The difference was remarkable.

Although the game could have been closer, the Eastern Class B boys' basketball final Saturday between Maranacook and Camden Hills was fun to watch.

The Western Class A final between Cheverus and Thornton Academy? Now that was a different story.

No shot clock was needed in Bangor, not with teams that know how to play offense. Get the ball, race down the court, drive the lane or hoist a shot. Fun to play and fun to watch. Maranacook won 84-72. The halftime score was 47-26, which was more points than the entire Cheverus-Thornton game, which ended with an absurdly low 40-31 score.

That's World War II-esque. What's next, shorty short pants and a jump ball after every successful toss into a peach basket?

Hey, there's nothing wrong with great defense, but there's a lot wrong with poor offenses, and with coaches who insist on running every possession. Let the kids play. It's their game.

Meanwhile ...

Every Eastern Class A boys' champion is unbeaten and figures to remain that way after the state finals. Those who have seen Bangor play multiple times insist it's one of the best teams in state history. Maybe. Only Edward Little has come within 15 points of the Rams, doing it in three of their four meetings. …

The early pick for most entertaining game is Class D, where Central Aroostook will take on Richmond. Each team has shooters and plenty of them, so forget a 40-31 final. …

Here's a quick call for an all-class championship weekend right after the state finals. The Maine Principals' Association would never go for it (why not, we don't know, even though most of the top players go straight into AAU play anyway), but it would be good for the sport and good for the players. And if proceeds went to charity (think Lobster Bowl) instead of bureaucratic coffers, it would do a world of good. It would take visionaries, and for a group that hasn't even changed its format for tournament game programs for at least 40 years, visionary is a dirty word.

So welcome to Championship Saturday, when all the winners in all the regions will be decided.

Well, except in Eastern Class A, of course, where the Bangor boys received a challenge from Edward Little before continuing their season-long stroll, and the Oxford Hills girls have their Cony opponents still wandering around Augusta with that how-did-THAT-happen look by ending the Rams' four-year reign.

It's just that way. Some teams that are expected to win do, and others don't. The trick is to figure out which is which before the game, not after.

So in that vein, the Happy Blogster is stepping out on a limb, hoping it's sturdy as all get-out, and telling you who will win today's regional championships. There will be no we-told-you-so when the games end. But if you happen to hear a snicker or two ...

Western Class A boys: Cheverus vs. Thornton Academy. There's been an undercurrent about Cheverus, about how it fails in big games at the Civic Center, how its defense isn't conducive to the larger floor, how it better hit its 3-pointers or else, and what in the world is its big man doing playing on the perimeter? Thornton has the perfect team to keep those grumblings going. It has an adept big man in Kory Martin, a wonderful point guard in Jeff Winnie, and supporting players who do a heck of a lot more than support. With all that said ... CHEVERUS.

Western Class A girls: Deering vs. Noble. Deering is too big, too strong, too determined. And how does Noble start over after its at-the-buzzer win in the semifinals? … DEERING.

Western Class B boys: Cape Elizabeth vs. Freeport. Great run for Freeport, but runs end somewhere. Yes, it's already proven it can beat the Capers. But not this time. Not at the Civic Center. … CAPE ELIZABETH.

Western Class B girls: Lake Region vs. Falmouth. Lake Region has been there, done that and there's no reason not to think it won't be there and do it again … LAKE REGION.

Western Class C boys: Dirigo vs. Winthrop. Dirigo has beaten Winthrop twice in close games this season. A third time? We think not … WINTHROP.

Western Class C girls: Madison vs. Monmouth Academy. Each team has beaten the other, but one has looked a tad more impressive. And that one is … MADISON.

Western Class D boys: Valley vs. Richmond. There was a time a few years back when Valley was winning 101 straight games. But that was then and this is now, and this is … RICHMOND.

Western Class D girls: Buckfield vs. Vinalhaven. Buckfield is undefeated, rarely challenged, and there's absolutely no reason to think that will change. … BUCKFIELD.

