AUGUSTA — Medomak Valley’s run through the Class A North boys’ basketball tournament ended Friday night at the Augusta Civic Center when top-ranked Hampden Academy claimed a 43-21 victory to capture the regional title.

The sixth-seeded Panthers, who reached the final by defeating third-seeded Skowhegan and second-ranked Nokomis, couldn’t get their offense going.

Gabe Allaire, a sophomore standout, finished with one point and that didn’t come until three minutes remained. The starters combined for only 12 points.

“That’s a credit to their team,” said Medomak Coach Nick DePatsy. “They’re long, lengthy with a lot of experience. They did a great job getting in passing lanes, and when we did get a good shot it was one and done.

“A lot of the shots we were missing (tonight) we were knocking down during the tournament.”

Hampden, which has captured three Class A state titles and six regional championships since 2005, will face the Class A South winner at 6 p.m. March 1 at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

Advertisement

Medomak (13-8) took a quick 3-0 lead on Nathan Emerson’s 3-pointer 15 seconds into the game. Tommy Raye answered 22 seconds later with a long ball of his own to kick-start a 14-0 run to end to the quarter for a 14-3 advantage after one.

Medomak was very patient in the first quarter, often holding the ball 20 and even 30 seconds, at times looking nervous with no one wanting to shoot. The Panthers were also having trouble getting the ball low.

Josh Goldrup sparked a stronger second quarter for Medomak when he hit two free throws 14 seconds in after being fouled on a drive. That broke a 8:49 scoreless streak.

Medomak continued to get inside as a coast-to-coast layup by Ryan Creamer – after a steal – and an offensive putback from five feet by Ethan Reed (team-high five points) got the Panthers within 14-9 midway through the quarter. It was the closest they had been since 7-3 less than halfway through the first quarter. And it was the closest Medomak would get the rest of the way.

The Panthers appeared to take the momentum from the second quarter into the third when they scored first on Brent Stewart’s 5-foot pull-up jumper. But like the first quarter, the Broncos answered with a run to pad their lead, this time six straight for a 30-14 bulge.

A spinning layup by Chris Bowman broke the 4:49 scoring drought, but a 3-pointer by Hampden’s Cory Winch (game-high 14 points) closed out the third quarter with the Broncos leading 33-16.

Hampden (20-1) is on a 15-game winning streak following its lone loss of the season to Class AA North’s Bangor 68-63 on Dec. 27. It claimed a 45-31 triumph over Medomak during the streak.

“I thought our defense was good – 43 points against them, I’ll take that,” DePatsy added.

“We weren’t expected to be here. We peaked at the right time but tonight was a different animal against a veteran team.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.