AUGUSTA — A development in April changed things for the Messalonskee boys basketball team in the offseason. July has been a chance to work through that.

The Eagles were dealt a blow three months ago when 6-foot-8 center Merrick Smith announced he would be leaving the program to play at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire. Since then, a much smaller Messalonskee team has been learning to play without its star big man.

“After that, figuring who we were going to be and how we were going to play was definitely my No. 1 goal for the summer,” said Messalonskee head coach Sam Smith. “We’ve still got guys figuring out what their roles are going to be, but on the whole, I think we accomplished that this summer.”

Boys basketball teams from central Maine and beyond have used the G&E Roofing Summer League to adapt after changes to personnel following the 2023-24 season. The 21-team league, which features teams from Class A all the way to Class D, concluded Wednesday evening at Cony High School.

Medomak Valley won the league, completing an undefeated run with a 62-42 victory against Gardiner in Wednesday’s championship game. The Panthers (12-0) dominated the game from the start, holding the Tigers scoreless over the first 15 minutes to begin the game on a 23-0 run.

The Panthers have also had to make some adjustments, perhaps for the opposite reason as Messalonskee. Whereas the Eagles lost a key big man, Medomak is working 6-foot-6 forward Rocco DePatsy, a recent transfer from Cheverus, into its lineup — to much success, as evidenced by the team’s dominance in the tournament.

Medomak Valley’s Mason Nguyen and Gardiner’s Eli Manning battle for a loose ball during the G&E Roofing summer league boys basketball title game Wednesday at Cony High School in Augusta. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“He’s a quiet kid who knows his role, so so far, it’s been about him easing his way in, and he’s been able to do that,” said Medomak Valley head coach Nick DePatsy, Rocco’s uncle. “We’ve played a lot of games and had a lot of success, so hopefully, that will transfer over to the regular season when the bright lights come on.”

Some surprise teams always emerge in summer ball, and that was certainly the case in this tournament. Gardiner (7-5), which hasn’t had a winning varsity season since 2016-17, let opponents know it won’t be a pushover with a title game run that included wins over No. 1 Messalonskee (9-1) and No. 4 Oceanside (9-2).

“For us, even though this game didn’t go the way we wanted it to, I look at this summer overall as a real positive for us,” said Gardiner head coach Aaron Toman. “I think it showed the boys that we could compete with anybody, and going forward, I’m hoping it’s a big boost to our morale come wintertime.

Other dangerous teams and players have emerged as well. Junior Nolan Ames, whom Smith said could be the best player in Class A North next winter, powered Camden Hills to a 10-1 finish. Lawrence and Skowhegan also had strong tournaments at 7-3 and 6-3, respectively. 

The nature of the tournament also set the stage for some non-traditional matchups that would never manifest in a high school season. The playoffs, for example, pitted Mt. Abram against Brunswick, Nokomis against Mountain Valley and Camden Hills against Valley, just to name a few.

“It was a great league that gave us some good tests,” Smith said. “We got to play Mt. Abram in the prelim, who we don’t usually get to play, and we also got to play a good group of Class A teams, which gives us a good idea of what we’re going to be going up against next year.”

The tournament capped off a long summer of basketball for teams such as Messalonskee and Medomak. The Eagles played eight games outside of the league, finishing 16-2 overall. The Panthers were also in Bar Harbor last week as they took on Cheverus, Greely, Hampden Academy and others.

“It’s good exposure to get those games against a lot of different teams,” DePatsy said. “You want to face that competition because, I think overall, it makes you better and makes you more aware of what you need to work on before the season.”