GARDINER — One by one, they opened the little black box that contained memories. How do you fit years of work, years of practices and long bus rides, into a little black box? Members of the Gardiner boys basketball team managed it on Feb. 27 when they won the program’s first state title, and did so again Tuesday night.

Senior guard Brady Peacock took his championship ring out of its box, slipped it onto the ring finger of his right hand, and made a triumphant fist.

Brady Peacock, left, Trace Moody, center, and Brady Atwater show their state championship rings that were presented Tuesday to the Gardiner boys basketball team. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

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“It’s one of a kind, you know? The first ring we could bring back to Gardiner for boys basketball. It’s my first ring, so it’s pretty cool,” Peacock said.

Nearly four months ago, they made school history, beating Yarmouth 58-54 for the Class B state championship. That Gold Ball sat on a table next to the boxes that held their personal trophies. On Tuesday night, the Tigers came together in their school cafeteria and celebrated. Each player, coach and team manager was presented with a miniature replica of the Gold Ball, and a plaque adorned with a photo of the team celebrating on the Cross Insurance Center court after that victory.

Miniature golden basketballs are presented to members of the Gardiner boys basketball team during a ceremony at the school Tuesday night. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

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Each ring carries its owner’s last name down one side. Take it off and look at the underside, and you’ll see the date it was won, February 27, 2026.

Only one previous Gardiner boys basketball team came close to what the Tigers accomplished. That was the 2012 squad, on which their current coach, Aaron Toman, was a standout. That team lost the state championship game, coincidentally to Yarmouth.

Watching his players show off their rings to their families and friends Tuesday, Toman knew the night would be another fantastic memory in a collection full of them for his players. They’ll go off and live their lives, and this championship will always be the glue that binds them, Toman said.

It’s already doing that.

A state championship ring is staged on a table before a presentation Tuesday night to members of the Gardiner boys basketball team that won the Class B state championship. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

“Excitement. Joy. Overall, just happiness. It’s a symbol of what we earned and fought hard for,” guard Trace Moody said when asked what went through his mind as he opened his box and saw his ring for the first time. “Playing with this group of boys means the world to me. The seniors, I’ve played with my whole life. The juniors, I’ve played with my whole life. This team means so much to me.”

Moody has a spot of honor picked out in his room at home for his ring. So does Peacock, and every other member of the team. Maybe they’ll wear them once in a while. Most of the time, it will be on display, a piece of history earned with sweat and determination.

When they get together at weddings or reunions or just run into each other on the street, the memories will come. Remember when Brady Atwater scored 27 points to help us beat Cony in the regional final? Remember when Isaac Marquis was human momentum when he came off the bench in the state game and hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute of the first half to push our lead to 11?

Every February, no matter where they are or whatever life throws at them, they’ll remember.

This was a blue collar team, said Toman, and in that sense, the Tigers mirrored the fans that filled the Cross Insurance Center stands to cheer them on throughout the tournament. That support was obvious, Peacock said, but it really hit home when the team arrived back in town after the championship game and saw all the people lining the streets, waiting for them.

Right now, the 2025-26 Gardiner Tigers are the only boys basketball team in school history to put a Gold Ball in the trophy case, to earn the jewelry the team was presented Tuesday night. They hope another team comes along and joins them.

“I’m just happy we had an amazing season,” Atwater said. “I’m just grateful for everything we accomplished.”

For the rest of their lives, the Tigers will have those rings. They are touchstones. At Gardiner, they are the first of their kind.