PORTLAND—Wake up the echoes. The South Portland boys’ basketball team is heading back to the state final. For the first time in two decades. Saturday evening, in a palpitating showdown of two strong teams and two of the finest players to be found anywhere in the state, No. 1 South ...

PORTLAND — The matchup lived up to expectations and then some. In the Western Class A girls’ basketball final between top-ranked, undefeated and two-time defending Class A state champion McAuley and surging No. 3 seed Cheverus, the Lions never trailed, but didn’t lock up their third straight regional title until ...

PORTLAND—Falmouth left no doubt. It’s the best boys’ basketball team in the state of Maine. Regardless of class. At least it looked that way after a 21-point evisceration of its top challenger, York, in the Western Class B Final Saturday afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The top-ranked Yachtsmen ...

PORTLAND—They’re back. Again. The Lake Region girls’ basketball team made it two straight Western Class B championships and five in eight seasons Saturday afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The top-ranked Lakers couldn’t do anything right early in the game and fell behind No. 2 York early, 4-0, but ...

PORTLAND — On a night when points were at a premium, the Cheverus Stags found a way to score two more than the Deering Rams. In a Western Class A girls’ basketball semifinal Friday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, the Stags overcame a very sluggish first half, but ...

PORTLAND—The streak, or should I say, streaks, live on. Friday evening, the two-time defending Class A state girls’ basketball champion McAuley Lions extended their win streak to 46 games and punched their ticket to the regional final with a closer-than-many-anticipated 47-38 win over Scarborough in the semifinal round. Top-ranked McAuley, ...

PORTLAND—The defending Western Class B champion Lake Region girls’ basketball team started its title defense and quest for that elusive Gold Ball Tuesday evening at the Portland Exposition Building and gave the rest of the regional field little reason to think any other team will still be playing in the ...

PORTLAND — For two quarters and part of a third Tuesday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building, the upstart seventh-ranked Cape Elizabeth girls’ basketball team didn’t just go toe-to-toe with pedigreed No. 2 York, the Capers had the Wildcats on the ropes. Then, York exploded on a 23-2 run to ...

PORTLAND — Second-ranked Deering had to dig deep into its reservoir of experience and heart to survive its Western Class A girls’ quarterfinal against No. 7 Thornton Academy on Monday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building. The Rams, who were upset by Windham in last year’s quarterfinals, overcame a dreadful ...

PORTLAND, Maine — It certainly didn’t come easily, but the Cheverus girls’ basketball team won a Western Class A quarterfinal Monday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building. Finally. Facing a Sanford squad which broke the Stags’ heart two years ago in this round, third-ranked Cheverus overcame a sluggish start, took ...

PORTLAND, Maine — The defending champion is now the former champion. The Deering boys’ basketball team has been ousted from the 2013 Western Class A tournament. By a team, Thornton Academy, it beat by 49 points in the regular season. The seventh-ranked Golden Trojans of Saco erased a seven-point deficit ...

PORTLAND, Maine — When the York boys basketball team is clicking on all cylinders, it’s simply the best around, regardless of class. The Greely Rangers discovered that first-hand Saturday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building as the Wildcats roared to life late in the first period and never looked back ...

PORTLAND, Maine — Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ basketball team has relied on a mixture of experience and youth this winter, and it paid huge dividends Saturday morning and afternoon in a Western Maine Class B quarterfinal game against Wells at the Portland Exposition Building. The Capers, ranked third, never trailed, but ...

PORTLAND — As the top seed in the Western Class A tournament for the first time since 1994, the South Portland boys’ basketball team learned Friday evening at the Portland Exposition Building that what you did in the regular season doesn’t guarantee anything come tournament time. The Red Riots were ...

PORTLAND, Maine — After losing on the Portland Expo floor last year in the quarterfinal round and after falling to No. 5 Westbrook at the venue earlier this season, the fourth-ranked Portland Bulldogs weren’t about to suffer another home defeat in the opener of the Western Class A boys’ basketball ...