RUMFORD —The top four teams advanced in the first round of the MV Rec Basketball League playoffs. As expected, Hotel Rumford and Smart Care PT, Inc. won easily, while A & G Carpentry and Mt Blue had more challenging games.
In a blowout game, Hotel Rumford (with a record of 13-2) easily defeated Stix & Stones, 112-39. The Hotel hit 23 three-point shots and had 6 players in double figures, with Tom Danylik contributing 21 points, Mat McCarthy, 20 (6 threes) points, Owen Jones with 16 (4 threes), Zach New, 16 points, JT Taylor with 15 (3 threes), and Scot New with 13 (3 threes). SnS’s Trey Lane had 14 points.
Smart Care (12-3) made easy work of Dixfield (2-13), comfortably winning, 98-61. Smart Care had 7 players in double figures. Austin Adams led with 18 points (4 threes), Cody St. Germain had 17, Trenton Hutchinson, 16 (4 threes), Clay Swett with 12, Jeremy St. Germain and Ben Holmes, 11 each, and Nick St. Germain with 10. Dixfield was led by Dom Haines, with 19 points (4 threes), while Gavin Hebert and Arick Richard each added 10 points.
A & G Custom Cabinets and Carpentry, the number 3 seed, took advantage of balanced scoring and team speed, overwhelming Jay, 104-88. A & G (12-3) had 5 players reach 10 points or more. Malik Farley led the charge with 32, followed by Keegan Pitcher with 23 (5 threes), Kalen Chase with 15, Joe Gaudreau with 12 (4 threes), and Mateo Lapointe, who had 10. Jay (4-11) was scrappy as usual, and had 4 players who topped their scoring: Steve Dougher with 20 (6 threes), Logan Sumner and Logan Bellanceau, 19 points each, and Zane Armandi, 16 points.
In the final and closest game as a 4 and 5 matchup, Mt. Blue edged Clean Cut Painting, 89-83 in a thoroughly competitive game. Mt. Blue (10-5), was steered by Cam Sennick with 24 points, Eric Berry with 22, and Kindle Bonsall and Jacob Farnum, 10 each. Clean Cut (6-9) was competitive throughout the year but fell short in the bigger games. Their top players were Will Sorenson with 24 points (3 threes), Jevin Smith with 23, and Will Bean with 19 (3 threes).
In the semi-finals, starting at 9 a.m. on March 17 at MVHS, #1, Hotel Rumford will host #4, Mt. Blue. Then at 10:30, Smart Care PT, Inc. will take on A & G Custom Carpentry.
MVRBL Finals
The number 1 and 3 seeds, Hotel Rumford and A & G Custom Carpentry, will square off in the finals of the Mountain Valley Rec Basketball League. It will be played on Sunday, March 24 at 4 p.m. after the Women’s MV Rec Invitational Tournament championship at Mountain Valley High School.
Hotel Rumford (14-2) faced Mt Blue (10-5) in the first game of the day. Mt. Blue held a lead through a lot of the first half but ended up trailing 34-31 at the half. Hotel Rumford then got hot and clamped down on their defense and made easy work for themselves in the second half, then cruising to a 90-66 victory. Owen Jones led the way with 23 points (7 threes, 4 in the second half). Also helping in the scoring column were JT Taylor with 19 points, Zach New with 16, Tom Danylik with 13 (3 threes), and Bryan Canwell, who scored 11 points. Mt. Blue, who missed a couple of inside players, was led by Eric Berry with 23 (5 threes) points and Justin Evens with 16.
In the next semi-final game, A & G Custom Cabinets and Smart Care PT, Inc., who had equal records during the season, had a dogfight, Smart Care (12-4) took an early double-digit lead only to see A & G (13-3) wipe it out by the end of the first half, tied at 53 a piece. A & G then went out to a double-digit lead, only to see it erode to 2 points with seconds left.
But a length of the court inbound pass off a back screen for a layup sealed the victory, 100-96. The winners placed 4 players in double figures, paced by Malik Farley with 32 points (14 free throws). Kalen Chase added 28 points (4 threes), Mateo Lapointe contributed 19, and Keagan Pitcher scored 11. Smart Care also had 4 double-digit scorers, Cody St. Germain with 38, Dakota Tompkins with 19 (3 threes), Ben Holmes with 17, and Clay Swett, who landed 10 points.
Tournaments
The Mountain Valley Rec Basketball League is pleased to again host its annual invitational basketball tournaments for men and women. The Women’s Tournament will be on March 23 and 24, and will include 3 round-robin games on Saturday, playoffs, and a championship on Sunday. The cost is $275. There will be shooting contests and awards for the champions. We are currently looking for a few more teams.
The Men’s Tournament will be on Apr 5-7 with round-robin games on Friday evening and Saturday, playoffs, a shooting/dunk contest, and a championship on Sunday. There are 3 divisions A, B, and Sr. The cost is $400.
All net proceeds will benefit Mountain Valley High School sports and local recreation in the area. Please see the MV Rec (MVRBL) Facebook page for news. The League website is currently being reconstructed. For additional information, please contact Eddie Paterson, commissioner of the MV Rec Basketball League. at epaterson2@roadrunner.com or call/text 207-364-9352.
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