Westbrook — Win or lose in Thursday’s South Regional Final, the Unified basketball season was already a success for the Morse High School team. Already gone further into the postseason than they ever had, the Shipbuilders were a win away from competing for the state title.

Second-seeded Westbrook used an 8-0 run to end the game for a 77-68 victory to advance to Saturday’s title game against Madison.

Eighth-seeded Morse ended its season at 8-4.

“For the first time they really got the magnitude of it and were a little disappointed,” Morse coach Becky Roak said after the game. “However, they left it all out there and we had to remind them of that. They’re just like any athlete that would play, they don’t want to lose. We’re so proud of them.”

Morse made it to the final with a prelim win over Edward Little,  an upset of top-seed and undefeated Gray-New Gloucester and Tuesday’s win over perennial power Lisbon. The ’Builders lost to Westbrook in the quarterfinals a year ago, and the Blue Blazes won again (59-54) earlier in the regular season against Morse, so the visitors were looking for a different outcome.

Neither team showed nerves to start the game. After Westbrook netted the first basket, Morse tallied six unanswered points behind Cameron Dunlop and Keegan Companion for a 6-2 lead.

Westbrook charged back, with baskets from Sabir Omar and a trey from Matt Rix, but Morse held its own after Dunlop found Anthony Pelletier underneath the hoop for a six-point lead, 16-10, with 12 minutes left in the half.

Once again, the home team rallied back, tying the game at 20 after a Rix layup with 7:16 on the clock, prompting a Morse timeout.

While Rix was scoring for Westbrook, Dunlop and Companion continued to hit the bottom of the net for Morse. Trailing 30-29 late in the half, partner Mae Winglass grabbed a loose ball and passed it up court to Dunlop for an easy layup, giving Morse the lead.

After a stop, Dunlop hit a pair of free throws for a three-point lead. Westbrook’s Rix answered with a 3-pointer to tie the contest with l4 seconds rem

aining. However, Companion was fouled as the halftime horn blew. The Morse center hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give the Shipbuilders the lead heading into the break.

There were 10 lead changes and six ties during the first 20 minutes of the contest. Dunlop finished the half with 14 points and four assists, including a solid 7-for10 from the free-throw line. Companion added 15 points and 13 first-half boards.

Omar led all scorers with 16 points, while Rix added 15 for the Blue Blazes.

Second half

Much more of the same took place in the second half, with several lead changes throughout. In the first 10 minutes of the frame, each team held the lead six times, with Westbrook taking the lead, 52-51 with just under 10 minutes to play.

Key baskets from Westbrook’s Keegan McLoy kept the Blue Blazes ahead, building their largest lead of the afternoon at 63-57 with six minutes remaining.

A Dunlop steal and subsequent basket cut the deficit to four points, and a Westbrook turnover and a basket from Dunlop seconds later made it a one-point game, 69-68, with 1:23 remaining on the clock.

Coming out of a timeout, Westbrook immediately scored on an Omar hoop. Morse was unable to convert its next time down the court, and Rix netted his fourth 3-pointer of the game for the Blue Blazes to give them a 74-68 advantage. Omar scored the final four points for the win. Omar finished with a game-high 37 points for the Blue Blazes, while Rix finished with 32. McLoy chipped in with six points in the victory.

For Morse, Dunlop scored a team-high 34 points in the loss. The freshman also had six assists. Companion added 29 points, while hauling in 17 rebounds in his last game as a senior.

“This was my last game, there is no more basketball, it’s sad,” a quiet Companion said.

While the loss was disappointing, the fact why everyone was there was not lost.

“We’re here for the experience. It’s not about the win or the loss. It’s great to have made it this far, really just so we can keep playing,” Winglass said. “The kids are great, we have such a team atmosphere, the team is supportive of each other.”

As were the fans, as Morse brought a large contingency to the Westbrook gym.

“We have such support from our fans,” Roak said, who is assisted by Charlie Bingham. “It just doesn’t come from the games, it’s in the building (at school) and in the community. They really rally behind us.”

And Roak and company will most definitely miss their seniors next year.

Senior players and partners include — Austin Baltazar, Emily Belanger, Companion, Michael Laser, Austin Magliozzi, Lukas Osterhout, Jared Patterson, Emma Warner and Winglass.

“We have quite a few seniors, and senior partners, they’ll be hard to replace,” Roak added.

As for the partners, the student athletes from the school that help make this happen, Roak and her staff recognize all that they do.

“They’ve been so pivotal, with this being the second year, especially for Mae and Emily who have come back for a second year,” Roak said. “They were groundbreaking for us last year and to recruit the kids they’ve recruited from last year to this. They are such quality kids, they really care deeply about their athletes.”

Winglass reflected, realizing this was it before she hits the lacrosse field later this month.

“I will miss this for sure, it’s been a great experience,” Winglass said. “I’m sure next year they’ll have a great year.”

 

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