Eastern Class B boys: Maranacook vs. Camden Hills. A classic matchup. Each team has beaten the other once. Common sense says go with Marancook and Ryan Martin, one of the top players in the state. But there's something about Camden Hills Coach Jeff Hart and his decades of success. Thus … CAMDEN HILLS.

Eastern Class B girls: Waterville vs. Mattanawcook Academy. Nobody's beaten Waterville. Nobody will beat Waterville. Ergo … WATERVILLE.

Eastern Class C boys: Calais vs. Lee Academy. Calais is closing in on 70 straight victories. But in the surprise of the day … LEE ACADEMY.

Eastern Class D boys: Central Aroostook vs. Woodland. It's not going to be close. … CENTRAL AROOSTOOK.

Eastern Class D girls: Woodland vs. Ashland. It's won't be a completely wasted trip for those Woodland faithful. … WOODLAND.

You heard it here first.

Richard Durost, the executive director of the Maine Principals' Association, was on a Bangor radio station the other day talking about the attendance at the high school basketball tournaments.

Durost gave no figures – not a surprise – but said attendance was about on target – also not a surprise.

The question, of course, is whether the target was higher, lower or the same as years past.

This is the second year of the great experiment, moving Eastern Class A games out of the time-honored Bangor Auditorium and into the Augusta Civic Center. And putting all of the Western Class A and B quarterfinals into the Portland Expo.

Figures aren't available, but it doesn't take more than a good pair of eyes and a feeling of tournament atmosphere to make some judgments.

By all accounts, attendance in Bangor has been down, and that simply must raise eyebrows. For at least two generations, traveling to Bangor for tournament week was a must for the smaller schools, particularly in Washington and Aroostook counties. There's still atmosphere with bands, community spirit and pride, but much less of the community seems to have shown up.

Ditto for Augusta, especially for the Eastern Class A tournament.

The Expo had its moments in the quarterfinals – Durost said the Portland-Deering boys' quarterfinal had a turnaway crowd. But even a classic boys' quarterfinal between Greely and Falmouth had a dead crowd until the exciting final couple of minutes.

At the Cumberland County Civic Center on Wednesday night, the South Portland-Thornton Academy semifinal that started at 5:30 p.m. drew an estimated 5,000 fans, who were into the game. But the crowds and atmosphere noticably dwindled for the Cheverus-Portland and Cape Elizabeth-Greely games.

On top of the dwindling was a lack of student sections. It was amazing to see the number of adults compared to the number of students. What does that bode for the future?

An argument can be made that prices are a factor. For most of the tournaments, two-game sessions cost $7 per adult and $4 per student. So two parents and two students costs $22 per session just to walk into the building, minus program, food and sometimes parking costs. Adds up in a hurry and makes budget-conscious families pick and choose.

Obviously they've been picking and choosing. And sometimes they're choosing not to go at all.

The high school tournaments represent a great Maine tradition and beyond that, are a wonderful combination of drama and fun. To keep that tradition at such a high level for another generation means some honest soul-searching.

And soon.

Sometime after the whistles stop blowing, when the dribbling is done and this season has turned into this past season, Cape Elizabeth Coach Jim Ray will run into Ken Marks, his counterpart at Greely, and they'll talk.

They'll talk about their Western Class B semifinal Wednesday night, when the Capers won a game that was sometimes hard on the eyes, yet intriguing because of the similarity of the teams. And they'll talk about how they reached that point.

Greely beat the Capers early this season, then just a couple of weeks ago with the regular season drawing to a close, Cape Elizabeth got its payback with a double-overtime victory that clinched the top seeding.

"Kenny and I were just talking about that double-overtime game before the game tonight," said Ray. "We'll talk about this game, too."

Seven of the eight quarterfinalists in Western Class B, which means everyone but Mountain Valley, were from the Western Maine Conference. The coaches know each other well, know what each other's teams can do, and understand no matter how competitive they can be, it's never personal.

