BANGOR — Jacob Godfrey scored 21 points as Hermon capped a perfect season with a 55-34 victory over Wells in the Class B boys’ basketball state championship game Friday night at Cross Insurance Center.

The title is the first for Hermon (22-0), whose boys last appeared in the state final in 2000. Hermon won the 1989 Class B girls’ title.

Wells (13-6) came up short in the championship game for the second year in a row, and with a completely different starting lineup. The Warriors lost to Mt. Desert Island in the 2017 finals, 59-39.

Wells hung with Hermon for the first three minutes, taking leads after free throws by Tyler Bridge and two baskets by Cam Cousins.

Hermon went ahead for good on a 3-point basket by Garrett Trask that sparked a 15-4 run to close out the first quarter.

Godfrey, a 6-foot-6 center, was difficult to stop near the basket. His jump hook from the left block resulted in four field goals in the first half. He twice completed three-point plays with successful free throws on the way to a 16-point performance in the first half.

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“I’ve been working on that,” Godfrey said of his jump hook. “We practice it every day. It’s all about repetition and discipline and I was able to make them tonight.”

Hermon entered intermission with a lead of 32-17. Although Wells held the Hawks to three field goals in the third quarter, the Warriors managed only 10 points themselves and could not shrink the deficit to single digits.

“They play really hard and rebound the ball well,” said Hermon point guard Keenan Marseille. “We knew we had to play our game, the way we’ve been doing for 22 games: Run the ball, keep working on the offensive end and play defense relentlessly.”

Matt Sherburne led Wells with 13 points. Cousins and Bridge each added 10. The trio accounted for every Wells point until a free throw in the final minute by sophomore Matt Ouellette.

“With the four kids who rotated in besides my big three, I can’t ask for anything more than what we did,” Wells Coach Troy Brown said. “Other than to win the Gold Ball, obviously.”

Cody Hawkes had 11 points for Hermon and Isaac Varney 10. Trask finished with seven and Marseille five.

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“We took away their fast break all night, for the most part,” Brown said. “It’s hard. I thought my kids played with a lot of heart and determination.”

Trailing 42-31 early in the fourth quarter, Wells started gambling more on defense and Hermon took advantage with fast-break baskets. Hawkes had two layups in the middle of a 10-0 run that clinched the game.

“Those two kids inside for them are so strong physically,” Hermon Coach Mark Reed said of Bridge and Cousins. “We knew they were going to try to establish that game. We felt like, you know what, we’ve got two kids inside, too, so let’s go at it and see what happens.”

A third foul late in the second quarter hampered Cousins, and Hermon simply had too much balance on offense.

“The whole plan was not to give them big shots,” Brown said, “but you’re trying to plug holes, and it’s tough. We just couldn’t get it below single digits. We cut the lead to 11. We had a couple opportunities and they just fell off the front of the rim.”

Returning to the state championship game after losing five starters was an impressive accomplishment, Brown said. This team was the first from Wells to earn a No. 1 regional seed, and the Warriors lived up to it.

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“Back to back to get here, that takes a lot of hard work,” Brown said. “I’m hoping the foundation is set for the kids that were on the bench. These (veteras) have blazed a path. So we’ve got to keep working to make this ride again.”

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or:

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH


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