No need for extra minutes this time.
No. 4 Medomak Valley got contributions up and down its lineup, while No. 5 Yarmouth missed shot after shot at or near the rim.
The result? The Panthers (16-3) posted an impressive 61-33 win in a Class B South boys’ basketball quarterfinal Friday night at the Portland Expo to likely set up a third chance to stop the high-speed train that is unbeaten Oceanside, the No. 1 seed and defending regional champion.
“We’d all love to beat Oceanside,” said Medomak senior leader Kory Donlin, looking ahead to the semifinals Tuesday night at the Expo.
In the regular season, Medomak Valley lost to Oceanside twice, 71-54 and 57-47. In their only regular-season matchup with Yarmouth (11-8), the Panthers rallied from a nine-point deficit and eventually won in double overtime.
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Donlin scored 16 points, distributed multiple assists and banged inside with the larger Clippers. But the real key for Medomak was how well its complementary players contributed to the offense. It started early when Mason Nguyen and Kristian Schumann hit 3-pointers off Donlin assists for a 6-0 lead.
“We all had jitters just because of the Expo, all those people, so I think starting with those (early) points calmed us down a bit, and then we knew, ‘We have our game. We know what we can do.’ And we just got into it from there,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen, handling the point, scored 11 points and ended the first-half with a buzzer-beating swerve through traffic for a layup and a 27-14 lead.
Schumann finished with 15 points, including eight in the third quarter when Medomak forced six turnovers. Donlin heated up with eight points of his own in the third, and the Panthers blew the game open with a 17-0 run.
“We wanted to get the ball inside and kick the ball out to our shooters, and we were able to knock them down tonight and everyone was able to chip in,” Schumann said.
Medomak opened the fourth quarter with nine straight points to push the lead to 58-22. Yarmouth finally scored in the fourth quarter with 1:55 to play.
Medomak big man Gabe Lash showed a versatile game, leading the break at times and working hard to defend while scoring six points. Off the bench, Owen Dostie scored four first-half points and guard Vishal Mellor kept the ball moving briskly when he relieved Nguyen.
“I’m very pleased. It was a total team effort,” Medomak Coach Nick DePatsy said. “They gang-rebounded. That’s a good team we beat.”
Yarmouth, which started four seniors, won 10 of its last 12 in the regular season after a 1-5 start. Jack Janczuk (11 points) and Evan Hamm (10) led the Clippers in scoring, but the whole team struggled to make baskets in the paint.
“You don’t plan for a game with as many misses as we had,” said Yarmouth Coach Ilunga Mutombo. “We had great looks, opportunities right there. We just couldn’t finish, get the job done. For my seniors, I feel the most for them because they really love this game. They really committed themselves to be the best they could be.”
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