"I have a lot of respect for every coach in the conference," said Ray. "I don't know how every coach prepares, but I think if they've been around, they know what we're going to do at Cape Elizabeth. Then it just comes to execution."

And execution was the difference Wednesday night. A Shaine Burks hustle play here, a Woody Tabery rebound there, or Tom Ray, the coach's son, hitting a shot when it was so very much needed.

And yet it also was ugly at times, mainly because of the Cumberland County Civic Center itself. It's a vast building that offers no backdrop for shooting. It's a wide court that can alter defenses. And it has an NBA 3-point line that to high schools kids can be confusing.

"Our guys were running around, starting the offense beyond the NBA 3-point line," said Coach Ray. "I think they thought it was the real 3-point line."

For Cape Elizabeth, playing at the Civic Center was an invaluble experience as it begins preparation for the regional final Saturday against Yarmouth or Freeport, who play Thursday night.

For Greely, this season already has turned into this past season.

But yes, it left plenty for coaches to talk about.

Camden Hills and Maranacook took different routes Wednesday to the Eastern Class B boys' basketball championship game, but they succeeded in setting up a showdown between schools that have combined to win the last three regional titles.

Camden Hills needed a comeback in the fourth quarter and a basket late in overtime to get past No. 2 Presque Isle, 61-60. Then, top-ranked Maranacook unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers in the first half and was never seriously threatened in an 89-70 victory over Mattanawcook.

Camden Hills (20-1), the defending Eastern Maine champion, trailed for almost the entire game, but the Windjammers erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Tyler McFarland, a 6-foot-4 freshman, made a layup with nine seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

The Windjammers then built a four-point lead in overtime, only to see Presque Isle respond with a three-point play by Nathan Ackerson and a jumper by Adam Kingsbury (31 points) for a 60-59 lead with time running out.

But Dylan Smith picked the perfect time to score his only basket for Camden Hills, sinking a jumper from the right elbow with seven seconds left. Presque Isle couldn't get off a good shot on its final possession, and the Windjammers were headed to another regional final.

Maranacook (20-0) joined the Windjammers by overwhelming Mattanawcook with a record-setting display of long-range shooting. The Black Bears made 10 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 12, breaking the Class B tournament record. Ryan Martin, a semifinalist for the Mr. Basketball award, paced Maranacook with 27 points, and Devin Gerrity and Will Bardaglio each added 20.

Maranacook and Camden Hills have already had two epic battles this season, and now they'll meet for a third time on Saturday. Maranacook won 76-67 during the regular season, then lost 79-73 in overtime in the KVAC Class B championship game (which didn't count toward either team's official record).

If ever there was a moral victory, the Forest Hills girls' basketball team earned one Tuesday morning in its Western Class D quarterfinal against Richmond.

The odds seemed insurmountable against the fifth-seeded Tigers when they fell behind by eight points in the fourth quarter. The deficit was just part of their problem; the Tigers, who carry just seven players, were down to four after three fouled out.

Somehow, some way, Forest Hills fought its way back. The Tigers scored eight straight points to tie the game and almost force overtime, only to lose 56-53 on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Richmond's Megan DeRaps.

The situation was nothing new for the Tigers, who thrived all season despite their lack of depth. In fact, Tuesday's game was eerily reminiscent of their regular-season game against Richmond – a 56-47 loss.

“Last time (against Richmond) we ended up with three (players),” Forest Hills junior Elise Begin said. “So it’s kind of normal with four.”

Such is life for a girls' basketball team at a school with only 28 female students. Fielding a competitive team from such a small pool of candidates is no easy task, but Forest Hills has done it before. Back in 1997, the Tigers won a state championship with only seven players.

This season the Tigers were talented enough and scrappy enough to go 12-5 during the regular season. This despite the fact that one of their players, eighth-grader Kayla Achey, didn't travel to road games because she also played for the middle school team.

Jasmine Worster has been playing with a hairline wrist fracture, and Crystal Allen was hindered by an ankle injury.

