MDI, Old Town Look For State Titles

The first of eight state basketball titles will be handed out tonight as the Class B teams take to the Cross Center floor.

The girls game features MDI against Lake Region who has won three straight Western Maine titles. In the boys game Old Town will try to win their first gold ball in 23 years when they take on the Poland Knights. You can hear the games live on 92.9 The Ticket, 929theticket.com or on our free mobile app form Radio Pup.

Below are the previews for tonight's match-ups.

MDI vs. Lake Region

7:05 p.m., Fri., Feb. 28, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor

How they got here: In claiming the East crown, the MDI Trojans were finally able to knock off No. 1 Presque Isle in convincing fashion, 63-51. That ended the Wildcats 64-game winning streak, which included two state titles. Lake Region (20-1) won their third straight Western Maine title, avenging their only loss of the season by beating Wells in the finals.

Keys to the game: The match-up to watch is between the Trojans Hannah Shaw and the Lakers Tianna-Jo Carter, both semifinalists for the Miss Basketball Award. If Shaw is held in check it will be up to her younger sister Kelsey who is effective at taking the ball to basket while Sarah Phelps and Molly Carroll are accurate outside shooters.

Old Town vs. Poland

8:45 p.m., Fri., Feb. 28, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor

How they got here: The Old Town Coyotes entered Tourney 2014 as the No. 6 seed, but quickly showed they could compete with the higher seeds, knocking off No. 3 MDI in the quarterfinals and ending their title run with an overtime win over No. 4 Caribou. The Poland Knights, the No. 6 seed in the West, pulled a major upset on the top-seed Greely in the regional finals.

Keys to the game: The Coyotes are playing in the state game for the first time in 23 years and will need to have a balanced attack to claim the gold ball. Senior Eric Hoogterp has led the team in scoring but will need help to take down Poland. Old Town is without 6'3 center Zach Bartlett who missed the semifinals and regional championship after having surgery to repair a cut tendon in his finger. The Coyotes need to control the boards which leads to their up-tempo offense.