After starting the season with an 11-game winning streak, back-to-back losses have done nothing to Winthrop’s confidence.

“Our confidence is not shaken at all,” Winthrop coach Todd MacArthur said. “We’re not doubting ourselves within our locker room. We believe in each other. We believe in the players. We believe in the coaching staff. And we believe we can accomplish great things.

Last Thursday, Boothbay knocked the Ramblers (11-2) from the unbeaten ranks, holding off a late Winthrop comeback bid for a 53-46 win. The Seahawks are now 12-1 and at the top of the Western C Heal point standings.

On Monday, Winthrop traveled to Dixfield and lost to Dirigo, 55-49, in a packed Defoe Gymnasium. The Cougars (11-2) avenged a 67-53 loss to the Ramblers on Dec. 27 at the Augusta Civic Center and moved up to No. 2 in the Heals.

MacArthur said he was pleased with how his players responded to the losses, showing up at practice on Tuesday resolved to put in the work necessary to get back on track.

“The biggest thing we realized is obviously we’re not going to win every game. We’re going to hit some ups and downs,” MacArthur said. “We lost to two very good basketball teams. We know we’ve got to put the time in to fix our mistakes and get better.”

The Ramblers have time to do that, and games remaining with Madison (Jan. 26) and Boothbay (Feb. 2) that could help them recover the top spot in the Heals if they win them. But MacArthur said his team is focused on Friday’s game at Wiscasset and being a better team than they are now come tournament time.

“We’re not going to do what we did last year and look ahead and limp into the playoffs,” he said. “The biggest thing is taking it one game at a time and getting better. It sounds cliche, but it works for us.”

• • •

The last two weeks of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference season should serve as a nice appetizer for the tournament at the Augusta Civic Center.

Hampden and Edward Little, both 12-1, seem to have the top two spots sewn up and will, barring a late-season tailspin, meet in the KVAC championship.

After that, the remaining seven playoff spots, and the accompanying first-round byes, seem to be up for grabs. As of Thursday night, teams 3-8 in the Heals were withing 15 points of each other in the tournament index. Each team was over .500 except one, 6-7 Brunswick, which had wins over Cony, Oxford Hills and Brewer to thank for its current No. 6 ranking.

Cony (9-5) seemed to be entrenched in the No. 3 spot for some time, but then losing two out of three allowed Messalonskee to leap frog the Rams. And while the Rams’ schedule still offers them chances to pick up points in big chunks with games against Oxford Hills and EL, coach T.J. Maines said the race is so tight, even losses that are in the rear view mirror could come back to haunt his team.

“All of the teams we have left are still in the playoff hunt,” Maines said. “For every time we win, Lewiston gets 2 1/2 points. We go to Oxford Hills. Oxford Hills beat Lewiston twice. We could end up anywhere from three to nine.”

The Rams will also have to be on their toes for their other two games against Mt. Ararat and Skowhegan. Both teams are currently out of the playoff rankings but could secure a spot with an upset win.

“If we play well, shoot the ball well, defend better than what we did (against Lewiston), I like our chances,” Maines said. “I think we can beat anybody, I think we can lose to anybody right now.”

• • •

There are several other important and interesting matchups on the hoops docket for the next week. On Friday, Gardiner (11-2) travels to face Winslow (12-1) in a battle of two of the top three teams in the KVAC and Eastern B. Winslow won the first meeting in Gardiner, 78-55, but Nason Lanphier had 29 points in that game. Lanphier was dismissed from the team for violation of team rules last Thursday.

Hampden and Edward Little meet again in a clash of the top two teams in Eastern A on Monday, just one week after the Broncos beat the Red Eddies, 68-59, in Hampden. Next Thursday, Hall-Dale gets a rematch with Boothbay in Boothbay. The Bulldogs gave the Seahawks all they could handle in a 60-58 overtime Boothbay win on Dec. 19 in Farmingdale.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33

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