Edward Little coach Mike Adams raved about Cony after his team eked out an 81-80 overtime victory on Tuesday.

“We like to say that we create matchup problems for people because our guys can do a little bit of everything, but they are really matchup problems,” Adams said. “They spread you out really good. They dribble penetrate and find open guys. You feel like you’re chasing everybody all the time to get to shooters, and you can never get to them in time.”

Adams noted the impact of seniors Ben Leet, Liam Stokes and Tyler Tardiff, who combined for 44 points in the game

“Those are three seniors who are great, great shooters who have been up on varsity since they were sophomores, and they’re ready to make some noise in the tournament,” he said.

Tuesday night’s game featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes in the second half and overtime alone, which gave it tournament-like intensity.

Depending upon how the final Heal points play out, Edward Little (16-1) and Cony (11-7) could meet again, perhaps as early as the semifinals, provided both teams win their first-round matchups.

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The Rams, who will be making their first tournament appearance since 2012, would love to get another chance.

“They’ve got some really good players on their team, and I’m sure if we got a chance to play them again it would mean a lot more,” Cony coach T.J. Maines said.

While all of the other teams in Eastern A were scheduled to wrap up their season in the next two days, Cony could only watch things shake out from home, as Tuesday night’s game was its season finale.

The Rams likely will finish somewhere between the third and sixth. Either way, they’ve already guaranteed themselves a spot in the quarterfinals and their first appearance at the Augusta Civic Center in three years.

“It’s going to be a great tournament,” Maines said.

• • •

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Not surprisingly, the Maine Principals’ Association extended the season to accommodate schools that had to reschedule games postponed by the recent snow storms.

The date for the last countable regular season games was moved from this Friday to Saturday, meaning teams could use that as a makeup date for any games that couldn’t otherwise be rescheduled.

While all local teams were scheduled to wrap up their season either Thursday or Friday, some schools in northern Maine and Downeast did take advantage of the extension. Some of those schools play in Eastern A or Eastern B, meaning other teams in those regions would have to wait until Saturday night to know what the final Heal point standings look like and where they fall in the playoff seedings.

The tournament begins next Tuesday with the preliminary round. Quarterfinal action starts Feb. 13.

• • •

Around the state: After a 15-0 start, Portland dropped two games in a row, to rivals Cheverus and South Portland. Even with the losses, the Bulldogs are in first place in Western Class A… The fight for the last playoff spot in Eastern Class D will come down to the final day of the season. Central Aroostook lead Wisdom by .0442 points for the 15th and final spot in the tournament. Central Aroostook closes the regular season against Katahdin, while Wisdom plays East Grand. Central Aroostook and Wisdom split a pair of regular season games… Thursday night’s game between Poland and Gray-New Gloucester was essentially a playoff game. Poland held a three-point lead over Gray-New Gloucester for the final playoff spot in Western Class B.

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Staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this report

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rhwitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33


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