Valley of Bingham and Greenville stopped being conference rivals when Greenville defected from the East-West Conference before the school year. But the two teams continued with their custom of meeting twice during the basketball regular season.
It’s been three years since the Cavaliers and Lakers last met in the tournament. On Wednesday, they will meet again in the Class D South semifinals at 1 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. Valley won that 2013 game, a quarterfinal, 62-56.
Top-seeded Valley (18-0) beat No. 4 Greenville (14-5) by scores of 64-44 and 60-41 this season. But Valley coach Luke Hartwell and his team know the Lakers will present a challenge.
“They’re a lot better than their record indicates,” Hartwell said. “They’re very well coached and getting better every game. It’s a very young group, but they’re very confident for a young team and I’m sure feeling even more confident after beating A.R. Gould (70-28 in the quarterfinals on Saturday).”
The Lakers have just one senior on the roster, guard Tim White. White and sophomore guard Nick Foley, who scored 23 against A.R. Gould, form a dangerous backcourt tandem.
“Foley is one of the best shooters on our schedule,” Hartwell said.
The Lakers also boast an athletic frontcourt led by sophomore forward Conner DiAngelo, who had 17 points on Saturday. Hartwell touted their defense, which shut down A.R. Gould and held the Cavaliers to their lowest scoring total, 60, on Jan. 25.
“Two of our lowest-scoring games have been against them,” Hartwell said. “They’re tough defensively.”
Hartwell thought his team came out sluggish for Saturday’s 62-33 quarterfinal win over No. 8 Rangeley and will need to play better against the Lakers. Senior guard Cody Laweryson led the Cavaliers with 23 points. Fellow seniors Collin Miller and Luke Malloy are also keys to the offense.
“Valley is exceptional all the way around,” Greenville coach Bill Foley said. “They beat us twice by a lot — 19 and 20 points. They are just exceptional. They have great senior leadership and they have all sorts of talent in the frontcourt and all sorts of talent in the backcourt.”
No. 3 Seacoast Christian and No. 7 Islesboro square off in the preceding semifinal, scheduled to tip at 11:30 a.m.
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