PORTLAND — Trailing by five points with five minutes left, top-ranked Cheverus dug deep Wednesday night, scoring 10 straight points to beat fifth-seeded Portland 45-41 in a Western Class A boys’ basketball semifinal at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Cheverus (20-0) will play second-seeded Bonny Eagle (17-3) for the regional title at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Civic Center.
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The Stags had a great start, very indifferent middle quarters and a clutch finish.
Portland (12-8) rallied from a two-point opening quarter to grab the lead in the third. The Bulldogs took a two-point lead into the fourth and then led 32-27 with five minutes remaining.
But two steals by Peter Gwilym, clutch baskets by Louie DiStasio and the inside play of 6-foot-9 Matt Cimino turned the game around.
“The kids showed an immense amount of courage and heart at the end,” said Cheverus Coach Bob Brown. “But why didn’t we go inside early in the game? That’s what our offense was designed for. That’s as badly as we could have played. If we play that way on Saturday, we won’t have a chance.”
Two years ago, the Stags took an unbeaten record into the semifinals and were upset by Thornton Academy. It was looking like it might happen again until their season-long leaders — DiStasio, Griffin Brady and Gwilym — took control.
“We strive to get points off our defense,” said DiStasio. “We got some easy baskets off our defense in the fourth quarter. We had a rough second quarter and put them on the line.”
The Bulldogs trailed 11-2 after one quarter but outscored Cheverus 11-5 in the second. Cheverus had an 18-12 edge in the fourth, with five Stags scoring.
Trailing 32-27, Cheverus started its comeback when DiStasio drove the lane for a reverse layup. Gwilym then stole the ball at midcourt and was fouled on the drive. He made both free throws.
Another Gwilym steal in the backcourt resulted in a DiStasio jumper that gave Cheverus a 33-32 lead. Pete Donato, who was outstanding for Portland in the second half, was called for an offensive foul. The Stags followed with two inside baskets by Cimino.
That gave the Stags a five-point lead, but it was far from safe. Donato scored while being fouled with 2:46 left and made the free throw, cutting it to 37-35.
Portland got within two points again with 32 seconds left on a basket by Nick Volger, but Connor O’Neil sank two from the line with 12 seconds left.
Portland Coach Joe Russo said he wasn’t concerned by the start because Cheverus only scored 11 points in the first quarter.
“We stuck with our game plan and chipped away,” said Russo. “We kept our composure. We played a good 30 minutes and a poor two minutes at the end. We handed them the game with the way we turned it over.”
It looked like Cheverus would blow out the Bulldogs for the third time this season after taking an 11-0 lead.
But Portland rallied and took its first lead on a 3-pointer by Justin Zukowski, making it 18-16 with 5:17 left before halftime.
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:
tchard@pressherald.com
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