Newsletter #37...Tournament memories
Every basketball tournament is enjoyable, but the 2026 tourney was unforgettable, probably my favorite in my 25 years being fortunate enough to do this.
We had great matchups live up to billing, upsets, breathtaking comebacks and teams coming from nowhere to go all the way to the season's final day.
While the Cheverus girls and Portland boys ultimately stole the headlines, they had plenty of company.
Here's some of what I'll always remember about the 2026 high school basketball tournament.
Upsets
The upsets began in the quarterfinal round on Valentine's Day, when the eighth-ranked Scarborough boys ended top-seeded Windham's two-year title reign with a 66-62 overtime victory, the sixth-ranked Portland boys began to make the field take notice by knocking off No. 3 South Portland, 34-33 and No. 5 Cheverus edged No. 4 Thornton Academy, 61-60.
In the semifinals, the Bulldogs did it again, as for the third straight game, they didn't trail for a single, solitary second en route to knocking off No. 2 Sanford, 61-51. Yarmouth's boys, the No. 4 seed in Class B South, got in on the fun as well, ending top-ranked York's season by erasing a 16-point third quarter deficit and prevailing in an overtime classic, 77-72. On the girls' side, in Class A South, in an upset by seeding at least, No. 3 South Portland held off second-seeded Sanford's late rally to advance, 43-38.
In the Class B South Final, No. 4 Yarmouth ousted No. 3 Medomak Valley, 63-58, and No. 6 Portland had to dig out of a deficit for the first time in the tournament, but was able to pull away to eliminate No. 5 Cheverus, 48-30.
Comebacks
One dramatic comeback in the tournament would have been special, but Cheverus' girls produced a pair, arguably the two most memorable victories in program history, wins that ultimately produced the program's third Gold Ball in five seasons.
In the Class A South semifinals, the top-seeded Stags trailed No. 4 Biddeford, the only team to beat them in the regular season, from the start almost until the finish and were down by 11 points in the third quarter, but a furious rally produced a 45-39 win, as a 3-pointer from senior standout Kylie Lamson out of a crazy sequence following a turnover put her team on top to stay.
That paled in comparison to what occurred last Saturday, in the state game versus a Hampden Academy squad most pundits felt Cheverus would handle with relative ease. Instead, the Broncos were unconscious from the floor in the first half, as they built a seemingly insurmountable 34-17 lead at the break. The Stags turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, but Hampden Academy was still up by 19 in the third quarter before Cheverus inexorably roared back. With just 5 seconds to go, trailing by two, the Stags inbounded the ball under their basket with one last chance and senior captain Anna Goodman set up Lamson for a tying layup. Then, in overtime, freshman Kristin King, the team's best player over the course of the game, put Cheverus in front to stay and it prevailed, 63-61, setting off a wild celebration, which even coach Billy Goodman got involved in.
Back to that Yarmouth-York boys' semifinal. A 20-2 Wildcats' run in the third period appeared to bury the Clippers, but they roared back and led by three with a second to go before a desperation York 3 found the net to force overtime. There, sophomore Adam Maxwell put Yarmouth in front to stay and behind Maxwell's 25 points, the Clippers sent the number one seed home.
Yarmouth almost produced another memorable comeback in last Friday's Class B state final against Gardiner in Bangor, as it slowly chipped away at an 11-point halftime deficit and even got within a single point late on a 3-pointer from junior Owen Oranellas, but this time, the Clippers couldn't get over the hump and dropped a 58-54 heartbreaker.
A master class
While Cheverus' championship came in the most dramatic way possible, Portland's boys ended their run by leading Camden Hills most of the way (the Bulldogs trailed for all of 9 minutes, 42 seconds out of 160 minutes of tournament action) and while Windjammers' star Nolan Ames scored 30 points, Portland created a lot of offense off its nonpareil defense and put four different players in double figures as it pulled away in the second half to prevail, 76-60. For longtime Bulldogs coach Joe Russo, it was his sixth (and most unexpected) Gold Ball. He and his staff navigated injuries and other absences and got the team to be at its absolute best when it mattered most. Whether or not it was Russo's swan song remains to be seen, it was truly a masterful coaching performance.
"(Coach Russo's) such an underrated coach, to be honest," Portland senior sparkplug Loic Ramazani said. "He knows us so well. He told us we'd be special and he turned us into state champions."
Fathers and daughters (and sons)
There were a couple of heartwarming instances of family members sharing in championships last Saturday.
Cheverus' girls wouldn't have gotten near the state final, not to mention win it, if it wasn't for the play and leadership of senior captain Anna Goodman, who got to share a Gold Ball celebration with her father, Coach Billy Goodman.
"This means everything to me," Anna Goodman said. "I spent my whole childhood going to my Dad's McAuley and (Maine Girls' Academy) games. Freshman year, it felt like it would last forever, but it was so short. I'm just thankful for the experience I had here."
"Anna getting 11 rebounds against Biddeford, two big 3s against South Portland and all the big plays to help us win tonight, it's beyond my wildest dreams," said Billy Goodman. "She was always a good player and helped us win, but she went to another level this year. She did it so many ways. She turned herself into a very good basketball player."
