NEWPORT — Everybody involved with the Nokomis and Waterville boys basketball teams had seen this movie. It ran eight days ago in Waterville’s gym. Waterville guard Chris Hale takes the last shot. Eight days ago, Hale’s buzzer beater went in, giving the Purple Panthers a two-point win over the Warriors.
Travis Lazarczyk
Columnist
Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports information director and in the ski industry, he began his journalism career at the Berlin (N.H.) Reporter in 1999. Prior to joining the Press Herald, Lazarczyk spent 20 years covering sports in central Maine at the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal. He's been twice honored as the Maine Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
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HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL: Defense lifts Madison to MVC title
AUGUSTA — If the Madison Area Memorial High School girls basketball team used the Mountain Valley Conference championship game as a tune-up for the Western Class C playoffs, the Bulldogs left the Augusta Civic Center floor knowing this: If they play defense in the tournament as well as they played defense in the second half Monday, the Bulldogs will make a run deep into the tournament.
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Madison girls win conference title
Madison held Spruce Mountain to nine points in the second half, and scoreless over the game’s final 4 minutes, 56 seconds to take a 55-39 win and the conference championship. Madison (15-3) is the No. 2 seed in the Western C tournament, and will play a quarterfinal game at the Augusta Civic Center against either […]
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TRAVIS LAZARCZYK: Heal points how-to guide
The high school basketball playoffs are here. Preliminary round games are Tuesday and Wednesday, and we hit the neutral sites in Bangor, Augusta and Portland on Friday.
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KVAC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: Panthers still the favorite
In recent years, the Waterville Senior High School indoor track and field teams have dominated the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meet. The Purple Panthers will be the Class B favorites in both the girls and boys meets today at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, but they’ll face some strong competition, the girls from a deep Winslow team and the boys from Erskine and Belfast.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Slow start doesn’t stop Bulldogs
SKOWHEGAN — Maybe Lawrence was due for a let down after playing its best defensive game of the season against Bangor on Tuesday.
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Lawrence overcomes slow start
SKOWHEGAN — Maybe Lawrence was due for a let down after playing its best defensive game of the season against Bangor on Tuesday. That letdown came in the first quarter of their Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A boys basketball game against Skowhegan on Thursday. After Aren LeBrun’s halfcourt shot at the buzzer, Skowhegan had […]
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Hale’s return dramatic
WATERVILLE — Chris Hale missed two games after breaking his nose against Winslow on Jan. 28.
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Hale’s buzzer beater lifts Waterville past Nokomis
WATERVILLE — After breaking his nose against Winslow on Jan. 28, Waterville Senior High School sophomore guard Chris Hale missed a pair of games. Nokomis probably wishes he missed one more. Wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, Hale scored a game-high 29 points. Hale’s biggest shot was his last, a jumper at the […]
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SIDELINES — TRAVIS LAZARCZYK: A game within the game
Finally, Super Bowl Sunday is here. The longest two weeks of the year are the 14 days between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.