AUGUSTA

It was the kind of start Hyde School-Bath coach Corey Begly had hoped for his Phoenix.

Facing the undefeated and top-seeded Forest Hills Tigers in the Western D Regional boys final on Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center, Hyde began with a 13-4 advantage.

But then fouls began coming, one after another. By the time the final horn sounded on Hyde’s 64-50 loss, four Phoenix players sat on the bench after fouling out.

Forest Hills (21-0) will face Fort Fairfield (18-4), a 55-41 upset winner over Eastern D top-seeded Washburn, this upcoming Saturday at 2:45 p.m. at the Cross Center in Bangor. Hyde’s season ends at 16-5.

The Tigers won this one both in the paint and at the foul line. Ryan Petrin scored 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, while Tanner Daigle picked up 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals. At the charity stripe, Forest Hills finished 28-of-46, while the Phoenix mustered just six attempts at the line, making five.

“Fouls are a part of the game,” said Begly, who lost starters Antoine Montgomery, Gregory Kidger and Andrew Palermo, along with reserve Shemar Jack to five fouls over a two-minute stretch of the fourth quarter. “We had a couple stops that we needed, but didn’t get the points on the other end.”

Losing Montgomery and Kidger especially hurt Hyde’s chances. Montgomery finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Kidger had 10 points and six boards.

“We were able to win in the paint and draw fouls,” said Daigle. “Us seniors, we have played together for a long time. We are big, strong and fast. We just wanted to work hard.”

The start

Hyde’s speed of attack had Forest Hills backed up in the opening half of the first quarter. Montgomery scored nine points during a 13-2 run for a 13-4 Phoenix lead with two minutes left in the opening quarter.

“They were just so much faster than us in the first and we came out kind of slow,” said Daigle.

A closing 6-0 run to end the opening frame brought the Tigers to 13-10, and a free throw by Petrin and a lay-up from Matt Turner (10 points) tied the game.

Montgomery put Hyde back into the lead with a 3- pointer moments later, and Palermo drove the lane for two points and an 18-13 Phoenix lead.

The Tigers put together another 6-0 spurt, taking a 19-18 lead on a pair at the line from Petrin, and Daigle gave Forest Hills a 21-20 halftime lead by putting back his own miss.

Forest Hills opened the second half with a 6-2 run, with four points coming at the free-throw line. Montgomery picked up his third foul on a charge, but scored four quick points to get the Phoenix back to 27-26. Kidger gave Hyde its final lead, 29-28, late in the third quarter, and Palermo’s short jumper at the third-quarter buzzer closed the frame with the Tigers leading, 34-33.

Petrin took over in the fourth. He scored 15 points, including three buckets as the Tigers grabbed a 45-39 lead. Brandon Ouellette, who drained eight 3-pointers in a semifinal win over Seacoast Christian, scored while being fouled for a three-point play and a 50-41 Forest Hills advantage.

Down 51-41, Hyde’s Frederik Lasson hit an open trey to get the Phoenix to within seven, and Montgomery scored the last of his points with 2:21 left to keep the Phoenix within shouting distance. Just 20 seconds later, Montgomery fouled out, the last of four Phoenix players to pick up five infractions.

“We tried to press them, but they were able to pass around us,” said Hyde guard Kiefer Cundy of Phippsburg. “We tried to keep our heads up. We talked before the game about when to run the ball down the court and when to slow it down. The start, we picked the right time to do those things. We have a diverse group of kids who never had played basketball, while for others it is their life. We worked hard to get here.”

“We prepared well. The guys were ready to go, but we did struggle offensively in the half-court,” said Begly. “We are extremely proud. Yes, this loss kind of hurts. But, this has been a great experience. We would have loved to have won, but it is about the experience and hard work to get here.”

Hyde finished 21-of-59 from the floor (35 percent). Palermo had six rebounds and four steals, while Jack pulled down seven boards.

Ouellette chipped in eight points for Forest Hills, which won the State Class D title in 2013 with a 55-48 win over Central Aroostook. Turner pulled down six rebounds and blocked three Hyde shots. The Tigers were 18-of-54 (33 percent) from the field and held a slim 34-32 edge on the boards.

No. 1 Forest Hills 64,
No. 3 Hyde 50

Western Class D
Boys Regional Final
Saturday, at the
Augusta Civic Center
Hyde — 13 7 13 17 — 50
Forest Hills — 10 11 13 30 — 64
Hyde — Gregory Kidger 4-2-10,
Frederik Lasson 1-0-3, Kiefer Cundy
1-1-3, Antoine Montgomery 11-0-24,
Noah Horning 0-0-0, Andrew Palermo 3-2-8, Shemar Jack 0-0-0, Yuehan Wang 0-0-0, Nolan Lowder 1-0-
2, Richard Buono 0-0-0, Yi Lin 0-0-0,
Evans Kagame 0-0-0. Totals — 21-5-
50.
Forest Hills — Ryan Petrin 9-12-30,
Tanner Daigle 5-5-15, Dawson Daigle
0-1-1, Brandon Ouellette 1-6-8, Matt
Turner 3-4-10, Aaron Moffitt 0-0-0,
Forrest Griffin 0-0-0, Quintin West 0-
0-0, Javier Padilla 0-0-0, Caleb
Lacasse 0-0-0, Riley Nadeau 0-0-0.
Totals — 18-28-64.
3-point field goals — (H) Montgomery 2, Lasson.
Records — Forest Hills 21-0, Hyde
16-5.
Notes — Forest Hills takes on Fort
Fairfield this upcoming Saturday in
the State Class D title game at the
Cross Center in Bangor at 2:45 p.m.
Hyde’s season is completed.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.