AUGUSTA — The Valley High boys’ basketball team had a plan to stop Greenville in a Western Class D quarterfinal Saturday morning.
We really wanted to take (Richard) DerBoghosian and (Alex) Jardine out of the game,” Valley Coach Wade Morrill said. “They’ve been hurting us all season.”
The Cavaliers did just that, holding the Greenville guards to a combined 13 points. They averaged more than 35 points as a tandem in two victories over Valley in the regular season.
What the Cavaliers couldn’t do, however, was stop center Tony DiAngelo and forward Howie Stone.
DiAngelo poured in 34 points and Stone added 21 off the bench to lift No. 2 Greenville past No. 7 Valley 68-67 in an entertaining game at the Augusta Civic Center.
Josh West scored 26 points and Carrington Miller added 15 to lead the Cavaliers.
“Valley is a dangerous team,” Greenville Coach Paul Breton said. “In Western D, it’s all about who can put three games together. It’s anybody’s guess who it will be.”
The Lakers (13-6) got the first of three victories it will take to win a regional title, but it didn’t come easy.
Valley (8-10) hung around all game and had a chance for a tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 68-65 with 11 seconds left, Morrill called a timeout to set up a final play.
“We tried to get the ball in the corner, and if not, than reverse the ball to West,” he said. “We didn’t get the shot we wanted and Josh made a great play to the basket.”
West drove to the basket and scored on a layup. There was contact on the play, but no foul was called. The Cavaliers then stole the inbounds pass, but time ran out before they could get a shot off.
“We were trying to get the ball in the corner for a 3-pointer,” West said. “It wasn’t there. It was good defense. We couldn’t get the shot so I drove to the basket and tried to draw a foul.”
Miller and fellow Valley starter Dylan Belanger fouled out in the fourth quarter.
“It was tough,” said Miller. “The foul trouble hurt us.”
The Lakers held a decisive advantage at the free-throw line. They made 20 of their 33 attempts. The Cavaliers attempted just nine free throws and made seven.
“We knew DiAngelo was good, but it’s tough to overcome when you are outshot by 20 at the free-throw line,” Morrill said.
The Lakers trailed the entire first quarter before DiAngelo scored nine points in a 16-8 run that turned a 12-5 deficit into a 21-20 lead.
The Cavaliers limited DiAngelo in the second quarter, but they couldn’t contain Stone, who scored 13 in the quarter. He helped Greenville push its lead to 34-26, but the Cavaliers wouldn’t go away. They finished the second quarter on a 9-4 run and trailed 38-35.
Valley then used a 14-4 run to take a 57-49 lead just two minutes into the fourth. However, DiAngelo scored 10 points down the stretch to pull Greenville back.
“Tony has been big for us all year,” Breton said. “He never quits.”
Bill Stewart – 623-3811, ext. 515
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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