It's not something that shows up in a box score and it's not something that can be practiced, but it could make the difference between last year's sudden end and this year's hope for a longer season.

As the regular season ticks closer, Boothbay Region High School boys varsity basketball coach I. J. Pinkham said one important quality has started to appear on the court.

“There's a lot more chemistry on the team this year,” he said. “You see it in practice; during our scrimmages the guys are making sure to pass the ball around a bit more. They get along and seem to like each other and that makes everything so much easier.”

The Boothbay Region High School boys varsity basketball team is coming off a 14-5 season that saw the team bounced from the state playoffs.

With three returning starters and a slew of new talent, the team is looking to not only rebuild on the fly but compete at the highest level.

Captain and returning all-conference point guard Anthony DiMauro said the team should be able to be competitive this year while getting ready for the future.

“It looks like it's going to be a good year,” DiMauro said. “We're all hoping we can get to state.”

Part of the team's present and future success will be tied not only to Anthony DiMauro and fellow Captain Lincoln Simmons, but to their younger brothers and some of the younger players on the squad.

“We have a lot of young players,” DiMauro said. “We are still getting to know each other.”

Even with an evolving identity the Seahawks won't be too different from Boothbay teams of yore.

The team's biggest strength should come as no surprise, Simmons said.

“It's our fast-break, for sure,” he said.

That ability to beat teams up and down the court has long been a staple of the Seahawks' offense and Pinkham said he hoped the team would emulate past teams and become a stout defensive unit.

In the interim, Pinkham said the team's offensive identity has been settled from the start.

“Our strength is in transition,” Pinkham said. “We actually struggle a bit in the half-court. Our game is beating the team up and down the floor. We want to make them worry about us running on them.”

With only three starters returning from the squad that won 14 games a year ago, those lessons in chemistry will come in handy, Pinkham said.

The long-time coach of the Seahawks said that while Boothbay may be young, they should be approached with caution.

“We have five sophomores on the team, so we're pretty young,” Pinkham said. “We're still just trying to figure each other out and see who will rise up.”

In addition to Simmons and DiMauro the Seahawks also return standout defender Andrew Hallinan. Last year, Pinkham used Hallinan to take away opposing teams' top scorers, which is a role he envisions the junior again filling this year.

“His job is to stop the other team's best scorer,” Pinkham said. “He's probably our best defensive player and he can shoot the ball, too.”

In the Mountain Valley Conference, Dirigo is probably the team to beat but Boothbay will be discounted at other teams' peril, Pinkham added.

“We should finish in the top four,” he said. “I think we'll be tough.”

Players to watch:

DiMauro: Point guard returns for his senior season. The all-conference player scored more than 14 points per game in 2011-12, and returns to the helm for the Seahawks.

Simmons: One of three returning starters. Simmons, who was named co-captain with DiMauro, is expected to be the anchor in the middle. He is coming off a season in which he averaged better than five points and eight rebounds per game.

Hallinan: The sophomore is the team's defensive specialist. Coach Pinkham said Hepburn's value to the team is as its defensive stopper. The defensive specialist has the unenviable role of taking away opposing teams' most valuable weapons – a job he does with aplomb, according to Pinkham.

Click here for team photos

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 207-633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen