They make you pay every single time.”

In the win over the Rams, Mann led the way with 24 points, Billy Birks added 14 and Jaxon Cameron finished with 13. Against the Rangers, Birks had a game-high 23 points and Cameron added 16.

“I didn’t really feel like it was that close,” Birks said. “We were taking quick shots and that’s not really our game. We just had to run our stuff and get good shots to hold them off.”

“We had to make sure we did everything the right way today and focus on the little things,” said Cameron. “I remember watching Falmouth and Greely play ever since I was a little kid. I’ve always loved playing them.”

“We got a little impatient and took quick shots and were out of position defensively, but we took a timeout and got back to what we do and we were fine,” added Halligan. “We have to get a little bit better in time and score situations. We have to make our shots we should make. If you make every foul shot and layup, you’ll win every game. I don’t care what level of basketball.”

The Navigators host Kennebunk Friday and go to Freeport Monday of next week.

“We’ve had a heck of a schedule and haven’t had time to prepare in-between, but now, we’ve got three days to prepare and after we play (Freeport next) Monday, we have a week to prepare, so that will be a mini-preseason for us,” Halligan said. “We expect this team to make a deep run. These guys understand that if we take care of the details, we’ll be fine.”

Greely, meanwhile, was 9-5 and third in Class A South following wins over host Mt. Ararat (55-42) and host Cape Elizabeth (75-46) and a 59-45 home loss to Falmouth. Against the Capers, the Rangers raced to a 45-22 halftime lead and never looked back, as Kade Ippolito had 16 points, Andrew Padgett added 14 and Luca Cimino finished with 12.

“We needed a win and we got it,” Padgett said. “We have good chemistry and the town is behind us, supporting us, so it’s not hard for us to play well.”

“It was all momentum,” said Cimino. “Once we get one play, the next one comes and we keep going and going and going.”

“We’ve been waiting to put a couple quarters together,” Greely coach Travis Seaver added. “It’s funny how momentum is. When a couple good things happen, then it continues to happen. We’ve talked about making a run, which we haven’t done this year. It was good to show the kids how good defense can lead to good offense.”

Against the Navigators, Cimino had 15 points and the Rangers cut a 21-point deficit to eight in the fourth quarter, but it was too-little, too-late.

“I think we had a couple opportunities, but we just couldn’t (come back),” Seaver said. “(Falmouth) shot really, really well in the first half, especially the first quarter. Our goal is always (to give up no more than) 10 (points), but we gave up too many.

The Rangers hope to bounce back Friday at Freeport.

“The goal is to win every game, but the biggest goal is to make sure we’re playing our best basketball in February,” said Seaver. “I think we still have some untapped upside. We’re trying to be consistent for four quarters.”

Freeport was 3-10 and 11th in Class A South after a 46-41 home win over Yarmouth and a 60-45 loss at Brunswick. Conner Smith had 17 points and Drew Pound added 12 in the victory. Against the Dragons, Smith had 13 points and Pound and Bryce Dwyer added 11 apiece. The Falcons were at Cony in a makeup game Tuesday, welcome Greely Friday and play host to Falmouth Monday of next week.

In Class B South, Yarmouth was 8-4 and sixth in the standings following a 46-41 loss at Freeport and a 46-40 home victory over Poland. Evan Oranellas scored 13 points against the Falcons. In the win, Adam Maxwell led the way with 11 points, Torrey Rogers and Bobby Wolff added 10 apiece and Oranellas contributed nine. The Clippers hosted Lake Region Tuesday (see our website for game story), welcome Fryeburg Academy Friday, then play host to reigning Class A champion Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday of next week.

In Class C South, North Yarmouth Academy was 0-12 and 16th after a 72-31 home loss to Old Orchard Beach and a 75-21 setback at Monmouth Academy. Gage Kloza had eight points against the Segulls. The Panthers host rival Waynflete Thursday, then welcome Lisbon Tuesday of next week.

Girls basketball

On the girls’ side, Freeport had its five-game win streak snapped at Yarmouth (35-34), then improved to 8-6 and fourth in the Class A South Heal Points standings Friday with a 50-41 home victory over reigning state champion Brunswick. The Falcons go to Greely Friday and visit Falmouth Tuesday of next week.

Greely was 6-7 and seventh in Class A South following a 54-26 home loss to Mt. Ararat and wins at Cape Elizabeth (47-27) and Falmouth (48-20). Hannah Hussey had 12 points in the setback. Against the Capers, Hussey led the way with 15 points and Kelsey Crocker added 10. In the win over the Navigators, Molly Partridge scored 12 points and Hussey added 11. The Rangers welcome Freeport Friday and go to Sanford Saturday.

Falmouth fell to 1-12 and 11th in Class A South after a 48-11 home loss to Windham, a 60-10 setback at Gorham and a 48-20 home loss to Greely Siobhan Nielsen scored 15 points against the Rangers. The Navigators go to Kennebunk Friday and return home Tuesday of next week to face Freeport.

