Tim Levesque couldn’t play basketball the last two winters for Oak Hill High School. But it’s safe to say he wasn’t keeping in shape with Wii Fit or by working the buttons on his remote control.

“I would see his name in the Sun Journal all the time in the Auburn Rec league, scoring 45 points a game or something,” said Oak Hill coach Jared Browne. “A couple of weeks ago he showed up for a game on a Saturday night. I said, ‘How’s it going?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ve been playing pick-up basketball all day and now I’m here.'”

The gym rat has paid his dues in the classroom and the fitness room, as well.

And not coincidentally, Oak Hill has transformed itself from an also-ran into a Western Class B contender. Oak Hill has won five of its last seven Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference games to improve to 7-8 and move within striking distance of a spot in this year’s streamlined regional playoffs.

Ineligible as a sophomore and junior, Levesque is averaging 19 points and nearly four assists per game as the Raiders’ starting point guard. 

“He also was leading the league in steals last time they came out,” Browne said. “When he first came back, he didn’t really get the ‘you’ve got to play defense’ thing. But in our style of full-court, man-to-man pressure, he realizes that he can get a lot more steals and score a lot more points if he plays defense.”

Levesque and senior classmate Ben Foss spent the summer lifting weights together in preparation for both football and basketball.

Their commitment has manifested itself by giving the Raiders one of the best high-low combinations in the region. Foss, a three-year varsity player, has doubled his scoring average to 13.5 points while averaging eight assists per game.

Opponents have struggled to stop both Foss and Levesque in Oak Hill’s up-tempo attack.

“(Levesque) runs the pick-and-roll as well as anyone I’ve seen in the conference,” said Browne. “He knows what a good shot is. And he shoots 85 percent from the free-throw line.”

Other pleasant surprises for Oak Hill include junior defender Brian Bradstreet and the brother tandem of freshman Trever Samson and senior Jake Samson.

Bradstreet has been asked to blanket the opponent’s top offensive wing player. He helped secure a pair of recent wins by slowing down Jacob Hunt of MCI and Chris Braley of Nokomis.

Trever Samson actually took away his older brother’s spot in the starting lineup, but Jake’s leadership off the bench has been a boon to the Raiders.

“He stuck a 3-pointer against MCI that was pretty much the dagger in that game,” Browne said. “He has played better off the bench. He really sets the tone for our second unit. He might look a little frustrated because he’s not starting, but once he gets in the game you’d never know it.”

No. 11 Oak Hill must gain two spots over the final three games to surpass Lake Region and Leavitt to grab the ninth and final tournament spot. This year’s tournament was scaled back from the top two-thirds to the upper half of teams in the final Heal Points.

The Raiders have played the last two weeks like a team that belongs in the tournament. Of their two losses, one was a one-point verdict to Maranacook, a rival that routinely has beaten Oak Hill by 40 and 50 points in recent years.

“We had two shots in the last second that just didn’t fall,” Browne said.

In addition to a head-to-head battle with Leavitt, Oak Hill faces tournament locks Lincoln (tonight) and Medomak Valley down the stretch.

“I think we have the most available Heal Points among the teams fighting for that spot,” Browne said. “And if we do get into the postseason, we’ve had a couple of weeks where we’ve already had to play with postseason intensity.”

Room for one more

Thomaston is the easternmost outpost in the widely scattered Mountain Valley Conference. Still, the road to the 10th and final playoff spot in Western Class C likely travels through the parking lot of Georges Valley High School.

The Buccaneers are squarely in the tournament at No. 7, but they face the two teams most closely embroiled in the battle for the bubble position. GV (7-8) travels to No. 11 Jay (9-6) tonight before hosting No. 10 Monmouth (7-8) on Tuesday.

“They’re a team that you can’t really say likes to do one thing,” Jay coach Brian Kelly. “They have one big guy, and they have a lot of 5-foot-10 guys who can shoot from outside. I told the team today they remind me a lot of us last year before Austin (Clark) came back.”

Jay started 6-1 and lost five straight before completing season sweeps of Mt. Abram, Telstar and Madison to stay in playoff contention.

The development of sophomore guards Zach Bonnevie and Jake Bessey has allowed Jay to employ a more up-tempo approach in the last week.

“I think that’s the style they like best. They’re not playing like sophomores right now,” Kelly said.

If the Tigers don’t win tonight, they may need an upset win over Dirigo or some help from rivals in other games to claim the final playoff invitation. Monmouth also has a point-worthy opponent (St. Dom’s) in its final contest.

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