A little tournament experience can go a long way in high school basketball. When a team has the postseason resume Forest Hills’ seniors bring to this year’s Western Class D tournament, how far can it go?
Tanner Daigle, Brandon Ouellette, Ryan Petrin and Matt Turner are hoping to cap careers that already include nearly a dozen tournament games, one state championship (2013) and two regional titles (2012, 2013) with a flourish.
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Western D boys at a glance
Defending champ: Valley
Players to watch: Brandon Ouellette, Ryan Petrin, Matt Turner Forest Hills; Cody Laweryson, Collin Miller, Valley; Kiefer Cundy, Antoine Montgomery, Hyde; Isaac LaCroix, Tim Yeaton, Seacoast Christian; Cameron Emmons, Bailey Johansen, Richmond; Barrett Grant, Troy Reynolds, Searsport; Cody Hamilton, Noah Slivinsky, Vinalhaven; Eoin Anderson, D.J. Nicholas, NYA.
Matchup we’d like to see: Orange and royal blue clash, especially in the Augusta Civic Center, and a regional final between Forest Hills and Valley would certainly fill the arena with those colors.
Team most likely to pull an upset: Searsport. The sixth-seeded Vikings went 13-5 with a predominantly Eastern Maine schedule that included a number of Class C teams and a 1-1 record against Valley.
We’d be surprised if: There aren’t at least a dozen snowmobile trailers in the ACC parking lot Saturday morning.
Championship prediction: Forest Hills
“We have four kids that have a ton of tournament time,” Forest Hills coach Anthony Amero said. “They’ve played about 11 tournament games together, so that can definitely be an advantage, we like to think.”
Their experience is long and varied enough to know that a top seed guarantees nothing. One year ago, the Tigers were the No. 1 seed when fourth-seeded Valley upset them in the semifinals en route to the regional title.
Still, taking down the Tigers (18-0) could be a monumental task this year, even in a deep bracket, according to Valley coach Luke Hartwell.
“There are some very tough, very good teams, starting at the top with Forest Hills, which, to me, is by far the heavy favorite,” he said.
Amero agreed his team, or whoever wins the tournament, has their work cut out for them.
“You start looking at the Heal points and it’s like, do you want to play us? Do you want to play Valley or Hyde or Richmond? You look at Seacoast (Christian) and they’re a talented club. Searsport played a predominantly (Class) C schedule,” he said.
Even North Yarmouth Academy (8-11), the No. 9 seed and Forest Hills’ quarterfinal opponent, presents matchup problems.
“NYA is a big team,” Amero said. “I was surprised how tall they were. They probably average around 6-foot-2.”
The Panthers have had to play most of the season without star forward Chase Gendron, who suffered an ankle injury that required season-ending surgery. Don’t expect Forest Hills to have much sympathy on Saturday, though.
“We want to get up and down the floor like we’ve been doing this season,” he said. “We’re averaging close to 70 points per game, close to 50 in the first half before we would kind of call the dogs off (when the game was all but decided).”
Second-seeded Valley (14-4) expects No. 7 Vinalhaven (10-8) to be a hungry pack of dogs in its quarterfinal. The Cavaliers swept a mid-December Friday/Saturday doubleheader by an average of 33.5 points, but that boat sailed long ago, Hartwell said.
“I think they’re much improved, basketball-wise,” he said. “Two months is a long time.”
One year is an even longer time for Valley, as far as Hartwell is concerned. The Cavaliers have a strong nucleus led by Cody Laweryson and Collin Miller, but few others who can say they beat Forest Hills remain.
“We have five new kids from last year and a few kids left over from that team, but quite frankly, we’re a different team,” he said.
No. 3 Hyde (14-4) and No. 6 Searsport (13-5) could be the most intriguing quarterfinal matchup given that the Phoenix still have key contributors from last year’s regional runner-up and the Vikings thrived while playing some of Eastern Maine Class C’s better teams.
The 4 vs. 5 matchup pitting Seacoast Christian (16-2) against Richmond (11-7) could be tight, too, given the teams split their two regular-season meetings. The Bobcats fell, 55-43, on the road, then rode six Cameron Emmons 3-pointers to a 59-55 win at home a month later.
“We made some defensive adjustments, played more of a zone and made them shoot outside more than they like to,” Richmond coach Jon Spear said. “We rebounded very well and moved the ball very well, which is important because they’re a quick team.”
Emmons is capable of heating up quickly from long range, but the Bobcats have other offensive options available, including Matt Holt, Tyler Soucy and Bailey Johansen.
“We’re in a good place. I like the way we’ve been playing basketball for the last week-and-a-half,” Spear said.
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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