Snyder’s career game leads Yarmouth over Oceanside

BOX SCORE

Yarmouth 63 Oceanside 43

O- 12 5 11 15- 43
Y- 12 18 19 14- 63

O- Ca. Galley 7-5-21, Ames 4-0-9, Bartlett 3-1-8, Chilles 1-0-3, Co. Galley 1-0-2

Y- Snyder 6-6-18, Waeldner 6-0-14, Psyhogeos 4-5-13, Walsh 4-0-11, O’Meara 1-1-3, Hamm 1-0-2, McCosh 1-0-2

3-pointers:
O (5) Ca. Galley 2, Ames, Bartlett, Chilles 1
Y (5) Walsh 3, Waeldner 2

Turnovers:
O- 15
Y- 11

FTs
O: 6-8
Y: 12-16

PORTLAND—All season, opposing teams have focused on shutting down Yarmouth senior standouts Peter Psyhogeos and Matt Waeldner.

Saturday evening at the Portland Exposition Building, a new senior star was born.

And that spells bad news for the rest of the Class B South field and great news for the Clippers’ title hopes.

Second-ranked Yarmouth took on No. 7 Oceanside in a boys’ quarterfinal and with the Mariners holding Psyhogeos in check, relatively speaking, it was senior Cole Snyder who emerged as a difference-maker, sparking the Clippers to their first quarterfinal round victory in four years.

After falling behind early, 5-2, Yarmouth went ahead, 12-9 before Oceanside sophomore Carter Galley’s 3-pointer beat the buzzer and tied the score after eight minutes.

Consecutive Waeldner hoops put the Clippers ahead to stay and sparked a 16-3 run to end the first half, which was capped by a three-point play from senior Quin O’Meara, to make it 30-17 at the break.

Snyder, who scored just three first half points, an average game for him this winter, then erupted in the second half, scoring seven points in a third period which ended 49-28, then adding eight more in the fourth, as Yarmouth pulled away to prevail, 63-43.

Snyder led the way with a team-high 18 points, Waeldner added 14, Psyhogeos had 13 and junior Stevie Walsh came off the bench and added 11 as the Clippers improved to 16-3, ended the Mariners’ season at 14-5 and in the process, advanced to set up a delicious semifinal round showdown versus third-seeded York (14-2) Tuesday at 6 p.m., at the Expo.

“It’s my first playoff game and I wanted to step it up,” said Snyder, a captain. “I wanted to go out there and play for my boys. It’s a big game and I’m happy we won.”

Getting acquainted

Yarmouth and Oceanside combined for 30 victories this winter entering play Friday, but the teams had never before met in a countable game.

The Mariners lost their opener, won four straight, lost two of three, then won nine in a row before closing with a loss to Mt. View. In Tuesday’s preliminary round, Oceanside held off No. 10 Leavitt, 51-47.

The Clippers have been an elite team since the start of the season, when they won their first nine games (see sidebar for links to previous stories). After a home loss to Lake Region in a game it was missing Psyhogeos, Yarmouth won three more before falling at Greely and Cape Elizabeth. The Clippers then closed with three more victories before racing to a big early lead en route to a 56-16 victory over No. 15 Lincoln Academy in Tuesday’s quarterfinal. Waeldner led the way in that one with seven 3-pointers and 23 total points, while Psyhogeos added 15 points.

Friday, Yarmouth started slowly, but eventually roared to life, displaying all of the elements which make it a title contender.

With Oceanside swarming Psyhogeos and senior center Bohdi Ames blocking his shot attempts when he did get to the rim, the Clippers needed Waeldner to spark their offense and he did so with a driving layup 46 seconds in.

The Mariners countered on two free throws from Galley and a 3-point shot from junior Alex Bartlett, but Waeldner tied it with a 3.

After Oceanside went back on top on a leaner from sophomore Cohen Galley, Snyder scored his first point, at the free throw line, but Carter Galley countered with a driving layup to make it 9-6.

Yarmouth then scored six quick points, in a 45-second span, as senior Jack McCosh made a short jumper, Psyhogeos blocked a shot at one end and fed sophomore Evan Hamm for a layup at the other, then Psyhogeos scored his first points, on a jumper from just inside the 3-point stripe.

But the Mariners closed strong, as Carter Galley got free for a 3 just before the horn and the game was deadlocked, 12-12, due in part to six Clippers’ turnovers.

Yarmouth then got it going in the second period to produce a healthy lead.

Psyhogeos opened the frame by scoring on a contested runner, but Cohen Galley fed Ames for a layup.

Then, with 5:26 left in the half, Waeldner got a fadeaway jumper to rattle home and the Clippers would never look back.

Waeldner added a layup, then he took a pass from Walsh and drained a 3 to make it 21-14.

Bartlett got a point back at the line, but Walsh got the ball in the corner and buried a 3 of his own.

After Ames set up Carter Galley for a layup, Snyder made a layup, Psyhogeos sank a free throw and with 24.6 seconds left, O’Meara made a layup while being fouled, then added the and-one free throw for a 30-17 halftime advantage.

In the first half, Waeldner led the way with 12 points, while Carter Galley paced the Mariners with nine points.

