Cheverus wins 2023 Lobster Jam tournament
Cheverus won this year’s Lobster Jam tournament with a victory over Brunswick July 29 at Porter Memorial Gymnasium. Boothbay hosted the six-team field in a double-elimination tournament. Boothbay lost to Medomak Valley in their opening game and to Richmond in the loser’s bracket. Boothbay and Greely went to double-overtime before tournament officials declared the consolation round contest a tie. Other tournament participants were Oceanside and Mt. Ararat.
Boothbay girls’ coach Bruce Orne called the tournament a learning experience for his young squad. “We made mistakes, and we did some good things. Hopefully, we can build on what we did right, and learn from our mistakes,” he said.
The Lobster Jam is a summer tournament played as an official game. It was also the first time teams experienced a new rule. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) basketball rules committee eliminated the one-and-one bonus foul shot after seven team fouls in a half in favor of two shots after the fifth foul in each quarter. Orne is not opposed to the change, but he wants to see how it impacts the game before making a determination. "I think it might be a good change, but it’s definitely going to change strategy,” he said. “A lot of coaches liked having those two additional fouls before an opponent had two shots. I think it will be an adjustment for coaches.”