The Wells and Windham boys are among teams enjoying early success after struggling last year.

UpdatedDecember 18Drew BonifantStaff Writer

His team went only 5-13 last year, but with another year of experience for a young group and a cleaner bill of health, Coach Troy Brown figured this could be a more successful season for his Wells boys’ basketball squad.

So far the season’s early going has resulted in just that.

After missing the playoffs last year, the Warriors are 3-0 following wins over Traip Academy, Biddeford and Lake Region. With three starters and the sixth man from last year back, Wells is seeing experience work to its advantage.

“We had a good preseason. I thought that we could be a pretty good basketball team this year,” said Brown. “We have both some very skilled basketball players, but also a little bit of depth on our bench. We want to get our foot in the door for the playoffs.”

Across both boys’ and girls’ basketball, several teams are off to strong starts after rocky seasons last year. The list includes the boys’ teams at Windham (3-0 after going 5-13), Noble (2-1 after going 7-11), Freeport (2-1 after going 5-13) and Wiscasset (2-1 after going 1-17), as well as the girls’ teams at Massabesic (2-1 after not playing a varsity season), Fryeburg Academy (2-0 after going 7-11), Lincoln Academy and Waynflete (both 3-0 after going 6-12).

At Wells, Brown had a feeling a turnaround was probable. Last season was derailed when starters Mike Lewinsky and Hayden Bedell were lost for the winter out of the gate, forcing younger players like Jeremy Therrien and Nolan Brown to step up and play bigger roles.

One year later, that experience has only helped their development, and allowed them to contribute to a team that already returned starters Eli Roy, Spencer Carpenter and Kayden Springer, as well as sixth man Keith Ramsey. It’s also resulted in growing confidence, which allowed the Warriors to pull out a 66-57 win over the Lakers after trailing 37-31 at the half.

“Actually seeing it all the way through (was big),” Brown said. “I do see (more excitement). We were thinking about not practicing this past Saturday and all the kids wanted to practice. They all wanted to come in and practice after the late game, so that’s what I like to see. Those are the things that make you feel good as a coach, when they’re 100%, they’re bought in, they’re ready to go.”

It’s been a similar story for the Windham boys, who have taken down Lewiston, Scarborough and Bangor. The Eagles lost only two seniors, so a team that was heating up by the end of last season was able to carry over its momentum.

“It’s really just been unselfishness,” said Coach Chad Pulkkinen. “We have some really talented players and we share the ball. There have been a lot of people in double digits; it hasn’t been just one guy. The concept of sharing the basketball and getting the best shot we can get really resonates with these guys. … That’s been the biggest improvement for us.”

Tyrie James, Creighty Dickson, Adrian Moody and Blake McPherson have all scored in double figures for Windham.

“We were in a lot of close games last year as a young team,” Pulkkinen said. “(We were) just a young team trying to figure it out. They figured out what they needed to do to be successful.”