Falmouth basketball fans cheer in the last minute of the Class A South final against Noble at the Portland Expo last Friday. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

The high school basketball season will conclude this weekend with the crowning of state champions in five classes.

Before we move ahead, here’s a look some of the takeaways from “tournament week,” courtesy of the Varsity Maine crew …

Dave Bailey, Kennebec Journal

The fans. So many fans.

The Valley denizens who make the hour-long trek down Route 201 and stay at the Augusta Civic Center for the entire session, whether their team is playing or not. The Forest Hills fans who take the two-hour trek down the same highway wearing their trademark hunter’s-orange gear. The Camden Hills students who sound like a dead ringer for 1990s comedian Gilbert Gottfried, whom they’ve probably never heard of. The lack of students in the Buckfield student section, causing members of the Dirigo girls basketball team to ably fill in and cheer on the Bucks against Winthrop. The older gentleman wearing a UMaine baseball cap in the front row who was in attendance every day. The dude in the well-worn Patrick Mahomes hoodie. The Carrabec mom politely asking to borrow the power strip at the media table row to revive her camera battery. The military veteran sitting in the accessible seating section at the other end of the media table. The St. Dominic students wearing a motley assortment of team jerseys.

And tons of Celtics and Duke gear.

The fans. Who put on a pretty good show themselves in Augusta every February.

Drew Bonifant, Press Herald

We were again reminded that big drama can pop up in any game on any day. A seemingly sleepy 1-vs.-8 quarterfinal matchup in the A South girls tournament turned into gripping theater as Mt. Ararat had to rally from 17 points down late to deny Westbrook and extend a dream season. Finals and rivalries get the attention and the crowds, but win-or-go-home stakes can turn any game into one you don’t forget.

Steve Craig, Press Herald

A sad truth of the Maine high school basketball tournament is that the outcome of close games can usually be traced to failures by the losing team. Missed free throws. Confusion on defense. A star player having a sub-par game. The whole team shooting poorly.

That’s why No. 2 Falmouth’s 56-53 win against No. 1 Noble in the A South boys regional final at the Portland Expo was such a treat to watch. Falmouth won the game. Emphasis on the word “won.” Its top players, Davis Mann and Billy Birks, made big shots and each scored 17 points. Supporting players made clutch plays throughout the game, none bigger than Ezra Hamlin’s go-ahead 3-pointer with just over a minute to play. And Noble played at a high level, too. Standouts Jamier Rose (24 points) and Bryce Guitard (20 points) turned in strong showings. Twice in the fourth quarter Rose answered Falmouth hoops with his own go-ahead bucket. Guitard knocked down a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play, cutting the lead to one. That put the pressure on Falmouth’s Jaxon Cameron to make two free throws. Cameron made both. Finally, Noble showed patience and precision to get Rose open for a tying 3-pointer that barely missed.

Hampden Academy coaches and players react to a made foul shot in the final seconds of a Class A North semifinal game against Cony. The Broncos prevailed, 42-38. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Dave Dyer, Kennebec Journal

The only thing certain about the Maine high school basketball tournament is that nothing is for certain.

Look no further than the Class A North girls basketball semifinals on Feb. 19 at the Augusta Civic Center.

It seemed almost certain that the regional final would be Lawrence vs. Cony. In fact, we picked it as a potential game to watch. The Rams, the defending A North champion, finished the regular season 15-3, with two losses to Lawrence, including a 74-73 defeat on Feb. 4. Lawrence was a perfect 19-0 entering the semifinals and considered by many to be the best girls basketball program in the state.

But one night changed everything. No. 2 Cony went down first, falling 42-38 to Hampden Academy. Hours later, No. 1 Lawrence fell to 64-56 to No. 4 Camden Hills. Ouch.

Nathan Fournier, Sun Journal

It was nice to see Mt. Abram and Monmouth boys renew their rivalry on Saturday. Many of the same kids on both sides have faced off against each other in multiple sports the past few years, including last year’s Class C South hoops final. From talking with some Roadrunners after their victory, I could tell that beating Monmouth made the program’s first regional title extra special.

Michael Hoffer, Forecaster/Leader/Sentry

The 2025 tournament has been about fathers and daughters and how that special relationship triumphantly played out in public over the past week or so.

Anna Goodman hitting two clutch 3-pointers to make her coach and father, Billy Goodman, proud and happy during Cheverus’ upset win over Oxford Hills in the AA North Final. It hasn’t been an easy season for the Stags with five losses, and there had to have been some difficult moments at home, when shifting to and from the coach/player to father/daughter relationship couldn’t have been easy, but the end result was one of joy. Then there’s first-year coach Brianne Maloney masterfully leading her South Portland Red Riots to another victory and just the program’s second regional title this century, pushing all the right buttons with her father, assistant coach John Maloney, by her side.

One of those father-daughter tandems is going to be over the moon after a victory Saturday night, while the tandem that comes up short will have to console each other in defeat. Regardless, both unique bonds will live on, long after the cheers fade …

Travis Lazarczyk, Press Herald

With nothing ahead of us but 10 state championship games, what strikes me is how many potential first-time state champions we have. There could be a first-time state champ in seven of the 10 title games this weekend. There will definitely be one in boys Class C, where Mt. Abram and Mattanawcook Academy will meet Saturday night at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Other teams going for their first Gold Ball are the Mt. Ararat girls, who will face Hampden (which hasn’t won a title since 1976) in the Class A final Friday night at Augusta Civic Center; the Biddeford girls, who will face Caribou for the Class B crown Saturday at Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena; Penobscot Valley, which plays Hall-Dale in the Class C girls final; and Valley, which will take another crack at the Class D crown Saturday afternoon against Central Aroostook.

Hall-Dale celebrates after it won the C South girls basketball title. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

The Messalonskee boys play for their first Gold Ball on Friday night in Augusta against Falmouth in the Class A championship game, and the St. Dom’s boys go for their first title Saturday afternoon at the Cross Center vs. Schenck in the Class D final.

Mike Mandell, Morning Sentinel

My tournament takeaway has nothing to do with the action we saw on the floor, but rather the way this event brings Maine together. I can’t tell you how many messages I got asking what time such-and-such team played over the course of the week, some of which came from people who aren’t basketball fans at all. It’s really remarkable the way tourney time is a constant in Maine; whether you’re from the potato fields up north, a small Downeast lobstering community, a central Maine mill town or cosmopolitan Portland, this basketball tournament binds us all.

Cooper Sullivan, Times Record

I’ve heard about “THE Tournament” since my job interview last spring, so I came into this past week with lofty expectations, ones even higher than a Maiwen-to-Maiwen alley-oop. And for the most part, they were met, highlighted by watching 10 Mr. and Miss Maine Basketball semifinalists play for the first time.

But for every Yarmouth-Lincoln Academy triple-overtime thriller, there was always a Medomak Valley-Lake Region first half. I got sick mid-week, spent way too much money on concessions and neglected most, if not all, of my other personal responsibilities. It was perfect.