YARMOUTH—On a night where the seniors of the Yarmouth boys’ basketball team got their moment in the limelight, a freshman also played a critical role and that kind of teamwork helped spell an impressive victory for the Clippers against rival Greely at Stroud Gymnasium.
Yarmouth, which has turned its fortunes around in recent weeks, threatened to run away and hide in the first couple of minutes, as pregame Senior Night ceremonies provided a spark and an early burst produced a 10-2 lead, but fouls began adding up and the Rangers rallied, pulling within three points, 21-18, after one quarter, thanks to eight points from junior Kade Ippolito and seven from classmate Owen Partridge.
A layup from senior Logan Vergara put Greely ahead early in the second period, but that would be the Rangers’ only lead and consecutive hoops from senior Jack Janczuk put the Clippers in front for good.
Yarmouth would close the first half on a 12-3 run, capped by the third 3-point shot of the quarter from freshman Evan Oranellas, producing a 42-31 advantage.
Greely hoped to answer in the third period, but never got closer than 10 points and thanks to three 3s from senior point guard Matt Gautreau, the Clippers extended their lead to 62-44 heading for the fourth quarter.
There, Oranellas sank one more 3 and Yarmouth was never seriously tested as it went on to prevail, 73-59.
Gautreau and Oranellas each scored 15 points as the Clippers improved to 8-7, made it seven wins in nine games and in the process, dropped the Rangers to 7-7.
“We just stayed composed and trusted the offense,” said Gautreau. “We realized if we stayed with the game plan, we’d come out with the ‘W.'”
Teamwork
Neither traditional power has been as dominant this winter as in season’s past, but both have shown glimpses of becoming something special.
Greely has been streaky. After losing three out of four (50-40 at Westbrook, 76-42 at home to Gorham and 68-52 at Gray-New Gloucester, with a 55-47 home win over Freeport mixed in), the Rangers defeated Fryeburg Academy (57-40) and York (48-44), then lost three straight: at Falmouth (72-47), at Kennebunk (64-43) and at home to Mt. Ararat (47-44), before winning four in a row: 76-36 over visiting Massabesic, 60-51 at Cape Elizabeth, 54-51 over visiting Brunswick and 43-23 at Marshwood.
Yarmouth, meanwhile, lost five of its first six and has been digging out of that hole ever since. The Clippers started with a 50-37 home loss to York, then knocked off host Cape Elizabeth (65-54) before losing at Oceanside (78-67). After letting a lead slip away in a 60-57 overtime loss to visiting Freeport, Yarmouth nearly knocked off two-time reigning Class A South champion Falmouth at the Holiday Classic in Portland before falling in overtime again, 64-61, then went double-overtime before losing at home to Medomak Valley, 63-58. Once the calendar flipped to 2024, the Clippers started to hit their stride with wins over visiting Lake Region (70-37) and host Wells (52-45). After an 81-53 loss at Gray-New Gloucester, Yarmouth beat host Spruce Mountain (52-46), visiting Cape Elizabeth (69-60), host Fryeburg Academy (54-47) and host Poland (100-47) before losing a close one at home to Gray-New Gloucester Thursday, 63-59.
Last winter, the teams split, with Greely winning at home, 58-48, and Yarmouth prevailing on its home court, 59-36.
Saturday, Gautreau, Janczuk and classmates Andi Cobaj, Justin Dawes, Evan Hamm and Colter Olson, along with manager Duncan Leahy, were honored with their families in a pregame ceremony.
Yarmouth seniors Matt Gautreau, left, Jack Janczuk, Evan Hamm, Andi Cobaj, Justin Dawes, Colter Olson and Duncan Leahy are honored prior to the tip. Photo courtesy Zoe Laferriere.
The Clippers then roared out of the gate and went on to a decisive victory.
Just 25 seconds in, Dawes scored on a putback.
Nineteen seconds later, after a steal, Hamm made a layup.
Greely junior Kade Ippolito goes up for an early dunk. Hoffer photo.
Greely answered on a dunk from Ippolito, but Gautreau set up Olson for a layup, Olson found Hamm for a transition basket, then with 5:40 on the clock, Gautreau’s long jumper made it 10-2 Yarmouth.
Thirteen seconds later, the tide began to turn, as Janczuk picked up his second foul, which was followed by senior Jackson Leding knocking down a 3-pointer for the Rangers.
Ippolito then made a free throw and with 3:36 remaining in the quarter, Ippolito scored on a putback while being fouled and added the and-one free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play to cut the deficit to just one.
After Olson found Cobaj for a basket in close, Ippolito set up Partridge for a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the score, 12-12.
The Clippers went back in front on a bank shot from Dawes and an Olson jumper.
After Partridge banked home a shot, Olson again set up Cobaj for a short hook shot, but Ippolito made a layup to make it 18-16.
After Dawes converted a three-point play, two Partridge free throws pulled Greely within three, 21-18, after a frenetic first period.
The back-and-forth action continued in the second quarter as well.
After Vergara drove for a layup, he took a pass from junior Ethan Michaud and made a layup on the fastbreak 54 seconds into the frame to give the Rangers their first, and what proved to be their only lead, 22-21.
Janczuk then responded and Yarmouth the lead for good with 6:34 left before halftime, converting a leaner, then Janczuk scored on a putback.
After Ippolito banked home a shot, Gautreau drove for a layup and after Michaud sank a foul shot, Oranellas, just after entering the game, buried a 3 to make it 30-25.
Partridge got the points back with a three-point play, but Gautreau set up Hamm for a layup, then Olson found Oranellas for another 3-ball.
After Hamm got a contested leaner to roll in, Gautreau set up Olson for a layup and an 11-point lead, forcing Greely coach Travis Seaver to call timeout.
