Three players who led their teams to regional championships head up the 2019 Bangor Daily News North regional all-tournament boys basketball teams for Classes B, C and D.
Junior forward Parker Deprey of Class B Caribou, junior guard Keegan Gentle of Class C Houlton and senior guard-forward Travis Thompson of Class D Schenck of East Millinocket have been named recipients of the BDN’s William C. Warner Most Valuable Player awards.
The North all-tournament teams for Classes B, C and D were chosen by media, tourney officials and Maine Principals’ Association representatives in attendance at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. The BDN did not select North all-tournament teams for the Class AA tournament in Portland nor the Class A tourney in Augusta.
The 6-foot-1 Duprey was the leading scorer in the combined North B-C-D tournament, averaging 20.7 points in three victories to lead the Vikings to their first regional championship since winning the Eastern Maine Class A title 36 years ago in 1983.
Duprey opened his tournament with 25 points during Caribou’s 73-49 quarterfinal victory over Washington Academy of East Machias, then capped off that effort with a game-high 19 points as the Vikings dethroned defending Class B state champion Hermon 43-40 in the regional championship game.
Duprey is joined on the Class B all-tourney team by Caribou junior guard Alex Bouchard, Hermon senior guard Cody Hawes and junior forward Isaac Varney, and Ellsworth junior forward Jackson Curtis.
Bouchard averaged 14.3 points in three tourney games, including a 22-point effort as coach Kyle Corrigan’s club defeated Ellsworth 65-58 in the semifinalsafter he scored 18 points in the quarterfinals.
Hawes and Varney each averaged 13.0 ppg while leading Hermon back to the regional final before Caribou ended the Hawks’ 42-game winning streak. Both also were factors on the boards, with Varney producing a 22-point, 10-rebound, five-block double-double in a 52-35 semifinal victory over No. 5 Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield, and Hawes contributing six rebounds in the quarters and nine boards in the semifinals.
Hawes earned all-tournament recognition for the second straight year, while Varney was an honorable mention choice last winter after winning a spot on the all-tourney team as a freshman in 2017.
Curtis displayed his versatility during Ellsworth’s two-game tourney stay, particularly while scoring a game-high 24 points during the sixth-ranked Eagles’ 71-48 quarterfinal upset of No. 3 Mount Desert Island of Bar Harbor. He averaged 19.0 ppg.
Gentle led Houlton through a dominant run to its first Class C regional crown since 2014 as the Shiretowners defeated their three opponents at the CIC by a combined 76 points.
Gentle averaged 15.0 points in those games, topped by a game-high 18 points as coach Tim Brewer’s club ousted three-time defending state champion George Stevens Academy 54-34 in the championship game.
Also selected to the Class C all-tourney team are senior guard Noah Porter and senior forward Nick Brewer of Houlton, senior forward Isaac Wardwell of George Stevens Academy and senior guard Max Woodman of Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln.
Porter complemented Gentle’s midrange game and driving ability with his long-range shooting, averaging 14.7 ppg with 22 points in the quarterfinals and 14 points with four 3-pointers in the title game.
Brewer provided Houlton a third solid scoring threat, averaging 9.0 ppg, in addition to contributing to a Shiretowners’ defense that yielded just 33.3 ppg en route to the championship.
Wardwell was GSA’s leading tourney scorer at 12.7 ppg, including 14 in the final and 18 in a quarterfinal victory over Calais.
Woodman helped a senior-laden and balanced Mattanawcook team reach the semifinals for the second straight year, averaging 15.5 ppg in the Lynx’s two outings last week.
Thompson’s offensive game grew with each round of the tournament, as he capped off Schenck’s surge from the No. 4 seed in Class D North to its first regional crown since 2010 with 20 points during a 50-44 semifinal win over defending champion Woodland and 21 points — including the 1,000th of his career — as the Wolverines topped Jonesport-Beals 70-47 in the title game.
An all-tourney honorable mention choice last year, Thompson averaged 14.7 points in three tourney games while playing for his father, Schenck coach Darrick Thompson.
Also on the Class D North all-tourney team are Schenck sophomore forward Tyrone Davis, Alvin Beal Jr. and Kaiden Crowley of Jonesport-Beals, and Isaac Potter of Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
Davis got Schenck off to a fast start with a tournament-high 33 points in the quarterfinals and went on to average a D tourney-best 18.7 points for three games.
Beal and Crowley helped Jonesport-Beals return to the Class D North final for the second straight year. Crowley, a 6-2 junior guard-forward, averaged a team-leading 14.7 ppg during tourney play while Beal, a 6-0 guard, added 14.0 ppg.
Potter, a 6-4 senior center, scored 20 points to lead third-seeded Greater Houlton Christian Academy to its first tournament victory in Bangor, a 54-44 quarterfinal win over No. 6 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook. Potter averaged 15.5 ppg in two tourney games.
This article originally appeared on www.bangordailynews.com.
