Cony Gets Some Revenge

In the Game of the Day, Caribou outlasted Fort Kent 70-66. Tourney Odds are still running, but Caribou was 88% to get the 1 seed before the game and that'll almost certainly be a wrap. Fort Kent will either be the 2 or the 3.

Let's head south to what would have been the Game of the Day, had I remembered to put the date change in my spreadsheets--the Gardiner boys at Cony. The first matchup was one of the signature results of the season, a 97-90 Gardiner win at the ACC.

Initially it looked like Gardiner might make a run at 97 points again. Parker Morin picked up his second foul early in the game and the Tigers led 21-16 after 1 quarter. Then Carter Braithwaite got going. He scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half and added 13 rebounds. With Morin in foul trouble, Ian Lasselle gave Cony a spark with 14 off the bench.

Cony led 71-61 with 2:07 left when Brady Peacock hit a jumper in the paint that sparked an 8-0 Gardiner run that ended with a Peacock floater with 52 seconds left. But they couldn't get over the hump and Cony hit their free throws in the final minute to escape with a 75-69 win that moves them to third in the Heal Points.

Mike Mandell caught up with Ian Lasselle and Carter Braithwaite after the game (and got some sick highlights).

Also: if you're not already subscribed to Varsity Maine on YouTube, I'm not sure what you're doing. It's free!

Elsewhere

Carrabec's Colton Scheve dropped 23 and led a second half comeback over Forest Hills...Lucas LeGage had 22 as Portland trounced Biddeford...Carter Corson had 2o points as GNG put away Fryeburg...Alexa Quintana's double-double (12 & 10) helped Gardiner overcome 21 from Cony's Kya Douin...Cooper Morgan dropped 20 in Telstar's win over Wiscasset...Ava Welch had 16 as Carrabec knocked off Forest Hills...Abby Steele scored 19 and Bryn Gilmore and Ella Kenney each added 17 as GNG blew out Fryeburg.

Steve Craig has a nice story about the coaches around the state gearing up for late-season challenges to test their mettle before the Tournament.

If the current A North seeds hold through the tournament, Camden Hills and Brunswick would play again in the regional final. So, will [Joel] Gabriele hold something back Friday? Maybe keep a special inbounds play or new defense under wraps?

“That comes into mind as you’re preparing for a game as a coach,” Gabriele said. “Certainly, if we need an out-of-bounds play, I’m not using it in the first half.”

This is a question I've always wondered: if you know your seed (and Camden knows their seed) and you're playing a team you're likely to meet in the Tournament, how do you play it? You obviously play to win, but I doubt you show all your cards. Or maybe you do. Maybe you play an exotic defense for a couple of possessions and give them something to prep for that you're never going to use in the Tourney. There's a lot of ways you can play it.

Maine boys basketball teams want to be tested

As the playoffs near, top clubs like South Portland, Camden Hills and Gardiner are looking ahead toward competitive games that can hone their preparation.

The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer

Yesterday, Andrew Hart of MaineHighSchoolFootball.com reported that Chris Christie has stepped down as the football coach at Camden Hills. Christie, of course, led the Windjammers to the first football title in school history this fall.

For some reason, a goaltend isn't reviewable in the NBA.

After a career-high 11 rebounds in last night's win over Golden State, Cooper Flagg is tied with Kon Knueppel for most 20/10 games by a rookie this season.

Oh, and:

Note: Sometimes on a short schedule, I'll write this part before we get scores all in. So the spreads and some of these numbers might be slightly off.

When we last saw the Hampden girls, they were on the wrong end of a 44-30 result against Camden, a loss that snapped a 10-game winning streak. Despite the loss. they're still in first place in A North and ....

The Broncos will head to Edward Little to take on a team that's 12-1, but sitting in 4th place in the Heal Points.

But how are they 4th at 12-1? Well, Mt. Ararat, Camden, and Hampden all have pretty good records themselves and the Eddies have played the easiest schedule in A North, which naturally limits the Heal Point opportunities.

But they've got the 2nd hardest schedule in the state the rest of the way, so they can move up. They can get all the way to 1 if they run the table and according to the W-L record breakdown, it appears they control their own destiny.

This will be streamed on Hudl.

The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.