One of the stars for the Portland boys was senior Lucas LeGage, who overcame a shooting slump to have a big regional final before putting up 19 points in the state game. LeGage's father, Bulldogs assistant Dan LeGage, coached Deering's boys to a couple of state titles and as a young boy, Lucas LeGage was front-and-center when the Rams took home the 2012 Gold Ball. This time, Lucas LeGage played an integral role on a championship team and he loved that his career came full circle.
"I've been watching my entire life," Lucas LeGage said. "I always wanted it to be me and celebrate and now that it's me, it's a crazy feeling. These years here meant everything to me. To get here and succeed is everything."
What a fortnight-plus it was. Here's my scorecard, if you will...
My final sentence says it all. Can't wait for the next one...
To the ice: And then there were two...
The boys' hockey season and with it, the end of the winter sports season, comes to a close Saturday at the Cross Insurance Arena when the first- and second-ranked teams, reigning champion Thornton Academy and No. 2 Cheverus/Yarmouth, the two-time Class B champion, which moved up this season, do battle at 3:30 p.m., immediately following the Class B state game between the York/Biddeford/OOB co-op and Hampden Academy.
The Golden Trojans will take part in their fourth state final in five seasons and are looking for their third championship in that span. They've been the state's best team all season, losing just one time, and carrying an 18-game win streak into the final. Thornton Academy blanked Bangor in the quarterfinals, then downed Falmouth, 4-1, in Wednesday's state semifinals.
Cheverus/Yarmouth was up-and-down, starting 6-1, suffering through a 1-5 stretch, then finishing with five straight victories. Cheverus/Yarmouth has won its two playoff games, over the Ice Cats and the Lewiston co-op, by a composite 14-0 score, as senior goalie Ashton Additon has been exceptional.
The Golden Trojans beat Cheverus/Yarmouth twice this season, 4-3, in overtime, Jan. 10 in Portland, and 4-0 at home Feb. 5.
"Hopefully, we'll execute to the best of our ability and who knows?" said Cheverus/Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre. "We'll be ready. We know we can compete with anybody."
"We've said all the time that the goal is meaningful hockey in March," said Thornton Academy coach Jamie Gagnon. "We're going to enjoy the next few days and come out and give it a shot on Saturday."
It has all the makings of a classic and Hoffer's High School Sports will be there to bring you a full recap.
Hockey award finalists named
Staying with the boys' hockey theme, semifinalists for the Travis Roy Award and Evans Spear Award were announced earlier this week.
The list of semifinalists for the Travis Roy Award, given to the state's top Class A senior player, features local standouts Ben Dumais and Hakon Yeo of Cheverus/Yarmouth, Falmouth's Cale Hanson and Jacoby Porter and Thornton Academy's Trent Lesieur and Jake Skillings, as well as Lewiston's Aizyk Laliberte and Twin City's Chase Caron.
Semifinalists for the Evans Spear Award, given to the top player in Class B South, include Andrew Collins, of Gorham/Massabesic, Cape Elizabeth's Alex Mainville, Ethan Patterson of Brunswick/Freeport and Richard Pocius of Kennebunk/Wells.
New football coach at Cape Elizabeth
Issiah Bachelder, best known for quarterbacking Portland High to the 2015 and 2016 Class A North titles, is the new football coach at Cape Elizabeth. The Capers are an eight-man program that went 1-7 a year ago.
After directing the Bulldogs, Bachelder played for the Southern Maine Raging Bulls in the New England Football League, then played and coached in Hungary before serving as the head coach of the Portland Tide middle school squad this past fall.
Bachelder replaces Peter Cekutis in Cape Elizabeth.
In case you missed it...
Game stories from the past week...
Yarmouth's title dream denied by Gardiner in Gold Ball game
Cheverus' comeback for the ages produces a state title win over Hampden Academy
Portland caps magical run with state game win over Camden Hills
Gorham's title team dashed by York co-op in regional final
Cheverus/Yarmouth off to play in another state final, this time in Class A
Thornton Academy pulls away to beat Falmouth in state semifinals
Media
Tuesday's WGAN radio spot with Matt Gagnon:
https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-24/
Last Friday's Middays with Mannix and Mannix spot:
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And a bonus spot from this Monday, where Taylor and I wrapped up the tournament:
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Features
Hoffer's High School Sports, in conjunction with cPort Credit Union, named Cheverus girls' basketball freshman and state game hero Kristin King our Athlete of the Week.
Michael Hoffer
Tuesday brought a final Super-Six polls for boys' basketball and girls' basketball.
Michael Hoffer
Thursday's Hoffer's High School Sports Podcast featured players and coaches from the Cheverus girls' and Portland boys' basketball state champions discussing their Gold Ball wins. Stags coach Billy Goodman and players Anna Goodman, Kylie Lamson and Kristin King talked about their unbelievable come-from-behind win over Hampden Academy. Bulldogs coach Joe Russo, along with players Lucas LeGage and Loic Ramazani discuss their team's amazing run from the No. 6 seed to champion.
Michael Hoffer
See you right back here next Friday.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffersports@yahoo.com
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