OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Greely closed the game with eight straight points to earn a come-from-behind 50-47 win over Old Orchard Beach in a boys’ basketball game Monday afternoon.

Class B Greely (7-5) trailed 39-35 at the start of the fourth quarter and 47-42 with just a few minutes left before rallying by the Class C Seagulls (5-6). The last four points were all on free throws.

“Our strategy (down the stretch) was to attack and thankfully we made some shots,” Greely Coach Travis Seaver said. “We didn’t shoot particularly well prior to that, and credit Old Orchard for that.”

Added Old Orchard Beach Coach John Regan: “It was a tough game, I thought we competed. We played hard against a very good team and we put ourselves in an opportunity to win.”

Matt McDevitt got off to a strong start for Greely, with seven points, three rebounds and a blocked shot in the first quarter, but got into early foul trouble.

“I definitely think the foul trouble killed my rhythm,” said McDevitt.

McDevitt finished with 14 points, including some big free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

“He’s a very good player. We wanted to make him work for his points and I thought we did a pretty nice job,” Regan said. “You’re not going to shut a player like that down the entire game but we made him work for what he got.”

Point guard Erik Hogan had 15 points and five rebounds to lead the Seagulls.

Zach Hirst chipped in with 14 points.

Jordan Bagshaw made big contributions off the bench for Greely, burying three 3-pointers in the second half and finishing with 11 points.

Gabe Axelsen had a solid game for Greely, as well, finishing with 10 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals.

The matchup between a Class B and a Class C team can sometimes be difficult. This was a close game that will benefit both teams in the long run.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re Class C, A, or D. At the end of the day, what we benefited from was that it was a close game and we were able to pull it out,” Seaver said. “This was a big win for us.”

“It gets us tougher. We know that if we can compete against a team like that, then a night we’re playing a Class C team – hey, if we can play against Greely, we can play against (the Class C team),” said Regan.

McDevitt hopes Monday’s game is a learning experience for the Rangers.

“This year in general there is no team that you go in and know you’re going to kill them and there’s no team that’s going to come in and kill you,” McDevitt said. It’s anybody’s game any day so we need to come in prepared. (We need to) play like we’re playing the number one seed even if it’s the 15th seed.”

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