AUGUSTA — The top two teams in Class A North boys basketball hit the floor at the Augusta Civic Center on Friday afternoon for the 29th Capital City Hoop Classic. Those two teams – Messalonskee and Brewer – have taken very different paths.

On Friday, Brewer cruised to a 70-31 victory over Nokomis, and Messalonskee battled to a 50-41 win over Skowhegan. Brewer (7-0) and Messalonskee (5-1) sit No. 1 and 2 atop the Heal point standings.

Expectations were strong for Messalonskee entering the season after the Eagles finished 16-5 last year, falling to Hampden Academy in the regional final. While they lost 6-foot-9 forward Merrick Smith, who transferred to Kimball Union Academy in Meridan, New Hampshire, the Eagles had a large number of returners back, including guards Ty Bernier and Ryan Parent and forward Parker Reynolds.

“Those are our seniors and those are our leaders,” Messalonskee coach Sam Smith said. “We’re still trying to find an identity (on the court) … For a week, we worked on defense. We didn’t shoot well tonight because we didn’t work much on offense. I think our identity, for me, I want us to be a gritty, solid half-court defensive team. We’re getting there.”

All three veterans played a role in Friday’s win over the River Hawks (0-7). Parent led the Eagles with 16 points, while Bernier scored 15 and Reynolds added 10.

Messalonskee jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the first quarter but had some shooting and rebounding struggles midway through the game.

“It was a good win. We started strong, but then we lulled in the middle of the game,” Parent said. “We got to pick it back up in the fourth quarter. It was a good win, overall.”

“We hadn’t played on this floor in 10 months, and to win a game where we didn’t play that well, that has to be a positive,” Smith said. “We’re not going to complain about a win, but there’s a lot of things that we can work on.”

Aiden McGinty led Skowhegan with 14 points.

The lone blemish in Messalonskee’s season so far was at the hands of Brewer, a 61-52 loss on Dec. 19.

Coming off a string of success, including a Class A title in 2023, Brewer hit the bottom of the A North standings last year with a 4-14 record. The Witches went through a roster overhaul, losing several key players and head coach Ben Goodwin, who stepped down after the title win. Brewer hired longtime coach Carl Parker, a former assistant under Max Good at Maine Central Institute’s famed prep program, who was previously a head coach at Lee Academy, Foxcroft Academy, Nokomis and Bangor.

The Witches are still young but have matured talent, led by senior guard Steven Youngs, who scored 22 points in Friday’s win.

“Everyone had to move up (last year) and now we’re moving up (as a team),” Parker said. “I think now we’re pretty used to being on the same page. The kids have worked extremely hard. They played a lot in the summer.”

It’s not just Youngs providing firepower. Jack Robertson scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers. And the Witches are receiving help from 6-foot-7 freshman forward Oliver Higgins, who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and showed athleticism beyond his years, forcing multiple steals against the Warriors (3-4).

“Everyone can really score within our starting five,” Youngs said. “We like to shoot and get out on a run.

“I think we needed a year for experience. You had four kids returning (from the ’23 title team), but we didn’t really get many minutes. Now with that year of experience, we can transfer that to the other kids and it kind of helps us roll.”

Dawson Townsend led Nokomis with seven points.