High school basketball ‘second’ season
features 10 local teams
Class D tournament should give fans plenty of thrills
By Jon Gulliver
Staff writer
The schoolboy Eastern Maine Class D Tournament is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory, with several Aroostook County teams in the mix for the title.
BRENDAN YORK 
OF CENTRAL AROOSTOOK goes hard to the hoop against Washburn last week. The Panthers are the defending State Class D Champions and are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament.
The defending state champion Central Aroostook Panthers enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed with a 16-2 record. Jonesport Beals, at 15-2, is the top seed.
Central Aroostook lost to Fort Kent and Washburn the first time each team met, but in the second meeting coach Tim Brewer found the right adjustments to avenge the loss.
The Panthers are one of the bigger Class D teams, with 6-7 senior Mike McClung taking up a lot of space in the middle. McClung is reliable scorer and exceptional rebounder. 6-3 junior Steven Decker is also a threat.
Seniors Brendan York and Dan Brewer give the Panthers a strong perimeter presence.
Staff photo/Jon Gulliver 
TYLER BROOKS OF PRESQUE ISLE gets the tap at the start of a recent game against Houlton. The Wildcats are the fifth seed in the Class B tournament.
At the beginning of the season coach Brewer said, “The key for the year will be to use our size and team chemistry.” He added the team’s past success has helped. Central Aroostook has won four Class D titles in the past seven years.
I think winning breeds success,” he said. “Once you win, you know how to do it.”
Due to a change in the playoff format this year, the No. 2 seed is in a prelim game. Central Aroostook hosts Fort Fairfield No. 15 tonight at 7 p.m. The Panthers have two wins over the Tigers already this season.
The prelim victor will match up in the quarterfinals against the winner of Machias No. 7 and Greater Houlton Christian Academy No. 10.
Staff photo/Jon Gulliver
LOGAN GOOD 
OF PRESQUE ISLE has played a defensive stopper for the Wildcats all season.
The Washburn Beavers are one of the highest scoring teams in the state, thanks in large part to the starting backcourt of senior Jordan McLaughlin and junior Mitch Worcester. Each player averages well over 20 points a game and can go off for 40 on any given night.
Even though the team averages 85 points per game, the defense has been stingy, only allowing 49 points per contest.
Coach Randy Norsworthy said defense will be the key to a deep run in the playoffs.
“Our team will have to defend well against the bigger teams like Jonesport Beals and Central Aroostook,” said Norsworthy.
Mason Turner, who just returned from a leg injury, will be called on to provide the interior defense, with help from all five players. Nick Bragg is a key to the teams’ pressure defense.
The Beavers are the third seed with a 16-2 record and will host a prelim game tonight at 6:30 p.m. tonight against Van Buren No. 14. The winner of that game faces the winner of Deer Isle-Stonington No. 6. and Bangor Christian No. 11.
EASTON’S HOLDEN TURNER goes up for two points in a recent game against Central Aroostook. The Bears are the eighth seed in the upcoming tournament.
The Easton Bears finished the regular season with an impressive 14-4 record, but that was good for only eighth place in Eastern Maine Class D.
First-year coach Dillon Kingsbury said the team from Day One had its sights set on the Bangor Auditorium and if they can get a home preliminary win over Schenck No. 9 tonight, the quarterfinals await.
Senior Reid Clark fills up the stat sheet for the Bears. He averages a little more than 16 points a game, about three and a half assists and chips in with more than five rebounds a contest. Their second leading scorer is Jonah Bacon at 11.5 ppg. He also averages almost 10 rebounds a contest. Jared Hafford (10.8) is the third Easton player to average in double figures.
Kingsbury said the key to victory for his team is simple.
“We have to get teams to play our style and tempo,” he said. “Make each game as much of a half-court game as possible. We can’t give up second chance shots and we have to run our offense for good looks.”
Staff photos/Jon Gulliver
NICK BRAGG 
OF WASHBURN (above) glides to the hoop against Central Aroostook last week. The Panthers and Beavers are the second and third seed in the Class D tournament. At left, Washburn’s Mitch Worcester goes up for a rebound during the same game. CAHS and Washburn split on the regular season.
The winner of the Easton and Schenck game will face top-seeded Jonesport in the quarterfinals.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers squeaked into the postseason as the 15th seed.
The 5-13 Tigers rely heavily on junior center Andrew Lewis for scoring and rebounding.
Facing a prelim game against a team it has lost to twice on the season is a daunting task, but the Tigers may take some inspiration in the fact it almost upset Jonesport Beals on the Bangor Auditorium last tournament.
In Class B, the Presque Isle Wildcats enter the postseason with a 13-5 record and as the fifth seed.
To get a chance to play on the Auditorium floor the ‘Cats will need to beat the Caribou Vikings No. 12 for the third time this season. The preliminary game will be tonight at Presque Isle High School at 7 p.m.
Presque Isle gets the bulk of their scoring from Tyler Brooks and Matt Eager. Both are averaging about 14 points per game. Eager also leads the Big East Conference in field goal percentage (61 percent) and averages about eight rebounds a contest.
Andrew Kofstad is a threat from three-point range and averages about 11 points per game.
“For us to be successful, we must limit turnovers, control the glass and shoot the ball well from the field and free throw line,” said first-year coach Terry Cummings. “We are becoming more consistent in our play and hopefully we are peaking at the right time. This is a great group to coach and I am extremely proud of them.”
The winner of the Presque Isle and Caribou prelim game will face the winner of Ellsworth No. 4 and Hermon No. 14 in the tournament quarterfinals.
