SANFORD — There’s a new team that is making a run in Western Maine Class A boys basketball.
With a 63-37 win over rival Massabesic on Friday night, the Sanford boys basketball team has won five of its last seven games, and now at 6-6, the Redskins are right in the thick of a playoff run, and are guaranteed to finish with a better record than last year’s 5-13 tally.
Not only have the Redskins taken down the Mustangs, but in the past week, Sanford picked up a win over Westbrook, and an upset victory over Thornton Academy on Monday.
The Redskins beat the Golden Trojans 54-53 on a free throw by senior guard Jimmie Chaisson with 4.1 seconds remaining.
The 5-2 record in the last seven games is a far cry from the beginning of the season, when the Redskins started 1-4, having to play some of the top teams in Class A.
“We had a brutal schedule to start,” Sanford head coach Kyle Hodsdon said. “The top six teams are our six losses. We had some kids out hurt early, and honestly, some of our kids weren’t playing up to their potential. Now we’re starting to play better, they’re starting to do what we expect them to do.”
In the process, more fans are beginning to show up at Memorial Gym, including the student section, now dubbed the “Red Sea.”
“This is the best place to play,” Sanford guard Ryan Camire said. “We have the Red Sea, and everybody’s really loud. It helps (other teams) play into our style.”
The gym was packed on Friday night thanks largely in part to the contest being the “Coaches for Cancer” game. The boys team wore blue warm-up shirts, while the girls basketball team wore pink shirts in support of cancer research.
A big reason for the Redskins’ turnaround has been the play of Camire, a 6-foot-2 junior. Entering Friday night’s game, Camire was Sanford’s leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game. Last year as a sophomore, Camire averaged 13 points per game, and was named to the Southwestern Maine Activities Association (SMAA) All-Rookie Team. Camire once again led Sanford in scoring on Friday night with a game-high 17 points.
As Hodsdon said, Camire’s success hasn’t come without hard work.
“He’s a self-made shooter,” Hodsdon said. “He comes in and shoots every morning at 6 (o’clock) and shoots at the high school. He’s an excellent shooter, and he attacks the rim. We need him to get things going and score for us. We have high hopes and expectations for him.”
“My teammates set me up nice,” Camire said. “They’ve been giving me great looks. They make it easier.”
The Redskins still can make some headway for playoff positioning. As of now, Sanford is ranked No. 9 in the Maine Principals’ Association Heal Point standings, meaning if the season ended today, the Redskins are playoff-bound.
If Sanford can pick up wins over Marshwood and Scarborough, ranked No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, the Redskins can moved further up the rankings.
“Those are the teams we’re trying to battle with,” Hodsdon said. “There’s only so many Heal Points left on our schedule. That’s why it makes those games so important. Scarborough beat Cheverus and Marshwood beat Portland. It’s a very important week for us.”
— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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