Local boys play tough on the hardwood; state runners-up

    The Maine Athletic Club (MAC) Athletic Amateur Union (AAU) basketball team were runners-up in state tournament play April 29-May 1.
    However, by finishing as runners-up, the team was eligible to compete in their division of the AAU National Tournament to be played in Hampton, Va. July 19-25. Unfortunately, the team won’t be attending due to other commitments among players and parents.
    In the final, MAC played MBNation-Coyne, who they played in their first pool game on April 29 at Southern Maine Community College and lost 54-40.
    “We had played them two weeks before [the tournament] and lost by 26,” said MAC coach Matt McCluskey. “We knew it was going to be a tough matchup.”
    MBNation-Coyne consisted of players from Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth, Saco, Freeport and other southern towns, while MAC players are from Houlton, Caribou, Presque Isle, Southern Aroostook, Medway and Lincoln.
    In the first meeting, Presque Isle’s Griffin Guerrette led MAC with 20 points, while Houlton’s Jacob Worthley scored nine more.
    In the championship against MBNation-Coyne, the MAC boys came out strong early, said McCluskey.
    “But, the MBNation-Coyne team was too tough in the end,” he added.
    MAC lost in the final, 61-47. Southern Aroostook’s Nolan Altvater led the way in scoring with 14 points, while Guerrette collected 13.
    Their second game of the tournament was April 30 at Bonny Eagle Middle School against a Yes! team (Yes! is the name of the Portland-area summer league) with players from various southern Maine communities.
    After trailing early and having a slim lead at the half, MAC’s press was able to break open the game for a 67-43 victory. Caribou’s Josiah Krul led the team with 19 points and Altvater added 10.
    After going 1-1 in pool play, MAC advanced to the semifinals later on Saturday, as the second-seeded team in their pool to play the first-seeded Black Bear North team.
    The Black Bear North team was made up of players from Hermon, Ellsworth, MDI, Brewer, Blue Hill, Orono and Mt. View.
    “This was an exciting, close game the entire way, as they held a small lead most of the game and we were able to gain a lead within the last few minutes,” McCluskey said.
    With 1:30 left and a two-point game, MAC was able to make some key defensive stops and convert layups on a couple of inbounds plays to end up closing the Black Bear North team out, 46-37.
    The win advanced MAC to the sixth-grade AAU state championship game on Sunday. Altvater led the team with 10 points, while Griffin Guerrette added nine.
    Two weekends prior to the state tournament, the MAC team played in Portland and Waterville.
    “We were able to play up against several seventh-grade teams and hold our own,” McCluskey said. “The boys also defeated the team that won the fifth-grade state championship by 24. We only practiced twice as a team, but the boys were so talented that they were able to overcome the unfamiliarity and play some very good basketball against better competition than they had ever played. It was a great experience for the boys to meet and play with kids from other communities.”
    MAC is made up of seven sixth-graders Worthley, along with Joe Dobbins, Cameron Graham, all of Houlton; Krul of Caribou; Altvater of Southern Aroostook; Justin Thompson of Medway and Carter Ward of Lincoln. The two fifth-graders are Cameron Cleary of Houlton and Guerrette of Presque Isle.
    Altvater and Guerrette were selected to the All-Tournament Team along with three boys from the championship MBNation-Coyne team.