AUGUSTA — Richmond did not sub once in its first game of the Western D boys basketball tournament. Vinalhaven is comfortable playing up to nine players.
That’s quite a contrast in the teams that will face off for a berth in the state championship game.
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No. 3 Richmond, and its short bench, will try to combat No. 5 Vinalhaven’s depth when the two teams face off in the Western D final at 2:45 p.m. today at the Augusta Civic Center.
“Vinalhaven is probably the deepest team in this tournament,” Richmond coach Phil Houdlette said. “Knowing (Vinalhaven coach) Matt (Slivinsky) they’ll try to make it a full-court game. Make them run the floor.
“They go at least eight deep, if not more.”
Richmond beat Vinalhaven in a pair of back-to-back games in Richmond during the regular season, beating the Vikings 48-40 on Jan. 14 and 43-40 on Jan. 15. These two teams also faced off in the regional finals last season. Richmond won that game 47-32 to advance to its third straight Class D state title game.
Looking for proof of Vinalhaven’s depth? After beating Greenville in the semifinals and before Vinalhaven beat Forest Hills to advance, Richmond big men Tom Carter and Kyle O’Brien mention Vinalhaven’s Stephen Osgood when asked to discuss each of their possible opponents.
Osgood, Vinalhaven’s leading scorer, proceeded to pick up two quick fouls and scored just two points in the first half against Forest Hills. Brian Stanley, the Vikings second leading scorer, also missed much of the first half with foul trouble.
And the Vikings led by eight at the half on their way to a 53-44 win.
“What (the Bobcats) don’t have is a whole lot of depth,” Slivinsky said. “I think if we can get a few of them in foul trouble that could be to our advantage.”
Willie Drury sparked Vinalhaven in its win against Forest Hills, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the first half.
Richmond has used its height advantage in its two playoff victories. O’Brien, a 6-foot-5 center, averaged just nine points and 10 rebounds per game in the regular season. He scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards in the quarterfinal, then had 21 points and 20 rebounds in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, 6-3 forward Tom Carter scored 11 points in the quarterfinals and 17 in the semifinals.
“We don’t have much size to contend with O’Brien but hopefully we can run them and we have more depth,” Drury said. “Our speed is one of our biggest assets.”
Vinalhaven would like to create some offense going to the basket to try to get Richmond’s bigs in foul trouble,” Slivinsky said.
“Kyle O’Brien is a big boy. I have one boy who is that size, but he’s not quite as broad and not as old,” Slivinsky said. “Tom Carter is just a really fast, good athletic big guy, that can do just about anything. He’s a good very one-on-one defender.”
Richmond is attempting to reach its fourth state championship game in five years, while Vinalhaven hasn’t played in a state game since 1994.
Scott Martin — 621-5618
smartin@centralmaine.com
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