Greenville High School senior forward Halle Pelletier knew she had to play well if the Lakers were going to upset defending two-time state Class D champ Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in Saturday, Feb. 29’s rematch of last year’s final. And she certainly came through.

Sometimes, a day of ice fishing ends with nothing more than an unsolved mystery, as fish steal bait without getting hooked, and a frustrated angler heads home empty-handed.

The six seniors on the Greenville High School basketball team will be appearing in their fourth Class D state championship game Saturday. It will be their second consecutive basketball state game appearance, and the Class D South champs are again facing Class D North and defending  two-time state champion Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in a 1:05 p.m. contest at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Class D South Lakers (19-2) look to snap 21-0 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook’s two-year reign as state champion in a 1 p.m. Saturday game at the Augusta Civic Center, and win the program's first gold ball since 1985.

The road to a state championship game is rarely easy. But the similar routes taken by the Hampden Academy and Dexter boys basketball teams epitomize the depth and the unpredictability of tourney time in Maine.

The Maine Principals’ Association basketball committee will discuss the situation involving a controversial game-winning 3-pointer by Dexter’s Parker Ponte.

Despite having won the team’s semifinal game, 54-39 vs. No. 4 Temple Academy of Waterville three days earlier, players and coaches of the top-seeded Forest Hills Consolidated School of Jackman felt the squad did not play its best. This turned out to be bad news for No. 3 Greenville High School in the 2020 Class D South championship on Feb. 22 at the Augusta Civic Center as Forest Hills won 74-44 at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Northern Maine basketball tournament ended in dramatic fashion Saturday night, with Parker Ponte’s 3-point shot as -- or after -- time expired giving Dexter a 50-48 victory over Central Aroostook of Mars Hill in the Class C boys final.

Richards was the glue who held Dexter together through a grueling tournament that culminated in the Class C championship. Feeney was a force for the upstart Machias Bulldogs, who shocked No. 1 Jonesport-Beals in the semifinals en route to the D North crown.

The team may not have played as well offensively as the coaches and players wanted, but holding the opposition to just one point over nearly two quarters’ worth of game time made up for any shooting woes as No. 1 Greenville High School defeated third seed Upper Kennebec Valley High School of Bingham 45-22 in the 2020 Class D South championship on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Augusta Civic Center.

Parker Parker Ponte’s controversial 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired lifted undefeated Dexter past top-ranked Central Aroostook of Mars Hill 50-48 in the Class C North boys basketball final on Saturday night, Feb. 22 at the Cross Insurance Center.

Junior guard Parker Ponte took a feed from Nathan Richards and buried a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2.7 seconds left, helping No. 2 Dexter escape with a 55-52 victory at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. “It’s one of those moments where if you’re open, you’ve got to shoot it,” Ponte said. “It was quite an experience. I don’t really know how to put it into words.”

Wells High School, which recently captured its fourth consecutive Class B wrestling state championship, added a new piece of hardware Friday, Feb. 21 by winning the inaugural Class B state dual-meet competition at Penobscot Valley High School in Howland.

Central Aroostook junior guard Maci Beals lobbed an inbounds pass from midcourt to a wide-open Breann Bradbury for a crucial layup with 26 seconds remaining and the sixth-seeded Panthers upset No. 2 Dexter 35-32 in a Class C North girls semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor Friday, Feb. 21.

Gracie Talbot of Piscataquis Community High School came in third in the 220-pound division. In the consolation finals Talbot pinned Tayanne Aquino of Mountain Valley High School of Rumford at the 3:45 mark.

Halle Pelletier scored seven of her game-high 22 points to help fuel a fourth-quarter surge on Feb. 20 as top-seeded Greenville earned its second straight trip to the Class D South girls basketball championship with a 52-33 semifinal win over No. 4 Seacoast Christian Academy of South Berwick at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Maine Association of Basketball Coaches recently announced that three players from the region have been chosen for the 2020 Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star Games on Saturday, March 7 at Newman Gymnasium on the campus of Husson University.

With the game on the line, Dexter boys basketball coach wants the ball in the hands of Nathan Richards. The senior guard made sure on Feb. 19 that the Tigers didn’t make an early exit from the Class C North tournament. Richards scored eight fourth-quarter points, including some key free throws, to lift No. 2 Dexter to a 39-36 victory over No. 7 Central of Corinth at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.