The schedule says that the high school basketball playoffs don’t begin until next week. But in a lot of towns across the state, they’re already underway.
Some teams will be fighting for their playoff lives this week. Others are looking to finish strong and secure seeds for byes or home-court advantage in the preliminaries.
No race has been tighter this year than Western C, with Boothbay, Winthrop and Dirigo locked in a three-way battle for the top spot. With the release of the latest Heal Point Standings yesterday, Dirigo is virtually locked into the third spot because it has only the bottom two teams in the standings, Carrabec and Jay, on its remaining schedule.
Little more than two points separates Boothbay (84.5679) and Winthrop (82.5617) at the top of the Heals. Both teams have a game remaining with Hall-Dale, but the Seahawks will need some help if they want to retain the top spot because their other remaining game is with Monmouth, while Winthrop is heading to Rumford tonight to meet unbeaten Mountain Valley.
An upset would put the Ramblers atop Western C, but Mountain Valley has plenty on the line tonight, too. The Falcons are looking down on everybody the Western B standings, with a narrow three-point lead over Falmouth and nearly a 12-point cushion over No. 3 Cape Elizabeth. They close the season with Mt. Abram Thursday.
The A’s will be earned
In Eastern A, the top three earn byes to Augusta, and Brunswick, Hampden Academy and Gardiner have those spots virtually wrapped up. Edward Little has an inside track on the No. 4 spot, and should clinch it if they take care of business against Oxford Hills and rival Lewiston this week.
Speaking of the Vikings and Blue Devils, both could really use an upset over the Eddies to enhance their chances of hosting a playoff game. The Devils also have a chance to grab a bushel of points if they beat Brunswick tonight.
Another big game tonight has Mt. Blue hosting Brewer in what probably will decide which team gets a home prelim game next week. Leavitt, meanwhile, suffered a major blow last week when Cony beat Lewiston to overtake the Hornets for the 13th and final playoff spot.
The Hornets face Mt. Ararat, with which it is tied for 14th, tonight, then meets Oxford Hills in the season finale.
It’s all Goodall
Norway’s Ben Goodall , who helped lead Pine Tree Academy to its best season ever last year, reached the 1,000-point mark earlier this season.
Goodall reached the milestone in a win over Seacoast Christian to little fanfare. In fact, his coach, who is also his father, admitted he wasn’t expecting it so soon.
“I didn’t think he was going to get it so quick, but we’ve had so many close games that it just adds up so quickly,” said Wayne Goodall.
Goodall, a junior point guard, is averaging 20.8 points per game this season, but the points have been coming in bunches. His top effort was the 46 he scored against Greater Portland Christian
“We’ve had five or six games this year where he’s scored under 10 points because he wanted to get his teammates involved,” Wayne Goodall said. “In one of those games, he had 24 assists.”
Pine Tree has been one of the surprises of Western D, one year after reaching the Western D finals.
Despite losing Jarod Verrill, another member of the 1,000-point club, plus key contributors Garthak Deng and Reath Pan, from that squad, the Breakers are 13-4 and ranked fifth in the latest Western D Heals. They appear on track for yet another tournament clash with Hyde, which is currently ranked fourth.
“I’ve been here 19 years and we’ve been to the (Augusta) Civic Center nine times, and every time we’ve played Hyde,” Goodall said.
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