As it did to end the second quarter, Yarmouth closed the strong in the third period as well to end all doubt.

Ames started the second half by banking home a 3, but Psyhogeos countered with two free throws.

After Ames made a layup, Psyhogeos drove and banked home a shot.

Barteltt scored on a putback, but Waeldner drove for a layup.

After Carter Galley made a fall-away jumper with 3:21 on the clock, 13 of the next 15 points went to the Clippers.

The run started when Psyhogeos found Snyder underneath for a layup. Then, after a Psyhogeos steal, Walsh buried another 3.

Ames got two points back with a leaner, but Snyder converted a three-point play, Walsh drained another 3 from the corner, then Snyder’s layup capped a 13-2 run and sent Yarmouth to the fourth quarter with a decisive 49-28 lead.

“Cole Snyder played the game of his life,” said Clippers coach Jonas Allen. “We’ve worked with Cole a lot. When he’s confident, he’s a great player at this level. He didn’t play above his skill level. He just played aggressively. When he plays like that, he changes our team fundamentally.”

Senior Austin Chilles tried to spark an Oceanside comeback with a 3-pointer five seconds into the final stanza, but Walsh set up Snyder for a layup, Psyhogeos stole the ball and raced in for a dunk, then Psyhogeos set up Snyder for another layup before two more Snyder layups made it 57-31 with 5:19 to play.

“My teammates know how to find me,” Snyder said. “Matt and Peter are great at dishing the ball. I was just in the right spot at the right time. When they’re face-guarding Matt and Pete the whole game, we need other guys to step up. I was just glad I could help the team tonight.”

Carter Galley made a 3 for the Mariners and Bartlett scored on a runner, but Snyder made two free throws for his 17th and 18th points, Psyhogeos sank two foul shots and Walsh made a layup with 2:37 remaining for the Clippers’ final points.

Down the stretch, Oceanside got a layup from Carter Galley, a free throw from Galley, another layup from Galley and finally two Galley free throws, but Yarmouth was able to close out its 63-43 victory.

“It was fun to be out here, playing hard with the guys,” Waeldner said. “I thought we locked in on defense and we just stuck to the basics.”

“There was a very real feeling-out process, a feeling-out of the building and the opponent,” Allen said. “Our defense kept it close while we figured out our offense, then we got confident and things started rolling a little bit. Oceanside is a really good team. We had a ton of respect for them. I would have been happy with a one-point win, so to win like this surpasses our expectations. When you look at their youth, in a year or two, they’re going to be dynamite.

“I’m just proud of the kids. It’s all about their buy-in. Pete and Matt and Cole and the other seniors decided to give this particular vision a chance and all the credit is theirs.”

Snyder didn’t just produce a career-high 18 points, he also snared seven rebounds and played his usual strong defense.

“Cole’s a beast,” said Waeldner. “He’s fun to play with. He’s probably one of the most unselfish guys on the team, on the court and off.”

Waeldner hit some big shots at key times and added 14.

Nothing came easily for Psyhogeos, but he still managed to score 13 points, grab 11 rebounds, dish out eight assists and for good measure, block three shots and steal the ball three times.

“Pete’s a four-year varsity player and it’s the first time he’s been able to play at the Expo, so to watch his and this program’s evolution means everything,” Allen said. “It was nice Pete didn’t have to carry us. For him not to have to be Superman and for us to still win, makes the team really happy.”

Walsh had 11 points and three assists off the bench.

“Stevie is clutch,” Allen said. “We knew when we put him in the game that he’d give us firepower. He loves pressure, just like he does in soccer.”

O’Meara added three points and Hamm and McCosh had two apiece.

Yarmouth out-rebounded Oceanside, 38-23, made 12-of-16 free throws and only committed 11 turnovers.

The Mariners were paced by a game-high 21 points from Carter Galley. Ames added nine points, six rebounds and six blocks. Bartlett had eight points, Chilles three and Cohen Galley two.

Oceanside hit 6-of-8 free throws, but turned the ball over 15 times.

Well acquainted

The Clippers and Wildcats met once previously when Yarmouth opened with a thrilling overtime home win over York (55-54) Dec. 10. Psyhogeos erupted for 32 points in that one.

The teams have played three previous playoff games with the Wildcats taking two, but the Clippers won the most recent encounter, 53-42, in the 2003 Western B preliminary round.

York has won 14 straight games and downed No. 6 Cape Elizabeth, a team which beat Yarmouth earlier this month, 67-51, in its quarterfinal Friday, so the Clippers know they’ll have their work cut out Tuesday evening.

“York can definitely shoot the ball,” Waeldner said. “They have some really good players. We just have to lock it in.”

“I think we’ve improved a lot on our toughness, our chemistry,” Snyder said. “We’re a very different team from Opening Night. I think we’ll be ready.”

“York is a very good team,” Allen added. “They’re very talented and well-coached. We didn’t get their best shot earlier this season and to be honest, we were lucky to win it. They’ve ripped off a ridiculous season since then. We’ll have to play our best game to beat them. We can play with anyone if we play well. We’ll need our best game.”