"Our girls will never quit, no matter how many girls I have on the court," Coach Mike LeBlanc said after his team's first loss to Richmond.

The Tigers proved that again Tuesday, and proved they're winners regardless of the final score.

So maybe you're a member of a Western Class B or Class C girls' basketball tournament team. Have you felt left out? The tournaments started Friday and you didn't play. Saturday, same thing. Monday, ditto.

Everyone else has gotten those tournament jitters out of their system. But you? You've had to wait. So eagerly.

Know what? Tuesday is your day. Four games in Class B at the Portland Expo, four in Class C at the Augusta Civic Center. Two in the afternoon, two at night. And by the time 10:30 or so rolls around Tuesday night, when Wells and Lake Region turn out the lights in Portland, and Georges Valley and Madison do the same in Augusta, an important milestone will have been reached.

All of the semifinalists in Western Maine, boys and girls, will have been determined. And then the real fun begins because in class after class, the word this season has been parity. The one-sided games figure to be over. It's sit back and enjoy time.

And before we forget, here's a thank-you to the Portland Expo, that crusty old warehouse of an arena next door to Hadlock Field. Sure, the place smells of hot dogs past and the acoustics make what-did-he-say the most popular question around. But the place does have atmosphere and a whole lot of history. And it will all be missing starting Wednesday when the tournaments shift to that lifeless mausoleum known as the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Even so … enjoy.

Ever wish you could freeze time? Just suspend everything and gaze at the expression on everyone's faces?

The perfect moment came around 4:45 p.m. Saturday at the Portland Expo. Greely was trailing Falmouth by two points with about a second left in their Western Class B quarterfinal. Erik Thayer of Greely had just lofted a 3-point shot from left of the foul line.

Freeze it.

The intensity in Thayer's eyes as the ball arched toward the basket. The look of horror on the Falmouth players' faces as they realized their season, and for some their high school basketball careers, was about to end. The cheers starting to erupt from the wide-eyed Greely fans, subdued most of the day but who in seconds would storm the court.

Unfreeze it.

Basket. Victory for Greely. Heartbreak for Falmouth. And another chapter in the long, proud history of the Maine high school basketball tournaments, as well as another chapter in the long, proud history of these neighboring schools, had been written.

The ending was a bright spot in what, truth to tell, was a less-than-compelling day at the Expo. Freeport pulled a mild surprise by sending Mountain Valley packing long before its usual departure date, but other than that … Yarmouth rolled, Cape Elizabeth rolled and South Portland rolled.

And then, lo and hold, the night ended with a corker, Thornton Academy trailing, trailing, trailing … then winning by a point when Westbrook's final shot was ever-so-close but failed to drop.

Same story for much of the day in Augusta, where Rangeley beat Seacoast Christian in a fun-to-watch Western Class D quarterfinal, but little else qualifed as suspense.

In Bangor, the highlight was Ryan Martin and his unbeaten Maranacook teammates involved in an intriguing victory against Rockland, a game that surprisingly went to the final seconds in Eastern Class B.

And now we rest. A day off before it all resumes Monday, with the girls' tournaments taking center stage for the most part as a prelude for the waited-all-season semifinal and final matchups later in the week.
And more moments worth freezing, of course.

We're still early in Day 2 of the regional basketball tournaments, but already we've had the first upset in Western Class B boys, and almost a shocker in Eastern B boys.

There'll be a new state champion in Class B, thanks to Freeport, which surprised Mountain Valley in a Western B quarterfinal, 54-47. The victory by sixth-ranked Freeport ensured that a Western Maine Conference team will advance to the state final, as third-ranked Mountain Valley was the only non-WMC team that made it to the Portland Expo.

In Bangor, meanwhile, the Maranacook Black Bears were having flashbacks to what happened a year ago in the Eastern B boys' quarterfinals.

