Tourney Time!

They're my favorite two weeks -- at least work-wise -- of the year. Yes, we're talking about Maine's version of the 'Big Dance', the high school basketball tournament, and last year, my first as a full-timer, was quite the experience.
From nearly wrapping my car around a tree to Bob Saget chants, from jubilation and missed-layup heartbreaks, it was an interesting first year, and going into the second, I was even more fired up.
It all started Friday, with one boys game and one girls game in the Class B ranks, with Mount View taking on Old Town in the first game of the tournament.
It was a 3-versus-6 matchup, so I anticipated a fairly close game, but knowing Mount View had defeated power Camden Hills earlier this winter, I figured they had a slight edge.
The Mustangs established that edge early, blazing out to an 11-point lead in the first half before Old Town even knew what hit it, but the Coyotes had a run in them, closing to within four at halftime.
I figured, since Mount View was tall and fairly quick, OT would switch to a zone defense, which they did, but the Mustangs slowed the tempo and worked for easy buckets, and held Old Town to two field goals the final 6:15 of the contest.
The Mustangs hit their free throws -- an uncommon theme for everyone on the first day of action -- and eked out a 46-38 win that was closer than it probably should've been.
Since the boys were playing back-to-back games, I got a nice breather in between that game and my next, between Camden Hills and Winslow in another 3-6 tilt.
Watching Winslow is a lot like watching John Bapst, in the sense that the tempo is extremely slow, and they don't exactly like to run, which Camden did, so I was hoping the Windjammers would set sail.
It didn't work out that way, as Camden turned the ball over more than they scored in the first half, and with Winslow double-teaming freshman star Jordan Knowlton, the Raiders took a 28-8 lead at halftime that seemed insurmountable.
As tired as I was getting, I was hoping Camden would have some-what of a run in them so this game would at least be interesting (plus, Winslow and Brewer used to be archrivals in football, so my un-biased heart was leaning toward the 'Jammers), and CH did fight back in the second half, but it was not to be, as Winslow won 39-36.
With the second boys game going into overtime, the girls game started way late, so I was obviously exhausted, and didn't get home until midnight with a 7 a.m. workout staring me in the face, not to mention three games -- including the last of the night -- the next day, but hey, the roller-coaster ride that is tourney time is in full swing!