BRUNSWICK

The final Heal Point Standings are in for high school basketball with a number of Mid-coast region teams advancing to postseason play.

In Eastern Maine Class A girls, Mt. Ararat finished third at 15-3 with a Tournament Index of 123.4568 with Edward Little (15-3, 149.3827) and Bangor (14-4, 128.3951) 1-2.

The Eagles are scheduled to take on No. 6 Oxford Hills (11-7, 93.8272) in quarterfinal action Friday at 3 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center.

The teams met twice during the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference regular season with Mt. Ararat prevailing 41-39 in OT and losing 47- 41.

“They have more height than we do and in the last game played a sagging man-to-man defense to clog up the middle,” said Mt. Ararat coach Kelly LaFountain. “We didn’t hit well from the outside so were not able to get the inside looks we get against other teams.

“In order for us to beat them we need to hit our outside shots early to make them come out to play us tighter on the perimeter to open up the inside game we have.

“We need to work harder on the boards and limit their second and third chance opportunities and we need to contain Abbie Eastman. She is the catalyst to that team. They feed off what she does so we need to limit her touches and contest her outside shot better this time out.

“I totally agree the tourney is wide open this year. It will come down to match-ups, who gets hot and who makes the fewest mistakes.”

In Western B, Lake Region took the top spot at 16-2 and a TI of 158.1790.

Freeport, which beat LR 48-32 during the Western Maine Conference regular season, closed out with six straight wins to finish at 12-6 (75.817), good for eighth. The Falcons are set to host a prelim against Maranacook (11-7, 72.9321) on Wednesday (7 p.m.).

Morse wound up at 5-13 in 14th and the top 12 teams advanced.

In Western C, Boothbay Region grabbed to the top spot at 16-2.

The top 13 teams moved on and Lisbon wound up 14th at 5-13 and Wiscasset 16th at 4-14.

In Western D, Rangeley (17-1) beat out Richmond (14-3) for the top (81- 2492-78.4204) with Hyde third at 16-1, 60.1691. All three are headed to the Augusta Civic Center for quarterfinal play.

Richmond takes on No. 7 Greenville (12-6) at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 18, while No. 3 Hyde (17-1) tackles No. 6 Valley (5-13) at 10 a.m.

Richmond and Greenville met twice in the East-West Conference regular season with the Bobcats prevailing 49-21 at home and 59-31 on the road.

Hyde and Valely also met twice in the regular season with the Phoenix winning in Bath 48-16 and taking a 52-42 decision in Bingham.

Boys basketball

Win and in. Lose and hope.

That was the reality for Morse and Mt. Ararat as the regular season wound down last week.

Sam Hayes’ Shipbuilders faced home contests with Lincoln Academy and Leavitt, holding down the 12th and final playoff spot in Western Maine Class B. Morse stepped up, shaking off a slow start for a 57- 48 victory over Lincoln Academy on Tuesday and pulling away from Leavitt for a 60-48 win Thursday.

Morse (7-11) moved up a spot to finish 11th and will travel to sixthseeded Wells (10-8) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a Western B preliminary, with No. 3 Cape Elizabeth (13-5) the quarterfinal prize at the Portland Expo for the victor.

“Thursday night I looked up at (assistant coach) Dave (Dorion) and said ‘they got it,’” said Hayes after his team’s playoff clinching victory over Leavitt. “The feeling, the belief you are playing well and having confidence, which is everything and helps you overcome a lot of issues, is how we are playing right now.

“We wanted to have this chance, and now we have to go to Wells and see how far we can take this.”

With the Shipbuilders playing out of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and the Warriors from the Western Maine Conference, Hayes knows little about his next opponent.

“I need to get as much information in two days as I can get and go there and do what we do,” said Hayes.

After Aaron Watson’s Mt. Ararat Eagles lost to Brunswick, 63-50, on Thursday, his team went into the locker room, knowing a Bangor victory over Brewer was necessary for an Eastern A playoff spot.

The Rams won by 15, and the Eagles appeared from their locker room to celebrate.

