The Bangor Daily News selected the All-Tournament squads with input from school administrators, media representatives, former coaches, Maine Principals’ Association officials and other dedicated observers.
William Warner Award honorees as tournament most valuable players were Zach Gilpin of Hampden Academy, son of Carol Bubar Gilpin and the late Peter Gilpin, formerly of Houlton; John Murray of Medomak Valley of Waldoboro; Isaiah Bess of Penquis of Milo; and Steven Decker of Central Aroostook of Mars Hill. The MVP award was established in 1994 in memory of Warner, a former BDN sports reporter and editor.
Local players selected to the Class C All-Tourney team for each class were sophomore Kyle Bouchard and junior Nick Guiod of Houlton. Bouchard helped lead the Shires back to the Eastern Maine championship game for the second year in a row. The 6-4 forward had the highest-scoring game of the Eastern Maine tourney when he totaled 41 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the quarterfinals against Bucksport. He then had 18 points and 10 boards in a semifinal win over Calais.
Junior point guard Guiod made three 3-pointers and scored 14 of his team-high 17 points during the first half of the regional final in staking the Shiretowners to a lead that held up until midway through the fourth quarter against Penquis.
Earning honorable mention was Houlton’s Kole Buzzeo.
In Class D, Steven Decker, Joe Stiles and Chandler Brewer were named to the All-Tourney team. The Panthers won their fifth Eastern Maine title in the last nine years.
As a senior, Decker stepped up his game in the Eastern Maine Tournament, leading the team in scoring, but also when it counted most with six overtime free throws in the Panthers’ semifinal win over Washburn and five in the overtime in the title game against Hodgdon.
Stiles and Brewer complimented Decker’s play from the perimeter.
Brewer, a sophomore, pumped in 27 points in the quarterfinals and added 15 points to his team’s championship-game effort, while Stiles, a senior, knocked down 23 points and grabbed six rebounds in the semifinals and scored 12 points (3-of-4 from the line) in the last 34 seconds of overtime to outlast Hodgdon in the finals.
Hodgdon countered with the smooth-shooting Chris Hudson in their tournament bid.
The 6-5 forward had 28 points and 12 rebounds against the Panthers in the final after a 20-point quarterfinal effort against Deer Isle-Stonington.
In Class A, Zach Gilpin and his brother Nick led a balanced Hampden Academy team to its second straight Eastern Maine championship.
Zach was a double-figure scorer in each of the undefeated Broncos’ regional tournament games. However, it was the pass seen round the world that outshined his consistent play in the tournament, as the Broncos were down by a point against Lawrence in the final.
After grabbing a rebound with four seconds left on the clock in the Eastern Maine final, Gilpin was double-teamed, caught a glimpse of his younger brother, Nick, a freshman, just beyond midcourt on the left wing. Gilpin threw the pass to Nick, who caught, turned and launched a bank shot off the backboard to beat the buzzer.
Nick is known for his ball handling and perimeter defense in the postseason.
This is the Broncos second straight trip to the state final.
On the girls’ side, Hodgdon’s Mariah Wiley was the lone recipient of the Class D All-Tournament honor. She had 19 points in the quarterfinal and 17 in the semifinal loss.
