I've been critical of Waterville's fan support in the past. The fans they have are great, but it just seems like there should be a lot more of them. Friday night against Mt. View, the fans showed up.

It wasn't a sixth-man type advantage like you'd see at say, Lawrence or Madison or Mt. View or a few other places. But it was nice to see the band playing and the stands almost full. Waterville has one of the top teams in the state in any class, and the Purple Panthers deserve that kind of support.

"It's absolutely great to have the band playing and whatnot," Waterville coach Ted Rioux said, "but we really want to focus on -- I don't care if the gym's empty -- let's just play basketball the way we play it.

"If fans want to come watch us, we'd love to have the fans. Our goal is to not worry about who's here, but what we're doing.

"But you know something? This was a great home crowd tonight, and I hope this happens for the rest of the year."