Sixteen high school basketball teams culminate their summer season July 27-28 by participating in the Lobster Jam. Boothbay Region High School began hosting a summer classic featuring teams from Maine and a few outside the region in 2011.

The tournament separates the teams into four brackets. Each team plays three games within its bracket. Teams with the best bracket record advance to the two semifinal games and the two winners play for the championship at 8:30 p.m. July 28 at Porter Memorial Gymnasium.

The Lady Seahawks won two of their three pool games last summer, but a loss to Greeley knocked them out of the tournament. This year, Boothbay is in Pool C with Winslow, Lincoln Academy and Camden Hills. Pool A has Greeley, Gardiner, Oceanside of Rockland, and Lisbon. Pool B has South Portland, Conrad High School  of West Hartford, Connecticut,  Leavitt of Turner, and Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. Pool D has Gorham, Lewiston, Kennebunk, and George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill.

Winners in Pool A and B play in the first semifinal at 7 p.m. July 28 in Porter Memorial Gymnasium. Pool C and D winners play in the second semifinal also at 7 p.m. at the Boothbay Region Elementary School gymnasium.

Boothbay enters this tournament as it has in recent years, one of the top teams in Class C. The Seahawks finished 19-1 last year, but the one loss was costly. Boothbay entered the Class C South Regional tournament final undefeated and top-seeded. But the Seahawks came up short in Augusta. Monmouth defeated Boothbay, 51-47. In 2017, Boothbay lost to Monmouth in the semifinals, 39-30.

For  the upcoming 2018-19 schoolgirl basketball season, Boothbay appears poised to make another run at a state championship. The Seahawks had a strong showing at Gold Rush Invitational Tournament (GRIT) July 6-9 at Colby College. Coach Brian Blethen took 12 girls to Waterville and played in the weekend high school tournament’s top division. The Seahawks notched wins over Dexter, Brunswick, and Faith Blethen’s “Hail Mary” at the buzzer defeated Messalonskee. On the tournament’s last day, Brunswick halted Boothbay’s bid for a GRIT title.

During the summer, the Seahawks have practiced twice a week, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with a focus on strength and conditioning training. “This summer has also been about developing each player’s one-on-one skills,” said Blethen.  “Summer is a busy time. We’ve scrimmaged Medomak a couple times, but many of our players are doing a lot of training on their own which I commend them for that.”

Boothbay opens its Lobster Jam pool play at 3:30 p.m. July 27 versus Camden Hills. On July 28, the Seahawks play Winslow at 10:30 a.m. and Lincoln Academy of Newcastle at 4 p.m. All Boothbay pool games are played in Porter Memorial Gymnasium.