Monmouth fell just shy of another trip to the Class C South boys’ basketball quarterfinals a year ago, falling at Old Orchard Beach in a preliminary game.

If experience is a reliable gauge, you can expect the Mustangs to finish the job this winter. Almost the entire lineup returns for Monmouth, which features one of the top players in the MVC in versatile junior guard Hunter Richardson.

Six of the top seven players are back, giving coach Lucas Turner belief that the Mustangs will be able to play his preferred, hard-nosed brand of defense. Avery Amero could step up and fill the void left by graduated center Kasey Smith. Luke Thombs and Nick Menice provide veteran toughness in the backcourt.

Consistency on the offensive end could send Monmouth deep into the playoffs. Turner expects Dirigo, Boothbay and Madison to be the favorites in the MVC, but he believes that the rest of the league is wide-open to whichever team shows up on a given night. With last year’s growing pains out of the way, the Mustangs are poised to be near the front of that pack.