The Gardiner/Cony Barnburner

Before we get to Augusta...

In what would have been the Game of the Day if not for my weird rule that the same matchup can only get it once, the Oceanside girls avenged their only loss of the season and overcame 41 points from Maddie Provost in a 68-61 victory at home. Olivia Breen had 17 & 13 and Renee Ripley and Abby Stackpole each scored 20 for the Mariners.

Down at the Expo, Portland handed South Portland their first loss of the year. Lucas LeGage led Portland with 14, including these 2 the hard way.

And because I always appreciate an opportunity to put context next to a whistle, Jim Baines was kind enough to clarify the rules in the Facebook comments (a rare situation where you should read the comments)

This is a good example of the new NFHS rule regarding goaltending:"4-22-3 (NEW): This rule change establishes that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight. Therefore, if a player touches the ball after it hits the backboard, and the ball has a possibility of entering the basket, it is ruled as goaltending."

While we're on goaltending...

Rules 4-22-1 and 4-22-2 were amended to indicate that only a defensive player can commit goaltending, eliminating the possibility of an offensive goaltending violation. The change removes the need to determine whether a ball in flight is a field-goal attempt or a pass. Any alteration of a shot attempt with contact to the basket or backboard by an offensive player would be considered basket interference.

Additionally, the act of intentionally slapping or striking the backboard during a shot attempt will now result in basket interference and not a technical foul. This addition of new Rule 4-6-2 and corresponding removal of Rule 10-4-4b from the “Player Technical” section aims to standardize officiating and remove intent from the decision.

Back to the game.

This was a battle with various players for each team showing out for a couple minutes, whether it was Elvis Ishimwe for Portland or LeGage or SoPo freshman Israel Muzela who got up for an epic rejection or Darius Johnson who took the game over for stretches. But in the end, Portland pulled away for the win.

Michael Hoffer was there.

Portland boys hold on, knock South Portland from unbeaten ranks

PORTLAND—Portland’s boys’ basketball team has had its share of difficulty closing out victories so far this winter. Saturday afternoon, facing rival South Portland as part of the Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Portland Exposition Building, the Bulldogs weren’t about to let that happen again. And as a result, the

Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer

After the Portland/SoPo game, I headed north to Augusta for a KVAC rivalry game.

The Cony boys entered the weekend averaging 80.2 points a game, so we all knew going in that Gardiner would have trouble slowing them down, but the Tigers came in with a different plan. What if they tried to run with them?

Actually, that's not accurate. Cony spent the entire game in a press and essentially ran a 7 seconds or less offense. Gardiner was a little more deliberate, moving the ball around to break the press and find an open look. And when they found that open look, they punished the Rams' defense.

Gardiner got hot from deep and used a 13-0 run to get a lead in the 2nd quarter. They hit 7 3s in a 50(!) point first half and pushed the lead to 16 in the second half before Cony's inevitable comeback. Carter Brathwaite brought Cony all the way back (he had 32 points and 7 boards), but Gardiner got a couple of clutch plays down the stretch and Trace Moody went 6-6 from the line to seal an epic 97-90 win.

Moody finished with 24. Brady Atwood had 18 in the first half. Gardiner won the only game either team will play at the ACC.

And Cony's points per game actually went up.

I put together a supercut of the scoring. There was a lot!

Mike Mandell was there with a proper writeup.

Gardiner girls, boys basketball teams beat Cony in Capital City Hoop Classic

The Tiger girls smother the Rams, while the boys prevail in a barnburner.

Centralmaine.comMike MandellStaff Writer

Elsewhere

Lucas Smith had 18 and Nate Grunkemeyer added 17 in Bangor's win over Oxford Hills...Molly Takatsu had 16 & 12 in Gardiner's blowout of Cony...Aaden Nadeau led Forest Hills with 28 & 13 against Rangeley...Grayson Bernard had 24 to lead Lewiston to a come-from-behind victory over Hampden...Waterville's Eli Cullen dropped 25 on Bucksport...Avery Robshaw scored 15 to lead the Bucksport girls over Waterville...Janessa Moffitt had 19 in Forest Hills' win over Rangeley...Connor Kingsbury had 18 in Oceanside's win over Lawrence...Ava Lerman had 29 for Wisdom...Sophomore Lilly Bell had 24 in Caribou's win over Orono...Aden Jeffers had 23 in Fort Kent's win over Hodgdon...Trinity Daigle had 16 in Fort Kent's win over Hodgdon.

This won't confuse your grandparents at all.

This will also be the case in Augusta on the next day.

I know there's reasons why we're still stuck with NFHS, but I hate them. They add no actual value for people watching the games. It's like watching a VHS dub of a movie you can get on BluRay. Because it's essentially WHOU's talent and resources and whatnot, only on a worse platform. There's really no reason for the NFHS Network to exist. Anything they do, either in the tourney or in the regular season, can be done better locally. And it isn't even close. They're the worst.

Anyway, if you need a NFHS subscription, here's an affiliate link.

A 25 rebound triple-double for a guy who's 6'8" is insane.

Unless I'm missing something, there's no Game of the Day because there isn't a countable game.

All the Capitol City Classic games for Monday have already been moved to Wednesday. The only game I haven't seen moved is between two schools who are terrible at posting updates, so I'm going to assume they just haven't told anyone yet.

However, as of now (~11pm), the Varsity Maine Holiday Hoops Showcase at the Expo is still on, as far as I know.

None of these games are countable, but there's one that stands out anyway.

Last year, York beat Medomak Valley in a B South Regional Final matchup between two 20-0 teams. That won't happen this year--Medomak lost to Camden--but York is unbeaten and they're 1 and 2 in the Heal Points.

This is a fascinating exhibition game. This should be a game that's on the schedule, so kudos to everyone for adding it as an exhibition game. But there's a lot of nuances to this. How deep do you go into your bench? How much do you show this early in the season? Do you fully play to win or play the long game?

Anyway, if this happens, it should be a good one.