Saturday, December 26, 2009
York Tournament Preview
Melrose travels to York, Maine for the York Holiday Tournament Monday and Tuesday (see blog for previous schedule). It won't be a cakewalk, despite the fact that Winnecunnet, last year's New Hampshire champion won't be coming to dinner, having opted for a Florida tournament instead.
Melrose faces Marshwood in the opener, the latter ranked 58th in Maine, coming in at 3-3 according to Maxpreps.com. Although Marshwood lost its last game to South Portland, the team got a valuable lesson, scoring 31 fourth quarter points in a furious comeback. Underestimating the Hawks would constitute a serious error. Melrose has averaged 60 points per game, while allowing 32.
In the other half of the girls bracket, York (7-0), ranked second in Maine hosts Osprey, NH, ranked 11th in New Hampshire. York has scored 396 points (56 ppg) while allowing only 162 (23 ppg), as one of the top teams in New England. York returns the core of its team from a 21-1 season, ranked third in Maine.
Melrose's best chance to compete against the top area teams in the playoffs comes from a willingness to face tough non-league competition to learn where improvement is most needed.
Tournament notes: Former Melrose Athletic Director Ellis "Sonny" Lane works as an assistant coach in the York boys program. Lane is in the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and coached Wakefield (boys) to a state championship in 1983.
// posted by Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @ 8:57 AM 