“It was rare to see dancing on the bus after a loss to our rivals,” said Watson, whose ninth-seeded squad heads to South Paris on Wednesday to take on eighth-seeded Oxford Hills(8-10)fora7p.m.prelimcontest. “A lot of people didn’t think we would be here. We want to get a ‘W’ and head to the Augusta Civic Center.

“Yes, it was disappointing to lose to Brunswick because we always want to win the ‘Battle of the Bridge,’” Watson added. “No one wants to lose that game and then have to scoreboard watch. On the bus, we realized a goal was met.”

The winner of the Mt. Ararat- Oxford contest faces top-seeded and undefeated Hampden Academy on Saturday in the Eastern A quarterfinals.

“We have to win second-chance points and keep them out of the paint,” said Watson of his team’s No. 1 key against the Vikings. “They are bigger than us. They beat us with second-chance points the last time (a 57-48 Oxford Hills win on Jan. 21), where the first time (a 53-45 Mt. Ararat win at Topsham) we did well keeping them away from the basket.”

Wiscasset and Richmond

Both the Wolverines and Bobcats will be involved in preliminary round play on Tuesday.

Wiscasset, which finished eighth in Western C, plays host to No. 9 St. Dom’s (6 p.m). The teams met once during the regular season, with the Wolverines getting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from freshman JD Souza for a 43-42 victory at Auburn.

“We started the season off very well, then got a taste of sickness and injuries before coming on at the end of the season,” said Wiscasset (10-8) coach Dana Lawrence. “I feel St. Dom’s is a good match-up for us, though we haven’t seen them since early in the season. Plus, we get to play at home, which is big for my young team.”

The winner between the Saints and Wolverines advances to the Western C quarterfinals to take on top-seeded Boothbay (17-1), a team Wiscasset lost to in a tough battle on Thursday.

“We shot poorly against Boothbay, and that kept us from getting over the top when we had chances to get closer,” said Lawrence, who feels his team’s balance makes it difficult for opponents. “We don’t have a 6-foot-5 player or a Jordan Jones at guard, but we are well-balanced and evenkeeled. Travis Padilla has done everything we have asked him to do, including taking on our opponent’s top scorer, and I can say similar things about several other players on this team. We want to get another shot of Boothbay.”

Richmond has gone through several peaks and valleys in his first season at the helm for Jon Spear, but the Bobcats’ 7-11 mark was enough to give Richmond the eighth seed in Western D and a home date with East-West Conference rival Buckfield (8-8) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

During the regular season, the teams split, with the Bucks winning 53-46 on Dec. 11 and the Bobcats taking a 45-39 decision at Richmond on Jan. 8.

“Tyler Goyette and Jared Eastman didn’t play against us the second time, and they are two quick players who look to penetrate and throw us off,” said Spear. “The last time we faced them, they went to a 1- 3-1 defense and it took us a while to adjust. We have worked on dealing with pressure, and we want to put intense pressure on them. And, we need to rebound.”

Spear said his team has still not met its ultimate goal.

“We want to advance to Augusta, something we made as a goal before the season began,” said Spear. The winner faces top-seeded Forest Hills (16-2) in the Western D quarterfinals on Saturday.

Heading to Augusta

Hyde School of Bath garnered the No. 2 seed in Western D, so look for the Augusta Civic Center to be loud when the Phoenix take the court on Saturday (10 a.m.) for their Western D quarterfinal against No. 7 Seacoast Christian (10-8).

Hyde (14-3) defeated Seacoast Christian twice during the regular season, but the second meeting was a tough 41-35 decision.

And, Brunswick, which dropped four straight before defeating Erskine Academy and Mt. Ararat last week to finish 10-8, moved up to the sixth seed in Eastern A and takes on No. 3 Lawrence (14-4) at 4 p.m. on Saturday

The Bulldogs were certainly a tough matchup for the Dragons this season. After defeating Brunswick 59-49 on the road back in early December, Lawrence rolled to a 55-28 victory at Fairfield on Jan. 21.

“They are a good team, but we get another shot, and you never know what can happen at the Augusta Civic Center,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson.