The Portland Expo has been a good site for the Western Class A and B boys’ and girls’ quarterfinals the last few years. It’s cozy, it has atmosphere and a nice new court, courtesy of the Maine Red Claws.

When the quarterfinals were held at the Cumberland County Civic Center, small crowds made the building seem even more cavernous. Quarterfinal games don’t draw as many spectators as the semifinals and finals, but at the Expo, a good quarterfinal matchup will come close to filling the place.

“The MPA made the move to the Expo for the quarterfinals mainly for the atmosphere,” said Portland Coach Joe Russo. “There’s never been good crowds at the Civic Center for the quarterfinals.”

With the smaller Expo, the first round of the tournament seems almost intimate. For the semifinals and finals, the Civic Center’s larger capacity is required. The Civic Center’s atmosphere dramatically improves when 5,000 to 6,000 people are in the building.

Tournament action begins tonight at the Expo with two Western Class A boys’ quarterfinal games. No. 4 Cheverus plays No. 5 Thornton Academy at 7 p.m., followed by No. 1 Deering and No. 8 Biddeford at 8:30.

On Saturday, there are six games at the Expo — four Western Class B boys’ quarterfinals and the last two Western Class A boys’ quarterfinals.

At 11 a.m., No. 3 Yarmouth plays No. 11 Lincoln Academy; No. 2 Spruce Mountain meets No. 7 Wells at 12:30 p.m.; No. 4 York plays No. 5 Leavitt at 3:15 and No. 1 Falmouth meets No. 9 Poland at 4:45.

That evening at 7:30, No. 3 Bonny Eagle meets No. 6 Marshwood, and wrapping up the opening weekend at the Expo will be No. 2 Portland and No. 7 South Portland at 9.

On Monday, the Western Class A girls’ quarterfinals will be played with the Class B girls’ quarterfinals Tuesday. The tourney shifts to the Civic Center for the semifinals and finals beginning Wednesday with Class A girls’ semifinals.

Two buildings, four tournaments and lots of excitement.

NINTH-RANKED POLAND is getting healthy at the right time with the return of Jake Littlefield, a 6-foot-4 senior standout, for the preliminary-round game against No. 8 Mountain Valley this week, and of Drew Peterson four games ago. Peterson, at 6-2, and Littlefield are the team’s tallest players.

Littlefield, the Knights’ leading scorer last season and a second-team all Western Maine Conference selection, broke his right wrist in the eighth game of the season at Cape Elizabeth and missed 10 games.

Peterson missed eight games because of a calcium deposit on his leg.

“Originally, Jake was to be sidelined for six weeks,” said Coach Tyler Tracy. “He came back in five weeks.”

The earlier return enabled Littlefield to be ready for the start of the tourney. The only consolation in his injury was it was his non-shooting hand.

“Jake did a nice job on defense and in rebounding against Mountain Valley,” said Tracy.

“We’re still feeling out what he’s going to bring to the team. Jake was one of the top players in the conference prior to his injury.”

Through seven games, Littlefield was averaging 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Knights (11-8) didn’t think they would get Peterson back.

“It’s been a nice surprise,” said Tracy. “He’s averaged 12 points a game.”

In Littlefield’s and Peterson’s absence, Tracy said his team came together nicely. Ricky Bryant and Logan Nichols took over the bulk of the scoring. Tracy said seniors Nate Rybeck and Jed Quint stepped up their games, as did sophomores C.J. Martin and Josh Gary.

Poland will meet top-ranked Falmouth at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. The Knights will be looking for the upset and the school’s first-ever quarterfinal victory. The Knights lost to Gorham in 2005 in a Western Class B quarterfinal.

“I think this tournament is going to be a good one,” said Tracy. “Falmouth is deserving of No. 1 because of their regular season.

“If we put together a full 32 minutes, we have a chance.”

JORDAN HERSOM of Leavitt is having an outstanding basketball season to complement an equally outstanding football season for the Hornets.

Hersom, a quarterback-defensive back, won the Fitzpatrick Trophy as the top senior football player in the state.

This winter, Hersom, a 6-foot-3 forward, is leading the Hornets — the fifth seed in Western Class B — with 18 points and 16 rebounds per game.

This season, Hersom went over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for his career. He’s planning to attend Springfield College.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH