James Johnson said he always hopes his Portland High teammates make their shots. But he also has been taught to get rebounding position.
Johnson put back an in-tight miss from Cordell Jones with 2.5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime Thursday in a Class AA North semifinal against Cheverus. No. 3 Portland went on to pull out a 49-48 win against the second-seeded Stags.
“We practice getting in position, setting yourself up where you can get the rebound. Luckily the ball came to me and after all the work we put in in practice, it all worked out. The ball came to me and I was able to lay it in,” Johnson said.
That Portland could tie with a two-point basket was the result of Cheverus missing 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute of regulation.
Those were crucial misses in a game where every shot was contested with enthusiasm and physicality.
“You have to earn every basket. Every victory. That’s it. It’s not easy,” said Portland Coach Joe Russo.
The winning margin came with 27 seconds to play in overtime when Jones made one free throw. Cheverus standout Leo McNabb (game-high 14 points) had two attempts at 3-pointers. The first missed badly and went out of bounds, but Portland was called for a turnover when Johnson moved from his spot on the inbounds play.
That gave second-seeded Cheverus 0.8 seconds for one final shot. McNabb’s effort hit the back of the rim and remained out.
Portland (16-4), the state runner-up to South Portland last season, will play in its fourth regional final in the eight seasons of Class AA. The Bulldogs will face No. 1 Windham (17-2), which beat Lewiston, 57-44.
Portland has not lost a Class AA regional final. Saturday’s game is at 3:45 p.m. at Cross Insurance Arena.
“We’re just going to come and compete, and play better than we did today,” said Portland senior Kevin Rugibarwa, who scored Portland’s lone overtime bucket.
Cheverus (16-4) beat Portland twice in the regular season. It was the third consecutive season that the Stags lost in the regional semifinals.
Because it went nearly 12 minutes without a basket, Portland was down 42-34 with three minutes to play, as Cheverus got key contributions from Gio St. Onge (12 points) and Rocco DePatsy (9 points), who started in place of sophomore center Jameson Fitzpatrick (mononucleosis).
Jeissey Khamis scored inside and sophomore Lucas LeGage hit a pull-up jumper in the lane to get the Bulldogs back into scoring mode, but Cheverus still led 45-38 with 1:30 to play when the Stags unwisely fouled Khamis on a 3-point shot.
“Not foul a 3-point shooter 30 feet from the basket and give them three shots, trying to block a jump shot. That’s not what we want to do,” said Cheverus Coach Richie Ashley.
Khamis (team-high 10 points) made all three free throws, and LeGage (eight points off the bench) hit a 3-pointer moments later. Just like that, Cheverus led only 45-44 with 55 seconds to play.
“We said we’re going to live and die by the 3. We’re down seven,” Russo said of Portland’s late approach. “If you make them, great. If you don’t, game over.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.