The high school basketball tournament begins this week and city teams will be in the midst of the excitement.
Here come the Stags…again
Maddie Fitzpatrick and her Cheverus teammates have their sights set on a repeat Class AA state title. File photo.
Cheverus’ girls’ squad won the Class AA championship last winter for the first time and have a great chance to go back-to-back.
The Stags capped a 16-2 campaign last Thursday with a 44-32 victory at Windham. Maddie Fitzpatrick scored 14 points, Emma Lizotte added 13 and Ruth Boles finished with nine.
Cheverus earned the No. 2 seed in Class AA North and will host No. 7 Edward Little (7-11) Friday in the quarterfinals. The Stags swept the Red Eddies this year, prevailing in Auburn (53-34) and at home (50-21). The teams have no playoff history.
“It’s great to see all the hard work paying off,” said Fitzpatrick. “Our chemistry is really working. The season has gone by really fast, but I think we’re ready to make a run. We have a lot of momentum.”
“We realize the North this year is very tough,” said Cheverus coach Billy Goodman. “We’ll have to go through Bangor and Oxford Hills no matter what.”
Deering finished 4-14 and sixth in Class AA North after closing with a 46-45 loss at Portland and a 46-39 win at Scarborough in overtime. Against the Bulldogs, Nyabhana Lia had a team-high 14 points, Maya Gayle added 11 and Natalie Santiago finished with 10. In the victory, Gayle led the way with 16 points, including the game-tying free throws late. Lia added 13 and Shay Rosenthal finished with 10.
The Rams go to third-seeded Bangor (15-3) for the quarterfinals. Bangor won the teams’ lone regular season meeting, 43-35, Jan. 9. Deering captured the lone prior playoff encounter, a 34-17 upset in the 2019 semifinals.
Portland captured the eighth and final spot in Class AA North after snapping an 11-game losing streak with a 46-45 home win over Deering last Tuesday. The Bulldogs finished 3-15 after falling, 50-36, at South Portland in last Thursday’s finale. In the victory, Baleria Yugu scored 20 points. Emma Shaw had 12 points against the Red Riots.
Portland will go to top-ranked Oxford Hills (17-1) for the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs lost twice this year to the Vikings, 63-24 on the road and 65-32 at home. Oxford Hills won both prior playoff encounters, 47-36 in the 2019 semifinals and 45-35 in the 2020 regional final.
Looking ahead, the Class AA North semifinals are Wednesday of next week at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
The regional final is Saturday, Feb. 25 in Portland. The Class AA state game is March 4, also in Portland.
Waynflete finished 6-12 after a 26-22 win at Poland and a 46-28 home loss to Traip Academy. The Flyers wound up 14th in Class C South, but only 13 teams qualified for the tournament.
Boys’ teams in the mix
Remijo Wani and his Portland teammates have high hopes for their chances in the Class AA North tournament. File photo.
On the boys’ side, Portland earned the No. 2 seed in Class AA North after completing a 13-5 regular season with a 54-47 victory at Deering and a 47-46 home loss to South Portland. In the win, Remijo Wani scored 17 points and Drew Veilleux added 11 as the Bulldogs erased an early 14-5 deficit. Against the Red Riots, Wani had 22 points and Jeissey Khamis added 13, including the go-ahead layup in the final minute, but Jaelen Jackson scored on a putback with 3 seconds remaining to win it for South Portland.
“It’s a tough one,” longtime Bulldogs coach Joe Russo lamented. “It was another exciting high school game. It would have been more fun if we pulled it out. We had our opportunity, but we couldn’t secure the ball and they got it and scored and that’s why we lost. I said to the kids, going 13-5 we maybe overachieved, but they’ve been really fun. We’re in every game.”
Portland will host No. 7 Windham (5-13) Thursday at 7 p.m., in the quarterfinals (see our website for game story). The Bulldogs won both regular season meetings, 50-35 on the road and 57-43 at home. The teams split two prior playoff meetings with Portland prevailing, 57-50, in the 2015 quarterfinals and the Eagles winning, 55-53, in the 2018 semifinals.
“We have to get by Windham,” Russo said. “They’re one of those teams, I think our pressure can bother them. We can do so many things.”
Cheverus finished fourth in Class AA North at 13-5, its best record in 11 years, after closing with home wins over Massabesic (96-35) and Windham (68-38). Against the Mustangs, Silvano Ismail led the way with 29 points, while Gio St. Onge added 15 points, Leo McNabb had 13 and Jameson Fitzpatrick produced 11. In the win over the Eagles, Ismail had 21 points and McNabb finished with 10.
The Stags host No. 5 Hampden Academy (10-8) in the quarterfinals Friday. Cheverus swept the Broncos this winter, winning at Hampden (58-42) and at home (75-55). The teams have no playoff history.
Looking ahead, the Class AA North semifinals are Thursday of next week at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
The regional final is Saturday, Feb. 25 in Portland. The Class AA state game is March 4, also in Portland.
Deering missed out on the playoffs, but managed to avoid its first winless season since 1986-87 after following up a 54-47 home loss to Portland with a 68-53 home win over Scarborough. Against the Bulldogs, Justin Jamal had 15 points, Evan Legassey added 11 and David Otti finished with 10. In the victory, Legassey had a team-high 22 points and Mogga Yanga added 17. The Rams finished 1-17 and will miss out on the postseason in a non-COVID year for the first time since 2003.
In Class C South, Waynflete finished 10-8 after a 60-42 home win over Poland and a 53-47 loss at Traip Academy. Against the Knights, Nico Kirby had 14 points, while Cole Isherwood added 12 and Connor Ford had 10. The Flyers earned the No. 9 seed and will go to No. 8 Madison (11-7) for the preliminary round. The teams didn’t play this winter and split two prior playoff meetings, with the Bulldogs prevailing, 52-47, in the 2017 semifinals and Waynflete winning, 54-53, in last year’s preliminary round.
If the Flyers advance to the quarterfinals, they’ll take on top-ranked Dirigo (17-1) Monday of next week at the Augusta Civic Center. The teams didn’t meet this year. Waynflete is 2-3 all-time versus the Cougars in the tournament. The Flyers took the most recent encounter, 60-45, in the 2016 semifinals.
The Class C South semifinals are Thursday, Feb. 23 in Augusta. The regional final is Saturday, Feb. 25 in Augusta.
The Class C state final is Saturday, March 4 in Bangor.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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