It helped initially, as Leding buried a 3, but with 47 seconds to go, Oranellas found his spot in the corner again, got a clean look and sank another 3 to give the Clippers a 42-31 halftime advantage.
“I was hitting shots in the JV game before, so I was just feeling it,” said Oranellas. “I feel like I had the ability to play varsity, but you never really know. I just try to help the boys win. I love the guys. They’re great teammates. I’m having fun.”
Ippolito and Partridge each had 10 first half points for the Rangers, but nine points from Oranellas and eight from Hamm, along with several other key contributions, allowed Yarmouth a double digit cushion when the second half commenced.
Yarmouth senior Matt Gautreau drives on Greely junior Matthew Hutnak. Hoffer photo.
The Clippers didn’t relent when the third quarter began and would extend their lead.
Nine seconds in, Gautreau began to heat up, draining a 3.
After Leding hit a jumper and Michaud set up Ippolito for another dunk to cut the deficit to 10, Janczuk made a layup.
Ippolito again made it a 10-point margin with a putback, but Janzcuk set up Gautreau for another 3 and a 50-37 lead.
“We came out of halftime with a game plan,” said Gautreau. “Jack did a nice job finding me. When I get a good pass, it makes me feel a lot better when I shoot it.”
“I get emotional talking about the work Matt is putting in,” said Yarmouth coach Ilunga Mutombo. “Every loss, he’s stayed after with me for 30 minutes to shoot. Tonight, he shot lights out on Senior Night. I’m proud of him.”
After Michaud made a free throw, then Vergara converted a layup, Dawes kept play alive with an offensive rebound, then kicked the ball out to Oranellas, who buried his fourth 3 of the game.
Hamm then banked home a shot with his left hand, off a nice feed from junior Bobby Wolff, and after Michaud made a free throw, junior Torrey Rogers found Dawes for a reverse layup and a 57-41 advantage.
Ippolito countered with a three-point play, but Gautreau hit his third 3 of the frame, then Olson set up Hamm for a layup to give Yarmouth a commanding 62-44 lead heading to the fourth period.
There, Ippolito made a layup, off a pass from Vergara, but Gautreau countered with a jumper.
After Partridge scored on a putback, Oranellas got a pass from Hamm and sank his final 3 of the game.
“(Evan) just has a lot in his bag,” said Mutombo. “He trusts himself and loves to shoot. We like to highlight him as much as we can. We’ll let him shoot again and again because that’s how much we trust him.”
Vergara found Partridge for a layup, then the tandem connected again for a layup, but Hamm ended the mini-run with a jumper to stretch the lead to 69-52.
After Vergara made a layup, Leding hit a jumper, but twice in a 19-second span, Janczuk set up Dawes for layups and the Clippers’ final points.
With 1:35 to play, Ippolito capped his prodigious night with another three-point play, but it was far too little, too late and Yarmouth closed out its 73-59 victory.
“Our start (to the season) was something I’ve never experienced at Yarmouth,” Gautreau said. “Shout out to the coaching staff. They kept our mindsets positive. We took it day by day and worried about the next practice, the next opponent and got better. We sat down and talked and realized how talented we were. We just had to put the work in.”
“I love this team,” Mutombo said. “The boys have worked so hard. We’ve talked about trusting each other and playing as a team and we’re doing that.”
The Clippers got 15-point efforts from both Gautreau (who also had seven assists and four steals) and Oranellas.
“(Oranellas) was not expected,” Seaver said. “Gautreau seems to kill us the past couple years and saves his biggest games for us. Kudos to him.”
Hamm added 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots and Dawes finished in double figures as well with 13 points, to go with seven boards. Janczuk (six rebounds, three steals, two blocks) and Olson (six assists, three rebounds) both tallied six points and Cobaj had four.
Yarmouth made eight 3-pointers to Greely’s three, enjoyed a 29-22 advantage on the glass, turned the ball over 13 times and made 1-of-2 free throws.
Following the game, Mutombo also singled out assistant coach Dylan Rottkov for his contribution to the victory.
“(Dylan’s) eager and has a great future as a head coach,” Mutombo said. “We work together on game plans and they’re amazing.”
Rottkov was thrilled with the effort as well.
“We’ve played a lot of really good teams and iron sharpens iron,” Rottkov said. “Tonight, the seniors prevailed. We hope to ride that energy going into playoffs.”
For Greely, Ippolito had a game-high 22 points, as well as four rebounds. Partridge (16 points, six rebounds) and Leding (10 points) also wound up in double figures. Vergara added eight points, five assists and two steals and Michaud had three points (to go with seven assists).
The Rangers turned the ball over 15 times and hit 10-of-20 foul shots.
“I thought the first quarter was pretty good,” Seaver said. “We shot well and our defensive intensity was good, but in the second quarter, the pressure bothered us. As of two weeks ago, we changed the way we were playing and our mentality. It didn’t go our way tonight, but the things we’re trying to do we’re doing better than we did two weeks ago. Yarmouth’s a tough team. They have size, they can hit shots on the perimeter and can pressure you on defense.”
Eye on February
Greely, now ranked sixth in the Class A South Heal Points standings, has home games next week versus Gray-New Gloucester and Noble, then closes with games at Biddeford and Wells.
“The goal is to be playing our best basketball in a few weeks,” Seaver said. “We have a lot of upside still. We just have to figure it out.”
Yarmouth, which is ranked sixth in Class B South, has its home finale Tuesday against Wells, then closes with games at York and Lake Region.
“As long as we keep doing what we’ve been doing, we have the talent to go a long way,” Gautreau said.
“We have to maintain our composure in every situation, trust each other and emphasize our leadership skills,” Mutombo said.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023
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