The Black Bears entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row, and once again they found themselves on the verge of an early elimination. This time they survived -- barely. Eighth-ranked Rockland nearly pulled off a huge upset, but good free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter enabled Maranacook to escape with a 59-57 win.

Officially, the Black Bears are now 19-0, though they lost to Camden Hills in the KVAC Class B championship game after beating the Windjammers during the regular season. Now, those two teams are one win away from a potential rematch for the Eastern Maine title.

It seemed strange. Just strange. On the first day of the Western Class A boys' basketball quarterfinals, when the contenders usually say goodbye to those just-happy-to-be-here upstarts, there were Portland and Deering playing before a large crowd at the Portland Expo.

Portland and Deering. Really. Two of the three teams that have dominated the class since the turn of the millennium (the third would be Cheverus, for those who haven't paid attention) meeting so early.

But that's what happened because of the resurgence of South Portland (and where have THEY been for the last decade or so?) and the coming-of-age team from Thornton Academy this season.

Portland won a corker of a game, coming from behind in the second half by playing Portland basketball, which somehow coaches convince players is different from, oh, Lincoln Academy basketball, Lee Academy basketball or Stonehill College basketball.

And so it went on the first day of the rite of February. Nice crowds for the most part, enthusiasm for the most part, good games for the most part.
For the most part, it should only get better.

Portland's reward for beating Deering? A semifinal matchup Wednesday night against top-ranked Cheverus.

Friday's action at all three tournament sites was notable for an absence of upsets. Higher seeded teams won 9 of 10 games -- the exception being No. 5 Oxford Hills' 54-50 win over No. 4 Bangor in Eastern A girls.

With a total of 20 games on Saturday's schedule, there's a better chance we'll see an upset or two. And perhaps there'll be a few more dramatic finishes like the Eastern A girls' quarterfinal Friday between No. 2 Morse and No. 10 Skowhegan, in which Morse escaped with a 49-46 win on Jill Henrikson's three-point play in the closing seconds.

The Eastern A girls had the spotlight Friday in Augusta, but it's an all-boys day on Saturday, with four Western D quarterfinals, followed by four Eastern A games.

In Portland, the most interesting matchup Saturday is a Western B boys' quarterfinal between rivals Greely and Falmouth, who split their two regular-season meetings.

Later Saturday, No. 2 Thornton Academy and No. 3 South Portland will try to join Cheverus and Portland in the Western Class A semifinals. If that happens, we can look forward to a highly entertaining night of basketball on Wednesday.

It was a quick turnaround for Camden Hills and John Bapst as they opened the Eastern Class B boys' quarterfinals at the Bangor Auditorium less than 24 hours after posting preliminary-round victories. The short gap between games was no problem for Camden Hills, which put its depth on display in an easy 73-38 win.

Graham Safford, a 6-foot freshman guard, scored 18 points off the bench for the third-ranked Windjammers (19-1), who dominated from the start. The defending regional champions opened the game by making their first 10 shots.

Next up for Camden Hills is second-ranked Presque Isle in the regional semifinals Wednesday afternoon. Presque Isle held off Medomak Valley, 56-51, despite 29 points by Medomak's Alex Goldrup. Nate Ackerson scored 20 points and Adam Kingsbury had 16 for Presque Isle.

Maine's high school state basketball tournaments begin in earnest Friday with regional quarterfinal games in Portland, Augusta and Bangor, and the combined forces of the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel are ready to keep readers up to date with the latest happenings throughout the tournament.

Our focus will be on the regionals in Portland and Augusta -- Western Class A, Western Class B, Western Class C, Western Class D and Eastern Class A -- though we'll also keep an eye on the Eastern B tournament in Bangor. We'll be providing live game updates from Portland and Augusta, along with a daily blog wrapping up the day's games and looking ahead to the next day.

We'll also have updated scores and brackets for each region shortly after each game is done, and we'll be updating the tournament page several times each day with fresh photos and game stories as soon as they're available. Slideshows will be available as well, so be sure to check back with us often.