There should be no tournament jitters when East-West Conference rivals Richmond and Valley meet this afternoon for the Western Class D championship at the Augusta Civic Center.

This is Richmond's third consecutive regional final appearance and no team has played on the Civic Center floor as much as Valley (16-3) over the past decade. This is the Cavaliers' 10th regional final game in the last 11 years.

Richmond (18-1) snapped Valley's eight-year run as regional champs in 2006, and the Bobcats think they learned something in last season's Western final loss to Gould.

"I think we played a little tentative last year against Gould," senior guard Brandon Lancaster said. "I think we have to just keep on attacking."

Richmond beat Valley twice in the regular season, once with 6-foot-10 center Marc Zaharchuk in the lineup, and once when Zaharchuk was out with a broken arm.

"They're a little bit quicker without (Zaharchuk), but certainly he's a force inside," Valley coach Dwight Littlefield said. "They're a great team."

The Cavaliers have been hit by injuries in the tournament. Senior guard Curtis Miller hurt his left ankle in a quarterfinal win over Greenville, and scored 23 points against Forest Hills in the quarters while playing with the ankle heavily taped. Miller hasn't practiced since the injury, according to Littlefield.

The Cavs could be without senior guard Scott Hunnewell, who suffered a cut near his eye that required stitches in a collision with Forest Hills' Cory Plante on Wednesday.

For Richmond, containing Curtis Miller and center Trevor Miller is the key.

"Two or three Millers, they're all good. Curtis can shoot, so we're going to have to watch that. Trevor's a good inside guy. We've got to stop them and make their role players win it for them," Lancaster, who has averaged 19 points per game in the tournament, said.

The Bobcats have a number of players who can shoot, including Lancaster, Walter Miller, and Eric Murrin. That outside threat limits opponents' ability to pay too much attention to Zaharchuk down low. Littlefield is concerned with his team's intensity. The Cavs had 23 turnovers in their first meeting with Richmond this season.

"We need to have as many good shots as we can get," Littlefield said.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com