The Oceanside High School girls and boys basketball teams have an opportunity to achieve one shared goal this weekend: perfection.
With both squads boasting 21-0 records, the Mariners from the Rockland area will arrive at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center for the Class B state championship games on Friday night having outscored their opponents 1,502 to 722 (girls) and 1,831 to 1,035 (boys), each just one win away from securing immortality.
The girls will take on Saige Evans and the Old Town Coyotes (19-2) at 6 p.m., and the boys will take on Pierce Walston and the Orono Red Riots (18-3) at 7:45. If the stars align for the Mariners on Friday night, Oceanside would become the first school in Maine history with undefeated boys and girls basketball state championship teams in the same season, according to MPA records and BDN archives.
What the Mariners have shared in athleticism and success, however, they haven’t shared in their paths to the big stage. Since day one, the boys have been under the spotlight, feeling the pressure to avenge state championship losses on the hardwood and football field, simultaneously experiencing heavy scrutiny for their blowout victories over weaker opposition. Meanwhile, the girls have flown relatively under the radar, dominating without drama or an empty trophy case, having won a gold ball two years ago.
“The boys got a lot of the press,” girls head coach Matt Breen said with a laugh. “It was kinda nice — it’s not easy being the hunted.”
The emotional saga experienced by the boys began one year ago, when the No. 1 Mariners missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lose 61-58 to No. 3 Orono, abruptly ending an otherwise incredible season for Oceanside, who was favored to beat the Red Riots. Then things ended in heartbreaking fashion again this fall, when senior Cohen Galley (QB, small forward), twin brother Carter Galley (WR, shooting guard), junior Zeb Foster (WR, point guard) and company suffered a brutal 71-12 state championship loss on the gridiron to No. 1 Leavitt.
“It just sucks to go out this way,” Cohen Galley said after the loss to Leavitt. “It really hurts.”
Playing with conviction, the Mariners made their presence known on the first day of the basketball season, when Carter exploded for 51 points against Cony, en route to a resounding 110-59 win at home. But the thrill of victory wouldn’t last for long, when one month later the Maine Principals’ Association instructed the Mariners to put a lid on their offensive firepower, due to complaints from opposing teams.
“Last year, we were happy to be there, but this year’s been like a business trip. There was one expectation and one expectation only: a state championship,” boys basketball head coach Larry Reed said. “The whole thing with the MPA was overblown, and it seemed to linger, so we made the commitment to block out the noise. We felt we were the better team last year — this win would mean everything to us.”
Raising the stakes even higher for the boys is the senior status of Carter and Cohen Galley — the Mariners’ pair of clinical 1,000-point scorers — who will be playing their final game in Oceanside threads on Friday. This year, Carter posted 28.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game, while Cohen averaged 23.4 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 steals, and will graduate alongside key bench players Ben Tripp (16.2 minutes per game) and Maddox Robishaw (12.3 mpg).
The girls, on the other hand, have much less to prove on Friday night, and time is on their side.
Led by then-freshman phenom Bailey Breen, the Mariners won the state’s most prized trophy back in 2021-22, beating Hermon in the state finals to take home a gold basketball for the first time in team history — dating back to the times of Rockland and Georges Valley high schools.
The following season, Breen and the No. 1 Mariners fell to No. 2 Spruce Mountain in the regional final, but climbed back atop Class B South this year, winning each of their three tournament games by double digits — including a 44-33 win over Spruce in the regional final last week.
“It was a great feeling; we’d built this little rivalry [with Spruce Mountain]. The girls have learned and grown and used that loss as motivation,” coach Breen said. “Nobody knew what we would end up being this year. It’s exciting; we’re just focused on what we can control.”
At 6-foot-3, junior forward Breen has tallied 30 points, 9.5 rebounds and four assists per game this year, and fellow junior Aubri Hoose has averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 assists and 3.3 steals. Oceanside will graduate seniors Sophie Daggett (6.4 ppg), Caitlyn Lamb (1.4 ppg) and Natalee Hitz (1.0 ppg) this spring, but have plenty of young talent for the future, including sophomore Renee Ripley (9.6 ppg) and freshman Grace Mackie (3.4 ppg).
Ultimately, Oceanside has two equally incredible basketball teams with two equally perfect records — yet such different storylines this year — culminating in one monumental moment for Oceanside athletics on Friday night.
“You just get these certain groups of kids, these tireless workers,” coach Breen said. “It just takes one or two kids to push hard and everyone buys in; it’s kinda what we have on both sides [right now]. It’s been great. It builds excitement through the community — energy and enthusiasm.”
