Milo Belleau completed a four-point play with 14 seconds left in overtime Monday to lift Waynflete to a 48-47 victory against Traip Academy in a Class C South boys’ basketball game.
Belleau, who scored a game-high 18 points, was fouled while hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, then made a free throw to lift the Flyers (15-2) over the Rangers (5-12).
“If you think about what Milo did in soccer and what he’s doing in basketball in crunch time, it’s unbelievable,” Waynflete Coach Rich Henry said.
Last fall, Belleau, a goalkeeper, was named Class C player of the year by the Maine Soccer Coaches after leading the Flyers to the Class C South title.
On Jan. 15, Belleau’s 3-pointer beat the buzzer to lift Waynflete to a 44-43 win over Falmouth, the top team in Class A South.
“How many times is he going to get a chance to win a game with a 3?” Henry said. “He wasn’t looking to take that shot until he had to. Then he got that screen and he stuck the 3.”
“I made sure on this play that I got a look,” Belleau said.
“We got a screen and they hedged on it completely. I don’t know if I got fouled or not but the (defender) was closer than he should have been. I got a good look and it went in.”
Traip took its only lead when Coleman Pelkey hit a 3-pointer two minutes into overtime to snap a 42-42 tie.
The Flyers, who rolled to a 65-49 win over the Rangers at Kittery last Tuesday night, led by as many as 13 points in the first half. They started the second quarter with a 10-0 run, hitting 4 of 6 shots, to move into a 27-14 lead.
“We’ll play well and then we’ll make two or three mistakes,” Traip Coach Jeremy Paul said. “What (my players) have learned to do as the year has gone on is to fight back and play well down the line somewhere.”
Traip gradually clawed its way back.
“Traip has always been a scrappy team,” Henry said. They’re very athletic. They play very, very hard.”
Joey Cavanagh made three consecutive 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half to help the Rangers close the gap to 29-25.
The Flyers couldn’t shake Traip in the third quarter. Angelo Succi, who led the Rangers with 15 points, hit a 3-pointer that beat the buzzer to close the gap to 38-35.
The score was 42-42 heading to overtime.
The Rangers led for most of the 5-minute overtime before Belleau pulled the game out with his clutch shot in the final moments.
The Flyers, who finish the regular season Thursday night at Sacopee Valley, are expected to be among the top seeds in the upcoming regional tournament in Augusta.
“When we have these close games, it makes me feel good about when we get into close games again,” Henry said. “My fondest wish is that we put together four quarters of consistent basketball.
“We’re streaky.”
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