Winthrop’s Braden Branagan brings the ball up the floor during the first half of a preseason tournament game against George Stevens Academy on Saturday in Winthrop. Mike Mandell/Morning Sentinel

WINTHROP — The rims at Poulin Gymnasium probably don’t like Chan Ring very much – and if they could talk, they’d have told you as much Saturday.

In the fourth quarter of a preseason boys’ basketball game against George Stevens Academy, Ring threw down a powerful dunk that gave Winthrop a 17-point lead. The jam actually forced a momentary stoppage, as it dislodged the rim on the north end of the gym until officials popped it back into place.

“I’ve never seen it get stuck down like that,” said Winthrop Coach Todd MacArthur. “We haven’t had many basketball players that can dunk here, so that was a new one.”

You can expect that kind of fun on winter nights at Winthrop High this season. After building the foundation with strong campaigns a year ago, the Winthrop boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are both primed for success this winter.

The Winthrop boys return the entire roster from a team that went 12-8.

Winthrop has a potent scorer in Cole Bard and two strong guards in Braden Branagan and Carter Rivers. Between Ring (6-foot-5) and Ian Fuller (6-10), it’s also hard to beat the Ramblers’ size in the paint.

“I’m a much better coach when I can coach big kids; I’ve had more of my success with them,” MacArthur said. “When we play inside-out basketball, that’s when we’re at our best version of us because that bang-it-inside-first mentality opens things up for us outside. We’ve believed in that philosophy for a long time.”

That was the case for Winthrop on Saturday, as the Ramblers got big plays such as Ring’s dunk (and a block just moments later) down low as well as some consistent mid-range shooting. They also forced George Stevens into a slew of turnovers in coasting to a 65-42 victory.

“We like to move the ball around a lot,” Bard said. “We have so many people that can score – a lot of shooters, a lot of people that can attack the rim and a lot of size. … Defensively, the key is pressuring the ball. We love playing defense.”

Winthrop’s Ella Rice looks to pass as Maranacook’s Kayla Dubois defense during the second half of a preseason girls’ basketball game Saturday in Winthrop. Mike Mandell/Morning Sentinel

The Winthrop girls are in a similar spot following a 13-7 campaign. The Ramblers return four of five starters in Kylee Mansir, Brynn Stubbert, Madeline Wagner and All-Mountain Valley Conference first-team selection Ella Rice.

The Ramblers looked the part Saturday, winning 32-28 against a Maranacook team that also has the bulk of its team back after going 13-6 last season. Winthrop led by double-digits before the Black Bears tightened the game late against the Ramblers’ junior varsity unit.

“This team just has such great chemistry,” said Winthrop Coach John Baehr. “I was very proud of that younger group being able to close it out, and our older players were into the game and cheering them on – they put them in position to be successful.”

Winthrop is fielding a JV team this winter after several years of not having the numbers to support one. That, Baehr said, stands to better prepare the younger Ramblers for varsity game action later in the season, reducing the loads placed on veterans.

Those veterans, Rice said, are ready to make a run. They’ve fallen short of reaching the Class C South title game each of the past three seasons, but with the way things are lining up this winter, the Ramblers know they have a chance to reverse their fortunes.

“I really want to make a run this year,” Rice said. “We’ve been trying really hard to do it my four years here, and we’ve been so close. I’m super excited.”