Players to watch
Boothbay — Anthony DiMauro (Sr. G), John Hepburn (Soph. F), Linc Simmons (Sr. F); Waynflete — Serge Nyirikamba (Jr. F), Jack Cutler (Sr. F), Max Belleau (Sr. G), Paul Runyambo (Sr. F); Dirigo — Travis Frost (Sr. G), Riley Robinson (Fr. F), Robbie Babb (Sr. C), Kaine Hutchins (Soph. F), Hunter Ross (Sr. G); Madison — Austin Kane (Sr. G), Dylan Price (Sr. G), Kaleb Staples (Sr. G); Hall-Dale — Michael Woods (Sr. G), Wesley Lapointe (Soph. F); Old Orchard Beach — Quincy Grace (Sr. C), Joey Gildard (Jr. G); Monmouth — Brandon Goff (Jr. F), Billy Cummings (Sr. F); Wiscasset — Travis Padilla (So. G/F), Dale Peaslee (Jr. F).
Favorites
It’s a rare treat to have three one-loss teams in the field. Boothbay, Waynflete and Dirigo crossed the regular-season finish line in that order, but truthfully, there’s not much separating them on paper.
Boothbay has arguably the best player in the tournament, point guard DiMauro, and gives opponents fits with its 2-3 zone. Waynflete has its own high-scoring standout in Nyirikamba and returns most of the club that reached the 2012 semifinals. Oh, and Dirigo merely was the MVC champion and has won the West four years running.
The Seahawks’ regular-season win over the Cougars afforded them the No. 1 seed and a small break, at least on paper. It put Dirigo and Waynflete on track to meet in the semifinals.
Dark horses
Madison is much better than its 11-7 record. The Bulldogs lost their two best players, Kane and Price, to injury for the first three weeks of the season. They’re 10-2 at full strength, and one of the two defeats was a narrow 55-51 verdict at Boothbay.
Lurking in the bottom of the bracket again this year is OOB, which stormed all the way to the title game a year ago. Grace is a load in the middle at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, and Gildard is a streaky shooter. The Seagulls enter the tournament on a 10-game winning streak and are a tough quarterfinal draw for Dirigo.
Fun facts
Dirigo made three of its previous four title runs from the No. 1 seed. The only exception was 2010, when the Cougars went in No. 2 and beat Livermore Falls. The Andies were coached by Travis Magnusson, who is now in his second season at Dirigo .. Monmouth is making only its second-ever Class C appearance in Augusta. The Mustangs lost to OOB in the 2011 quarterfinals. Monmouth lost 9 of its last 11 regular-season games before knocking off Winthrop in the preliminary round … Hall-Dale is expected to start four sophomores … Boothbay is 4-1 in games decided by four points or fewer … Dirigo allowed 31 points in the first quarter of the MVC championship game, then held the Seahawks to a total of 19 the rest of the way.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
