After walking into the media entrance at Augusta Civic Center on Saturday morning, I sat down on an empty bleacher after a familiar face, Maureen Cooper, cleared my credentials. I was there to cover the Wiscasset/Carrabec boys Class D quarterfinal basketball game for the newspaper.

The Monmouth/Telstar game was still in progress (turned out to be a pretty good game, with Monmouth finally pulling away for the victory). As the Wiscasset crowd made its way past me to sit in its designated section, I also looked around to see many other familiar faces – two coaches I used to coach against, Doran Stout (Erskine) and Lonny Steeves (Winthrop). I also saw a college friend, Steve Ouellette, and a slew of faces (names not known) who work the tournament year after year.

I waited until halftime of the Monmouth/Telstar game to catch up with the most familiar face and friend, Bruce Cooper (Maureen’s husband). Bruce and I spent four years together at the University of Maine on the third floor of Gannett Hall. Bruce, as many high school basketball fans know, was very fortunate to coach perhaps the best girls basketball player the state has ever known, Cindy Blodgett, at Lawrence High School, winning four state championships. We have stayed in touch over the years, with our Gannett Hall 3 North annual Portland Sea Dogs outing (been doing that for 10 or so years). About a dozen of us make it a point to get together every June for a game (thanks to John Hunter, who began the tradition and continues to get everyone on board with a date).

Bruce, who was checking people’s digital tickets on phones at the public entrance, and I talked about the winter, family and losing two Boothbay friends he had gotten to know over the years, Pete Cook and Dave Parkhurst. I related a few stories about both of them and he said he was glad to have known them.

It was too bad that Wiscasset (and Boothbay girls) got eliminated in the quarterfinals, but it was good to be back at the ACC to see that a lot has not changed with the well-run tournament and to see and talk with friends I have made through the years.

Let's hope we can cheer on the Wolverines and Seahawks next February at the ACC.