PORTLAND — After winning state titles in boys’ lacrosse and boys’ soccer, Waynflete’s boys’ basketball team is ready to make its run at a title.

Friday evening, the Flyers opened the season with a statement victory, leading defending Class B South champion Wells from start to finish in a 64-52 win at home.

Waynflete only held a 32-28 advantage at halftime, but an 11-2 run to start the third quarter gave the Flyers some breathing room, and reserve Finn Scott’s 10 fourth-quarter points put it away.

“It’s a big win,” Scott said. “This is a great way to start our season.”

Waynflete came out running and gunning in the opening quarter, taking a nine-point lead before the Warriors made it 16-9 after eight minutes.

In the second quarter, a Diraige Dahia 3-pointer and a three-point play from Alex Saade gave the Flyers a 32-19 advantage, but in a 50-second span just before the break, Wells got 3s from Matt Ouellette, Dylan Whitney and Covy Dufort to make it a four-point contest at halftime.

Undaunted, Waynflete regained control with its third-quarter surge. A 3 from Dahia and layups by Saade and Solomon Levy helped make it 43-30.

“I’ve been working on knocking down my shots,” Dahia said.

The Warriors pulled back within nine heading into the fourth, and 52 seconds in, Matt Sherburne scored on a putback to make it 46-39, but Scott drove for a layup-and-one, added the free throw, then made a layup after a steal. Another Scott layup pushed the lead to 12, and with 2:46 to go, Scott knocked down a 3 to end all doubt.

“We moved the ball and the whole team got moving and it created opportunities for me,” Scott said. “I try to bring energy off the bench.”

The Flyers, who lost at Wells in last year’s opener, featured balanced scoring, as Saade and Scott each had 12 points, Dahia added 11 and Levy contributed 10.

“We have a lot of versatile players and we’ll grind teams down with our depth,” said Waynflete Coach Rich Henry. “The kids are a year older and had a great lacrosse season and a great soccer season, so there’s a lot of potential, but we can’t be happy with potential.”

Wells was paced by 14 points from Sherburne and 10 from Tyler Bridge.

“(Waynflete’s) a very good team,” said Warriors Coach Troy Brown. “They’re quick to the ball and very athletic. I’m proud of my guys for not caving.

“I’m very positive about this team. It’s probably the deepest team I’ve had and we have some kids who can play. I’m very excited about that.”

Copy the Story Link