SOUTH PORTLAND—A week ago, Cheverus’ boys basketball team began a three-game road gauntlet which included visits to reigning champion Windham, dangerous Scarborough and always-tough South Portland.
After making a statement at the Eagles and holding off the Red Storm, the Stags could have been excused if they fell short Friday evening at Beal Gymnasium, but instead, they rode a defensive performance for the ages to yet another victory.
As they continue to stake their claim as the team to beat in Class AA.
Five points from senior standout Leo McNabb produced a 9-7 lead after one quarter and with its defense completely stymieing the normally high-flying Red Riots, Cheverus took a 25-14 advantage to the half.
The Stags continued to smother South Portland in the third period and back-to-back McNabb 3s pushed the lead to as much as 20.
South Portland finally generated some offense in the fourth quarter and thanks in large part to the all-around effort of junior Darius Johnson, the Red Riots crept within 10, but a clutch 3-pointer from sophomore Nicola Plalum ended all doubt and Cheverus went on to a 54-37 victory.
McNabb led the way with 21 points, while junior Jameson Fitzpatrick continued to emerge as one of the league’s elite big men with 18 points and nine rebounds as the Stags improved to 13-3, dropping South Portland to 12-4 in the process.
“It’s been an impressive stretch,” said Cheverus coach Richie Ashley. “The guys have buckled down. We had a great focus the last few days. Tonight, defensively, that’s one of the best performances we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
State game preview?
Whenever two of the top teams square off, speculation naturally turns to a possible postseason showdown.
The only way that Cheverus and South Portland could play in the tournament, for the first time since 2015, would be if they meet in the Class AA state final.
Based on what the Red Riots and Stags have accomplished so far this winter, that isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Cheverus began the season by downing visiting Deering in overtime (66-60), host Bonny Eagle (69-35) and Portland (46-38), visiting South Portland (66-44) and visiting Bangor (79-51) before falling at home to Windham (59-55). The Stags then beat visiting Massabesic (77-36), host Edward Little (58-43) and visiting Gorham (68-40). After a 61-49 home loss to Thornton Academy, Cheverus won at Sanford (83-68) and at home against Oxford Hills (70-45). After letting a late lead slip away in a tough loss at Deering, 65-62, the Stags bounced back and earned a pivotal 66-51 victory at Windham before holding off host Scarborough Tuesday, 59-54.
“We had a come to Jesus moment after the Deering loss,’ said Ashley. “All of us, me included.”
The Red Riots, meanwhile, started with a hard-fought 67-59 home loss to highly-touted Noble, then dispatched visiting Lewiston (62-46) and host Scarborough (67-49) before falling at Cheverus (66-44). South Portland got back on track with victories at Sanford (63-46), and at home over Bonny Eagle (44-34), then rallied for a win at Deering (69-60) before rolling at home over Scarborough (78-47) and Portland (70-48). After shocking host Windham, which was undefeated at the time, 55-54, on senior Manny Hidalgo’s late basket, the Red Riots edged host Oxford Hills (55-52), then lost at Thornton Academy (38-33). South Portland bounced back by downing visiting Deering (66-60), host Gorham (63-45) and visiting Massabesic in its most recent outing, 79-36.
In the teams’ first meeting, Dec. 17 in Portland, the host Stags pulled away in the fourth period to prevail behind 19 points from McNabb. Hidalgo was South Portland’s top scorer with 11 points.
Friday, South Portland looked to beat Cheverus for the first time since March 5, 2021 (58-46, in Portland), but instead, the Stags swept the season series and beat the Red Riots for the third consecutive time.

Cheverus junior Jameson Fitzpatrick and South Portland junior Darius Johnson leap for the opening tip of the Stags’ 54-37 victory Friday. Hoffer photos.
Hidalgo pulled up and hit a jumper to open the scoring 78 seconds in, but his offense would be limited.
After McNabb drove and tied the score with a layup, junior Gabe Jackson made a layup for the hosts.
After McNabb fed sophomore AJ Lauture for a layup, a pair of Hidalgo foul shots with 3:26 to go in the opening stanza gave South Portland its last lead.
With 2:57 on the clock, a Fitzpatrick layup, from Nzeyimana, put Cheverus in front to stay, then McNabb knocked down a 3.
Late in the frame, Hidalgo got a runner to roll in, but he wouldn’t score again and the Stags held a 9-7 advantage after eight minutes.
Cheverus got some separation in the second period.
Nzeyimana got the quarter started by pulling up and draining 3.
After senior Tom Maloji got two points back with a jump shot, Fitzpatrick scored on a putback.
With 4:36 remaining in the first half, Hidalgo set up Johnson for a layup and his first points, but McNabb drove and laid the ball in with his left hand, Fitzpatrick sank two free throws, Nzeyimana found McNabb for a 3, then Fitzpatrick set up senior Shema Rwaganje for a backdoor layup.
Senior Carmine Soucy sank a 3 for South Portland to end the Stags’ 9-0 run, but with 25 seconds left, McNabb set up Fitzpatrick for a layup and the Stags were in command at the break, up, 25-14.
“(Leo) does a really good job of seeing the floor well,” Fitzpatrick said. “He moves the ball well. He knows when to pass it and when not to pass it. He’s a great player.”
The Red Riots looked to respond when the second half commenced, but it wasn’t to be.
