The York boys basketball team huddles up after a practice on Tuesday. The Wildcats are 13-0 and outscoring opponents by an average of 16.9 points per game. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

High-scoring junior Reece MacDonald and senior point guard Ryan Cummins, two leaders of York High’s unbeaten boys basketball team, have a lot of shared Wildcat basketball history.

Five years ago, they were at the Cross Insurance Arena watching their older brothers, Will MacDonald and Brady Cummins, play in the 2020 Class A state championship game. York was 20-0 and led Hampden Academy by 11 points in the third quarter. Reece and Ryan both have vivid, painful memories of what happened next. Hampden went on a 23-1 run and won the game, 65-56.

“I was in seventh grade when it happened, but I was crying after the game. It affected me just as much as it affected (Brady), probably,” Ryan Cummins said.

Their brothers’ loss is part of the fuel motivating MacDonald and Cummins.

“We went to every one of their games and saw how dominant they were, and we just want to finish what they weren’t able to finish, unfortunately,” said Reece MacDonald.

Cummins added: “It would be really cool to have their back and be able to do something they wanted to do.”

They can see the parallels. Like the 2020 team, York isn’t just winning games, it’s dominating with a 16.9-point scoring margin that grows to 22.7 against Class B teams. At 13-0 going into Friday’s game against Traip Academy, the Wildcats are right behind Medomak Valley (14-0) in the B South Heal point standings (the two teams are tied for fifth in the latest Varsity Maine polll). York is 6-0 against Class A teams, including wins against Greely, Kennebunk and Marshwood, which are currently ranked third through fifth in the A South Heal standings.

Winning the state title is again a realistic, achievable goal.

First Cummins-MacDonald connection

The family basketball connection goes back even further. Their fathers, Bob Cummins (1988-92) and Tommy MacDonald (1990-94), were four-year players for the University of New Hampshire. They overlapped two seasons as players, then Cummins was an assistant coach for MacDonald’s junior and senior seasons.

“We became close at UNH and really have stayed close ever since,” Bob Cummins said.

When the MacDonald family, with three boys and one girl, were scouting the York/Portsmouth area for a move from Connecticut, they stayed at the Cummins’ house, which was full with their three boys. Reece and Ryan are the youngest child in their families. While they were never in the same grade, their friendship and bond grew through family get-togethers and a shared love of basketball.

A dozen or so years later, Will MacDonald and Brady Cummins are playing college basketball at Roger Williams and Colgate, respectively. Now it’s the little brothers’ turn to seek high school glory and try to win York’s first boys basketball championship since 1991.

“You can definitely tell they have that bond, and it shows on the court when they play,” said Matt Regan, in his first season as York’s head coach.

MacDonald, a 6-foot-2 guard, was primarily the sixth man last season. He leads the way offensively, averaging 23.5 points going into Friday’s game — nearly doubling his sophomore output. Cummins raves about his teammate’s footwork and how he supplements strong outside shooting (37 made 3-pointers) with old-school post-up moves with either hand.

Cummins, a 5-foot-9 lefty, is the floor leader, dishing out 4.1 assists per game while directing an offense that averages 67 points. He averages 8.2 points.

“And we need that scoring from him,” said MacDonald, who is full of praise for Cummins’ ability to beat defenders off the dribble. “I don’t think anyone in the state can stay in front of him.”

But it’s far from a two-man show inside York’s Robert E. Butler gymnasium. The Wildcats have three 6-foot-6 players in senior center Lukas Bouchard, fellow starter Lucas Ketchum (10.3 points, 7.7 rebounds) and improving sophomore reserve Callan Forbes. Forbes saw playing time when Bouchard suffered a preseason ankle injury that kept him out of the first five games. Bouchard is back to producing a nightly double-double, averaging 10.7 points and 10.1 rebounds. Jack Joyce, a senior guard, adds nearly 10 points per game and supports the flow with 2.3 assists.

“We do have talent. We have a little bit of everything,” Regan said. “It’s nice to have that combination of speed, quickness and height.”

York has also shown it can lock down defensively and win when it isn’t pouring in points. The Wildcats held both Kennebunk and Marshwood to seven fourth-quarter points in 48-39 and 49-45 wins.

Regan is also a factor in the success, according to his players. Bouchard credits faster-paced competitive practice drills and more detailed film work as reasons why York is more prepared for games.

“And, we’ve been through the struggle,” said MacDonald, referencing last year’s one-sided regional semifinal loss to Lincoln Academy at the Portland Expo. “We’ve had the mental collapse at the Expo. We’ve lost the last two years, and that’s been tough. I think this year, we are ready to take that next step and not just get to the state championship, but be able to win it.”