In Class B South, Yarmouth moved up to eighth at 5-6 following wins over visiting Freeport (35-34) and host Poland (43-39). Against the Falcons, Rory Tompkins had a team-high 15 points. Tompkins led the way in the win over the Knights with 13 points and Marian Pitney added 12.

“The girls’ hard work is starting to pay off,” said Yarmouth coach Tom Panozzo.

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The Clippers hosted Lake Region Tuesday, go to Fryeburg Academy Friday and visit Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday of next week.

In Class C South, NYA improved to 6-5 and 11th after extending its win streak to three games last week with a 41-39 victory at Old Orchard Beach. Ella Giguere led the way with 19 points. The Panthers hosted Monmouth Academy Tuesday, go to Waynflete Thursday, then visit Lisbon Tuesday of next week.

Boys hockey

The Cheverus/Yarmouth co-op boys hockey team, the reigning Class B state champion, remained undefeated last week after beating visiting Greely (5-2) and York (2-0). Against the Rangers, Owen Cheever and Owen Walsh both scored twice. Walsh and Charles Hughes had the goals versus the Wildcats. Cheverus/Yarmouth (11-0 and first in Class B South) is idle until next Thursday, when it plays at Kennebunk

Greely was 1-9 and eighth in Class B South after a 5-2 setback at Cheverus/Yarmouth, a 2-1 overtime home loss to Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde and a 4-2 win at Brunswick. Rylan Haight had a goal and an assist against Cheverus/Yarmouth, while Ezra McDuffie also scored. Colebeck Werner had the goal in the second loss. Against the Dragons, Haight had two goals, Coben Donnelly and Mitchell Lambert added one apiece and goalie Tucker Goddu had 26 saves. The Rangers host Edward Little Saturday and go to York Tuesday of next week.

In Class A, Falmouth was 8-2 and sixth after Monday’s 4-3 home win over St. Dom’s. Cale Hanson had a hat trick and Anthony Graceffa added a goal and a pair of assists. The Navigators travel to Bangor Saturday.

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Girls hockey

The Yarmouth/Freeport girls’ co-op squad, the two-time reigning North Region champion, has won eight straight games and improved to 13-1-1 and first in the Heal Points standings after downing visiting Winslow (5-1), Falmouth/Scarborough (10-0) and Portland/South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Deering/Waynflete (4-2). Mya Nasveschuk had two goals in the victory over Winslow. Against Falmouth/Scarborough, Erica O’Connor, Adelaide Strout, Emma White and Celia Zinman all scored two goals. In the win over the Beacons, Nasveschuk, Zinman, Dylan McElhinney and Veronika Pundova all had one goal. Lexi Wiles made 10 saves. Yarmouth/Freeport plays host to Penobscot Tuesday of next week.

In the South Region, Falmouth/Scarborough was 5-11 and fifth following a 10-0 loss at Yarmouth/Freeport and Monday’s 4-1 home loss to Edward Little/Leavitt. Hope Melevsky scored in the second setback. Falmouth/Scarborough goes to Gorham Thursday.

Greely was 0-13 and seventh in the region heading into Wednesday’s home game versus York. The Rangers host Edward Little/Leavitt Saturday.

Swimming

Greely’s swim team swept Scarborough last Friday, as the girls prevailed, 50-41, and the boys won, 62-32.

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Indoor track

Greely’s boys won a 10-team league indoor track meet last weekend. NYA came in eighth. The Rangers girls also came in first while the Panthers were ninth.

Freeport and Yarmouth took part in s six-team meet. Yarmouth’s girls edged Freeport for the top spot. The boys’ competition was won by York. The Falcons came in second and the Clippers were third.

In the SMAA, Falmouth’s boys and girls each finished second in a four-team meet. The Navigators boys were runners-up behind Deering, while the girls were second to Noble.

Skiing

It took awhile, but the ski season is now in full swing.

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Saturday in Farmington, the annual Maranacook Waves Nordic meet, a five-kilometer classical race, was contested. Freeport’s Owen Dawson was the top male individual, posting a time of 18 minutes, 28.7 seconds. Yarmouth was second to Brunswick as a team. Greely finished 10th, Falmouth was 12th and the Falcons came in 14th.

The girls’ meet was won by Freeport, with Greely placing second. Yarmouth finished fourth and Falmouth was ninth. The Rangers produced second-place individual Rowan Barry (22:18.2).

In Alpine competition last week, Falmouth’s boys placed first, as Ian Christie led the way with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 4.18 seconds, leaving him second individually.

The Falmouth girls were also first, as Margo Hesson placed first as an individual (1:08.33).

Wrestling

The Cheverus/Falmouth co-op squad was runner-up to Massabesic at the Zeb Leavitt Tournament held last weekend in Portland.

Liam Backman finished first at 175-pounds, while Evan Metivier was first at 215-pounds.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.

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