Here are my picks for the top plays, players and efforts in the state basketball finals

Brendan McIntyre of Hampden Academy celebrates his team's victory in the Class A state basketball championship game in Augusta on Saturday.

Brendan McIntyre of Hampden Academy celebrates his team’s victory in the Class A state basketball championship game in Augusta on Saturday.

Here are my thoughts after watching the eight state championship basketball games this weekend.
— Of the eight high school games, only one visiting team won, as Western Maine Class D boys champ Forest Hills of Jackman beat Fort Fairfield at the Eastern Maine site, the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Forest Hills also finished as the only unbeaten boys team.
All of the games were played on college-sized courts, and the only real advantage of having played in Bangor, Augusta or Portland was learning the shooting background and lighting at each site. The visiting teams did have the option of one day of practice at the state sites, and Forest Hills coach Anthony Amero also wisely helped his team adapt to the courts by playing some regular-season games at Thomas College in Waterville.
— The Hampden Academy boys were the only team to score 70 points and the Washburn girls were the only team to score 60 points. Eight teams scored in the 50s, five in the 40s and one in the 30s.
— Poor foul shooting cost some teams and other than the Greely girls and the Hampden boys, 3-point shooting was inconsistent, so the shooting backgrounds and lighting may have been factors.
— Most exciting game: Class B boys state final between Cape Elizabeth and Medomak Valley. Cape came from five down with 52 seconds left as freshman Finn Bowe hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left. After a Medomak missed free throw, Cape ran the same play with 23 seconds left and when Medomak defenders jumped out to close out on the 3-pointer, the freshmen found Jack O’Rourke, who rolled to the hoop for an uncontested layup.
With the score at 42-42, Medomak elected not to call a timeout and took the ball to the hoop just a little too early, resulting in a turnover with five seconds remaining. Cape didn’t call a timeout and got a long full-court open pass from Eddie Galvin to Ethan Murphy, who laid the ball in at the buzzer for the great comeback victory.
— The best played game: Class A boys state final with Hampden Academy rolling by Portland 70-50, gaining revenge from a 14-point loss in last year’s state final. When the Broncos hit those 3-pointers for an early first-quarter lead, they just continually outplayed the Bulldogs as the game progressed.
This game was an excellent example of what can occur with fine-tuned basketball skills, just like what occurred in last year’s NBA Finals as the Broncos reminded me of the San Antonio Spurs in their dismantling of the Miami Heat because they were more fundamentally sound.
NIck Gilpin was Hampden’s version Tony Parker, directing the Broncos offense, which hit from outside, inside and from the foul line.
— Here are my other top selections:
Best Game: girls, Washburn-Rangeley; boys, Cape Elizabeth-Medomak Valley.
Best all-around player: girls, Ashley Storey, Greely; boys, Gilpin.
Best individual offensive performance: girls, Mackenzie Worcester, Washburn; boys, Brendan McIntyre, Hampden.
Best 3-point offenses: girls, Greely; boys, Hampden.
Best inside game: girls, Rangeley; boys, Hampden.
Best coached teams: girls, Greely; boys, Hampden.
Best point guard: girls, Worcester; boys, Gilpin.
Best play: girls, Worcester scoring the basket to break the Class D state game scoring record and reaching her 2,000 career point on the same basket. Boys, Cape Elizabeth’s winning basket at the gun.
— From the players in the state games, I would pick these teams as my all-state teams:
Girls: Worcester, Storey, Lawrence’s Nia Irving and Dominique Lewis and Rangeley’s Taylor Esty. MVPs: Storey and Worcester.
Boys: the Hampden Academy team; MVP: Gilpin.
Congratulations to all players and coaches for their fine efforts.
Answer to last week’s trivia question: Where was the boys state Class L (A) championship games held from 1953-56? Answer: old Colby Field House in Waterville.