Players to watch

Dirigo — Cody St. Germain, Ben Holmes, Josh Turbide, Spencer Ross, Caleb Turner; Boothbay — Anthony Dimauro, Dan Dickinson, Jordan Caron, Chad Carroll; Old Orchard Beach — Ryan Gallant, Ryheem Lang, Nate Dow, Jason Dutton; Waynflete — Joe Veroneau, Alex Hadiaris, Chris Burke, Jack Cutler; Wiscasset — Ashton Benn, Jordan Jones, Mason Brewer; Monmouth — Tim Whitmore, Robby Neal, Roger Bachelder; Traip — Nathan Westman, Brian Goda, Mark McKenney, Alex Gamester; Livermore Falls — Mike Armstrong, Mike Castonguay, Mike Anctil, Hunter Brett.

Favorites

Dirigo seeks its fourth straight trip to the final and third consecutive regional championship with a mostly new cast. In a relatively balanced field, the Cougars are the closest thing to a complete team you’ll find. St. Germain is a dominant big man. Turner runs the offense and fuels the transition defense. Turbide and Ross are dangerous outside shooters, and Holmes provides a little bit of everything at both ends of the floor.

If you’ve been watching Boothbay since venerable I.J. Pinkham took over the program in the 1980s, you know what to expect from the Seahawks: Five guys with short haircuts between 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-3 who are good shooters and can run you to death.

Darkhorses

Old Orchard Beach has the best chance at breaking up the MVC Invitational. The Seahawks stormed into the semifinals last year and gave Dirigo all it could handle. Gallant (12 points per game) makes the Seagulls go. Last year, Beach also showed its  ability to learn on its big men and turn things into a halfcourt football game.

Wiscasset won’t wow you from the start. But the team without a nickname has a knack for hanging with everyone, and Benn and Jones have a streaky side.

Fun facts

No current WMC Class C team has won the regional title since OOB (led by current Thornton Academy coach Bob Davies) beat T.J. Caouette and Winthrop in 1994 … OOB and Traip played three regular-season games that were decided by a total of nine points. The ‘Gulls won twice … Monmouth is making its first Western C quarterfinal appearance since 1977 … Only one lower seed has won a Western C quarterfinal game since 2002 … Dirigo (Mountain Valley) and Waynflete (Wells) are the only teams in the draw to defeat a Class B tournament team.

koakes@sunjournal.com