MBR Takes 16u and 17u Titles at Maine AAU State Tournament

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com | Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Going into last weekend’s Maine AAU State Tournament most considered MBR to be a heavy favorite in the 17u division and an underdog in the 16u division. 

Nonetheless when the tournament concluded MBR came away with both titles. 

The 17u team defeated Express in the finals by a score of 82-65.  This MBR team is a strong group led by talented sharp-shooter Keegan Hyland.  But they’re far from one dimensional as they also feature crafty point guard Indiana Faithful, inside-out big man Dominic Borelli, skilled forwards like Jacob Moore and Jim Philbrook, and shot-maker Stephano Mancini. 

The clear favorite in the 16u division was MB Nation who squared up with MBR in the finals.  MB Nation backed up their reputation by jumping out to a 17-1 advantage out of the gate.  But MBR wouldn’t give up and gradually chipped away at the lead by slowing the game down and executing their offense. 

MBR would take their first lead of the game when Christian McCue drilled a deep three-pointer with just 16 seconds to play in the game.  MB Nation would get two more looks at the bucket to potentially earn back their win but shots by Andrew Shaw and James Ek failed to go down. 

MBR was also led by Cameron Shorey, Zach Blodgett, Nate Thisle, and Mike McMann. 

With their respective wins MBR’s 16u and 17u teams, both coached by Carl Parker, qualify to return to AAU Nationals this July in Orlando, Florida.  In 2007 Parker led an MBR team to an 11th place finish at the National Tournament, the best result any team from Maine has ever achieved. 

Despite the disappointing loss for MB Nation in the 16u division, the weekend was far from a disappointment as they claimed more state titles than any other program with gold medals in the 10u, 13u, and 14u divisions.  Other champions included Maine Magic in 11u, County boys in 12u, and Penobscot Pirates in 15u.