Portland's Emmanuel Yugu looks for an opening during a Class AA North basketball game Friday night at Cheverus. Yugu's free throws in the final minute helped the Bulldogs secure a 47-43 win.

Portland’s Emmanuel Yugu looks for an opening during a Class AA North basketball game Friday night at Cheverus. Yugu’s free throws in the final minute helped the Bulldogs secure a 47-43 win.

The defending Class AA boys’ basketball state champions showed Friday night why they’re a threat to win another title this season.

After falling behind by three points through three quarters, Portland held Cheverus to four points in the final eight minutes to record a 47-43 victory.

Trey Ballew of Portland runs into tight defense as he tries to make a move toward the basket. Portland, the defending Class AA state champion, survived a Cheverus upset bid and improved to 11-1.

Trey Ballew of Portland runs into tight defense as he tries to make a move toward the basket. Portland, the defending Class AA state champion, survived a Cheverus upset bid and improved to 11-1.

Portland (11-1) deflected balls, got in passing lanes and took offensive fouls to stymie the Stags (8-3).

Emmanuel Yugu, who scored all nine of his points from the free-throw line, connected on three foul shots in the final 37 seconds to ice the victory.

“We struggled from the line a bit to start, but at the end when it counted the guys stepped up and made them,” said Portland Coach Joe Russo.

“It was nice to see Manny hit them because he often is the guy with the ball at the end of games for us.”

Advertisement

Yugu said his work in practice helped him when the game was on the line.

“At the beginning of the season, our free-throw shooting was rough,” he said. “But we (work on it) a lot at practice. It’s all routine and muscle memory. And they went in for me.”

Cheverus tied its largest lead of the game with 6:40 to go when Jack Casale (20 points) converted a layup after his first shot was blocked, putting the Stags ahead 41-38.

Cheverus' Jack Casale goes up for a shot with Portland' Trey Ballew defending.

Cheverus’ Jack Casale goes up for a shot with Portland’ Trey Ballew defending.

Portland then outscored the home team 9-2 down the stretch, taking the lead for good at 44-43 with 2:25 remaining when Terion Moss (eight points, six assists) converted a twisting drive.

On the next three Cheverus possessions, Charles Lyall and Yugu recorded steals and Lyall drew an offensive foul.

Yugu was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and made one free throw for a 45-43 lead with 37 second left.

Advertisement

After a Casale miss, Yugu was fouled again and hit two free throws for a four-point lead with 9.6 second remaining.

Despite the outcome, Cheverus Coach Ryan Soucie was pleased with his team’s effort against the defending state champions.

“It was a tough game; we knew it was going to be a battle,” Soucie said. “Defensively, we only gave up 47 points to a team averaging 60-something points.

“I’m not a huge moral victory guy. I want to win every time we step on the court. But two weeks ago we lost by 20 points to Deering, and now we only lost by four points to the defending champs.”

Matthews joined Casale in double figures for the Stags, finishing with 16 points and six rebounds.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.