Logan Bagshaw said it best: “It’s always good to go home with a win.”

Especially this time of year.

Bagshaw scored 20 points Wednesday night as top-ranked Greely High survived a frantic finish to defeat fourth-ranked Falmouth 49-47 in a Class A South boys’ basketball semifinal at Cross Insurance Arena. In winning their 42nd consecutive game, the Rangers built a 15-point lead in the second quarter, then had to hang on as Falmouth roared back.

The Yachtsmen had a chance to win at the end but freshman Nicco Pitre, who fueled the comeback with 17 points, was called for an offensive foul with 5.4 seconds remaining.

“Everybody was just where they were supposed to be,” said Greely center Jack Kane. “We just all crashed in, someone stepped in front of him and did what we needed to do.”

The Rangers (20-0) will play Westbrook, which had its own dramatic win Wednesday night, in the regional final at 8 p.m. Saturday at Cross Insurance Arena. Falmouth finished 10-10.

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“Pleased with the effort, but not the result,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. “We had too many bad possessions. You can’t do that against a good team and they are a very good team.”

Greely started slowly, trailing 5-2, then scored the final 15 points of the first quarter to take control with Bagshaw and Shane DeWolfe scoring 13. The lead hit 15 a couple of times in the second and the Rangers led 27-15 at the half.

But Falmouth started hitting the shots it missed in the first half and crept back. It was 40-33 entering the fourth when Pitre heated up. He had three baskets and a perfect pass to Nik Hester for a layup to bring the Yachtsmen within 46-41.

After Greely’s Zach Brown scored on a reverse layup with 2:31 left – Brown scored all six of his points in the fourth – Jack Bryant scored on a three-point play to bring Falmouth within 48-44.

After a Greely turnover, Pitre hit a long 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 48-47 with 1:15 remaining.

Greely slowed it down and Falmouth had to foul. While the Rangers missed five foul shots down the stretch, Kane (who hit one foul shot with 20.1 seconds left) twice rebounded missed foul shots to maintain possession for the Rangers.

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When Greely finally gained possession, Pitre raced downcourt and drove into the lane, where he was met by Greely’s Luke Miller and Michael Coppersmith. Kane blocked the shot, but it didn’t matter because Pitre was called for the charge.

“Senior leadership and having guys on the floor with experience and the guts to step into that situation,” said Rangers Coach Travis Seaver.

Halligan said experience was definitely a factor.

“We were playing a little scared (early in the game),” he said. “And that comes from experience. We were playing passive.”

Seaver wasn’t surprised it came down to the end.

“It’s fun this time of year, you just never know how the game’s are going to go,” he said. “We had a pretty good lead at halftime and Falmouth comes out and shoots lights out and plays very well.

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“Proud of our kids. They hung on. Good group of kids. They did what they needed to do down the stretch.”

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH


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