Boothbay boys need prelim win for tourney trip

No. 6 Seahawks host No. 11 Carrabec Wednesday
Fri, 02/09/2018 - 2:15pm

The Boothbay boys basketball team won eight of its last 10 games, but it wasn’t good enough to secure a guaranteed trip to the Augusta Civic Center. Boothbay (13-5) finished sixth in the Class C South Heal point standings resulting in a Feb. 14 preliminary game at 6 p.m. against No. 11 Carrabec of North Anson.

The Cobras finished 6-12, but had an important mid-season victory. Carrabec overcame a 14-point first half deficit in defeating Boothbay, 61-55, at Porter Memorial Gymnasium.

Boothbay regrouped after that loss and has been a tough opponent in Mountain Valley Conference play. Since Jan. 6, the Seahawks have beaten No. 2 Winthrop and No. 7 Madison in Class C South and No. 7 Mountain Valley and No. 8 Lisbon in Class B South. Boothbay’s only two losses in the past 10 games were to No. 1 Hall-Dale (17-1) in Class C South and No. 4 Spruce Mountain (13-5) in Class B South.

Conversely, Carrabec hasn’t fared as well against tournament-contending teams. Besides Boothbay, the Cobras’ only win against tourney contenders was Feb. 5 against Madison, 59-53. The Cobras and Bulldogs split their two games. On Dec. 15, Madison won 74-44.

The Boothbay-Carrabec winner faces No. 3 Waynflete at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Augusta Civic Center. The Portland private school finished 15-3 in Western Maine Athletic Conference play. The Flyers’ three losses were to the top three teams in Class B South: Wells, Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth.