HOULTON, Maine — The regular season is now a fond memory for many high school boys and girls basketball teams, but there are still more games to be played.
The postseason begins Tuesday and Wednesday with preliminary round contests for many local squads, while others have already punched their ticket directly to the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor for tourney action.
Final Heal Points were released Saturday, revealing playoff pairings for the upcoming basketball tourney. The following is a breakdown of how local teams fared, as well as which squads are moving on to the postseason.
Girls Basketball
In Class B North, Caribou finished 15-3 on the season and is ranked second. The Vikings have a bye directly to Bangor, where they will play in the quarterfinals, Friday, Feb. 17, at 5:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 7 Foxcroft Academy (9-9)-No. 10 Hermon (9-9).
Houlton finished 9-9 and is ranked fifth. The Shires will host No. 12 Mount View of Thorndike (7-11) on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 5:30 p.m. Houlton did not play Mt. View during the regular season. If Houlton wins, it will face No. 4 Washington Academy (11-7) in the quarterfinals in Bangor, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 9 a.m.
Presque Isle finished 8-10 and is ranked eighth. The Wildcats will host a preliminary round game against No. 9 Maine Central Institute (12-6) of Pittsfield on Tuesday, Feb. 14 (time to be determined). The two squads did not meet during the regular season. If Presque Isle wins, it will advance to the quarterfinals, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 10:30 a.m. against No. 1 Old Town (18-0).
In Class C North, Hodgdon finished 17-1 on the season and is ranked third in the region. The Hawks have a bye directly to Bangor for a Monday, Feb. 20, quarterfinal at 3:30 p.m. against the prelim winner of No. 6 Calais (11-7) versus No. 11 Central Aroostook (10-8).
Fort Kent finished 10-8 on the season and is ranked eighth. The Warriors will host No. 9 Woodland (11-7) on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in a preliminary round contest (time to be determined). Fort Kent and Woodland did not meet during the regular season. If Fort Kent wins, it must then face No. 1 Dexter (17-1) Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m.
Central Aroostook finished 10-8 and is ranked 11th. The Panthers will be on the road Tuesday, Feb. 14, to take on No. 6 Calais (11-7) in a prelim game. If the Panthers win, they will face No. 3 Hodgdon (17-1) in the quarterfinals.
Fort Fairfield (8-10) finished 17th and Madawaska (3-15) placed 19th. Neither squad made the postseason this year.
In Class D North, Southern Aroostook is the top-ranked team with a 15-3 record. The Warriors have a bye directly to Bangor for a Monday, Feb. 20, quarterfinal game at 10:30 a.m. SA will face the winner of No. 8 Ashland (8-10) versus No. 9 Schenck (8-10).
Wisdom finished with a perfect 18-0 record, but is ranked second. The Pioneers have bye directly to Bangor where they will face the winner of No. 7 Jonesport-Beals (7-11) versus No. 10 Bangor Christian (3-15), Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5:30 p.m.
Katahdin finished with a 9-9 record and is fifth. The Cougars have a bye directly to Bangor where they will meet No. 4 Deer Isle-Stonington (13-5) in the quarterfinals, Monday, Feb. 20, at 9 a.m. The two teams did not play each other during the regular season.
East Grand finished with an 11-7 record and is sixth. The Vikings have a bye directly to Bangor and will take on No. 3 Machias (15-3) in the quarterfinals, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
Ashland finished with an 8-10 record and is eight. The Hornets will host No. 9 Schenck (8-10) of East Millinocket on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in a prelim (time to be determined).
Washburn (4-14) finished 11th, Easton (3-15) was 12th and Van Buren (0-18) was 14th. All three squads did not make the playoffs this season.
Boys Basketball
In Class B North, Caribou and Presque Isle are both hosting preliminary round playoff games. The Caribou boys finished sixth with an 11-7 record and will host No. 11 John Bapst (5-13) on Wednesday. The time for that game has not been determined.
Caribou beat John Bapst 47-32 at home in their only meeting during the regular season. If the Vikings beat John Bapst, they will take on No. 3 Orono (15-3) in the quarterfinals on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.
Presque Isle is ranked seventh with a 10-8 record and will host No. 10 Bucksport (8-10) also on Wednesday, time to be determined. The Wildcats beat Bucksport 66-56 on the road in their only meeting during the regular season. If Presque Isle wins, it will take on No. 2 Winslow (17-1) in the quarterfinals, Friday, Feb. 17, at 8:30 p.m.
Houlton (5-13) finished 15th and did not make the playoffs.
In Class C North, Fort Kent finished with a 14-4 record and is ranked second. The Warriors have earned a bye directly to Bangor for the quarterfinals on Monday, Feb. 20, at 8:30 p.m. Fort Kent will face the prelim winner of No. 7 George Stevens Academy versus No. 10 Madawaska.
No. 10 Madawaska (10-8) will travel to No. 7 George Stevens Academy (13-5) of Blue Hill Wednesday for the preliminary round game (time to be determined). The two squads did not meet during the regular season.
Fort Fairfield finished 13-5 and is ranked fourth. The Tigers will host No. 13 Piscataquis Community School (6-12) in a preliminary round game on Wednesday, time to be determined. The two teams did not play each other during the regular season.
Hodgdon finished with a 7-11 record and is ranked 14th, just missing out on the final playoff spot in the region. Central Aroostook also finished 7-11 and is ranked 15th. The Panthers did not make the playoffs.
In Class D North, Southern Aroostook appears poised to defend its state championship crown as the Warriors completed a perfect regular season with an 18-0 record. SA is the top-ranked team in the region and will have a bye directly to Bangor. The Warriors’ quarterfinal game will take place Monday, Feb. 20, at 1:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 8 Jonesport-Beals-No. 9 Ashland.
Easton finished with a 12-6 record and is ranked fifth. The Bears have bye directly to Bangor, where they will take on No. 4 Bangor Christian (14-4) in the quarterfinals Monday, Feb. 20, at noon. The two teams did not meet in the regular season.
Katahdin finished with a 13-5 record and is sixth. The Cougars have a bye directly to Bangor where they will meet No. 3 Schenck of East Millinocket, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. Katahdin and Schenck did not meet during the regular season.
Wisdom finished with a 10-8 record and is seventh. The Pioneers will host No. 10 Van Buren (3-15) in a preliminary contest Wednesday (time to be determined). The winner of this game advances to the quarterfinals in Bangor to face No. 2 Machias (14-4) Saturday, Feb. 18, at 8:30 p.m.
Ashland finished 5-13 and is ninth. The Hornets will travel to No. 8 Jonesport-Beals (8-10) for a preliminary round game Wednesday (time to be determined). The two teams did not meet during the regular season. The winner draws the tough card of facing Southern Aroostook in the quarterfinals Feb. 20.
Washburn (2-16) finished 13th and East Grand (0-18) finished 14th. Neither squad made the postseason this year.
