Boys Prelims

The Game of the Day was a bust.

I wrote yesterday that points might be few and far between Hermon and Washington Academy and that was partly true. Washington Academy was held to 28, but Hermon didn't quite get the message. They won 47-28 and will face Old Town in Bangor. Old Town swept that season series, but the game on January 11th in Hermon was a 3-point margin.

I went to the Girls B South 8/9 prelim, which was also a bust.

Biddeford came out in a full-court press that Lincoln Academy was not equipped to handle. The Tigers were up 21-6 before Lincoln got their feet under them. The Eagles put together an 8-2 run to get it back to single digits. Then, Jordyn Crump picked up her third foul mid-way through the 2nd quarter and Biddeford left her in, you could see the formula for the comeback. Lincoln couldn't capitalize.

Biddeford then put the hammer down with a 21-3 third quarter to blow it open. Crump finished with 18 points and 8 steals. They'll face Oceanside next.

Sometimes, the 8/9 game lives up to the billing, like in Boys B North.

You never want to draw a team in the prelims that beat you by 17 in the regular season. Sure, things change and it was just one game, but that's probably not your best draw.

But that's what #7 Bucksport faced last night in #10 MDI.

MDI raced out to a 20-point lead and Bucksport's rally wasn't enough and the Trojans punched a ticket to the quarterfinals. They'll face #2 Maranacook.

On the other hand, the #6 George Stevens Academy boys had to feel pretty good about drawing #11 Dexter in the prelims. They'd already beaten them twice, by 10 and by 9, and Dexter had lost their last 5 games, while GSA had won 9 of their last 11. This was probably not the game you'd circle for an upset.

But that's why you play the games.

Dexter went in and held the second highest scoring offense in C North to 2 points en route to a convincing 40-31 win. They'll get Fort Fairfield and the #2 defense in the quarterfinals.

AA doesn't have enough teams to fill out a full region, so everyone goes directly to the quarterfinals, which means teams are in the quarterfinals who should be done for the year. It's one of the stronger arguments for going back to 4 classes. Last night's girls AA South quarterfinals were another data point in that case:

#3 Scarborough beat #6 Massabesic by 32
#2 Oxford Hills beat #7 Portland by 31
#1 Gorham beat #8 Noble by 73!!!

Hopefully the 4/5 game will be competitive.

Elsewhere...

Scott Chadbourne had 28 as Piscataquis beat Mattanawcook...Stearns' Caleb Shearer's 24 led them to a win over Lee Academy...Spencer Booth dropped 25 on Bonny Eagle as Scarborough advanced to the semis...Mountain Valley got 22 from Jake New in beating Cape...OOB's Brady Plante had 23 but it wasn't enough to upset #7 Hall-Dale.

If you haven't gotten your Tourney Guide yet, now's the time!

Tourney Guide

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Maine Basketball RankingsLucas McNelly

We've got most of the remaining AA quarterfinals today.

Thornton Academy is the 5 seed, but they've beaten Sanford twice, by 16 on Opening Night and by 8 on January 30th on the road, the last of a 4-game losing streak for Sanford.

The Spartans are going to have to keep the #1 offense in the region in check if they want to get to the semifinals.

The Model's picks are after the jump.