For the first time in the league’s history, the Mountain Valley Conference will determine its basketball champions on the court Monday night.

The MVC will hold its first ever championship Monday at Jay High School. The boys’ game will be played first at 6 p.m., followed by the girls’ championship at approximately 8 p.m. Between games, the conference will recognize its boys and girls all stars as well as its senior academic all stars (varsity letter winners who have maintained a 90 or above average for their four years of high school). Dirigo will face Hall-Dale in the girls’ game. Mountain Valley has already earned a berth in the boys’ game, but their opponent won’t be determined until tonight. If Hall-Dale beats Lisbon, the Bulldogs are in. If the Bulldogs lose and Jay beats Madison, the Tigers will play for the Falcons for the conference championship on their home floor.

If Hall-Dale and Jay both win, the Bulldogs get in via tiebreaker. Participants are determined by conference record, with the first tiebreaker being head-to-head results, then Heal Points. Hall-Dale beat Jay earlier this season. MVC schools agreed to the new championship games earlier in the school year and expect to expand the format to softball and baseball this spring. If the games prove popular, boys’ and girls’ soccer and field hockey could play a game in the fall.

“This is something we’re doing on a trial basis,” Jay athletic director Kenric Charles said. “We’ll see how it goes and then extend it if it works out.”

Tickets are $2 for students, $3 for everyone else and are good for both games.

Tournament Raiders

Anyone who questions the value of summer basketball should talk to Fryeburg Academy coach Sedge Saunders.

With a roster that has been dominated by foreign exchange and tuition students in recent years, Saunders has had a hard time keeping the nucleus of his team in Fryeburg over the summer. This past summer, however, a number of his players from overseas stayed in Maine, and the benefits have been tangible and intangible.

“The kids have been playing much better and much more cohesive as a unit,” Saunders said. “It’s a good mix of kids and hopefully they remain confident (headed into the tournament) because we are a good team and have played well this year.”

“We’ve had four games that could have gone either way,” he added. “We lost to Wells by two. We lost to Poland in overtime earlier and Cape Elizabeth on a last-second shot. We lost to Greely by one. We’ve had some quality wins at York and Lake Region.”

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