Hidalgo opened the third quarter by setting up Johnson for a layup, but that’s as close as the Red Riots would get.
Plalum countered with a runner in the lane, Fitzpatrick scored on a putback, then Fitzpatrick drove and made a reverse layup for a 31-16 advantage.
After Johnson sank two foul shots, Rwaganje made two, Rwaganje inbounded the ball to McNabb for a 3-pointer, then McNabb hit another 3-pointer, from way downtown, for the Stags’ biggest advantage, 38-18.
Just before the horn, Jackson was fouled and he made both free throws to give South Portland a faint pulse.
The Red Riots then made things interesting early in the fourth period before Cheverus slammed the door.
Jackson set up Johnson for a layup eight seconds into the frame, then Johnson converted an old-fashioned three-point play (steal, layup, free throw).
With 6:13 on the clock, Jackson buried a 3 from the corner and just like that, a 20-point deficit had been cut in half.
But there would be no dramatic rally, as 19 seconds later, Rwaganje passed to Plalum, who knocked down a clutch 3 to restore order.
“Nicola’s 3 after they cut it 10 was huge,” Ashley said. “That was really the shot of the game.”
Hidalgo set up Johnson for a layup, but McNabb and Plalum made consecutive layups to make it 45-30 with just 358 remaining.
A 3-ball from Jackson, after a Johnson steal, provided faint hope, but McNabb sank a free throw, then Fitzpatrick scored eight points in 63-seconds to slam the door.
First, Fitzpatrick got free and slammed the ball home.
“We love dunks,” said Nzeyimana. “That gets us going. That was a great dunk.”
Next Nzeyimana set up Fitzpatrick for a layup on the fastbreak before McNabb found Fitzpatrick for another fastbreak layup and a 52-33 advantage.
After junior Tadhg O’Donnell hit a runner, McNabb’s two free throws accounted for the visitors’ final points.
Inside the final minute, senior Hira Kangethe’s putback accounted for the final score as Cheverus prevailed, 54-37.
“We execute every day in practice, so running our sets, controlling what we can control, we’ve done that very well the past three games,” Nzeyimana said. “It’s a game of runs. They’re a great team. We knew they’d go on a run. We stayed composed and stayed together as a team and fought back and put it away.”
“We just prepare really well,” said Fitzpatrick. “We come out and do what we need to do. We don’t worry about being on the road. Practice has made us good defensively. We just get in there and do shell drill, work hard, talk. Doing the little things is what matters.”
McNabb continued his stellar play with 21 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Fitzpatrick nearly had a double-double, producing 18 points and nine rebounds.
Plalum added seven points, six rebounds and two steals.
Nzeyimana produced three points and four assists, but his biggest contribution came on the defensive end, against Hidalgo.
“I take pride in defense,” said Nzeyimana. “Manny’s a great player. I’ve played against him a long time. I know his moves and I think I did a good job containing him today.”
“We want Sammy to be a distributor and take care of the basketball,” said Ashley. “We wanted him to keep Manny under 15. It was hard to do.”
Rwaganje had three points (and six rebounds) and Lauture finished with two points.
“We got a lot of contributions from guys again,” said Ashley. “AJ and Nicola rebounded the ball. Leo and ‘Jamo’ carried us. We still have to get better at the end and understand time-and-score.”
The Stags enjoyed a 34-25 rebounding advantage, made six 3-pointers to the Red Riots’ three, overcame 17 turnovers and hit 6-of-8 foul shots.
Johnson was the top performer for South Portland, winding up with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds and seven steals.
Jackson added nine points and three rebounds, Hidalgo was held to six points, but he did manage five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“Manny competes at a high level,” said South Portland coach Kevin Millington. “I can’t say he had a bad game. He just didn’t have his game tonight.”
Soucy had three points and Kangethe, Maloji and O’Donnell all wound up with two.
The Red Riots made 8-of-9 free throws and only committed a dozen turnovers, but couldn’t overcome their sluggish shooting performance.
“(Cheverus is) good defensively,” Millington said. “Probably the best team in the league. They slowed us down. We missed too many layups and got in a hole. It was two good teams going at it. Darius and Gabe competed right to the end.”
One week left
The regular season is scheduled to conclude next Thursday. Both squads have two games left and are looking to secure the best possible seeding for the tournament.
South Portland (currently ranked second behind Thornton Academy in the Class AA South Heal Points standings) is at rival Portland Tuesday, then finishes at home versus Gorham Thursday.
“We don’t worry too much about regular season,” Millington said. “If you have to try to get your team to compete hard this time of year, you have a l0t of problems, but we don’t have that problem. I think Cheverus and Windham are the two best teams. Windham has a lot of offensive firepower and they’re the champs, but they’re not our concern right now. We just want to execute better and play hard and play well together. We have to fine-tune some things. I think we’re in a good place heading into the tournament.”
Cheverus (first for the time eing in the Class AA North standings) visits Lewiston Tuesday, then closes at home against Portland Thursday.
“We have to keep doing what we’re doing right now and get better as a team,” said Nzeyimana. “We just have stay together. We’re going uphill now and that’s what we like to see. We just have to keep executing.”
“I feel like we’re on a roll right now,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have the right energy and we’re doing the right things.”
“We want to keep riding high and go into the playoffs on a high note,” added Ashley. “The guys believe in themselves. The team that will win (the championship) is the team that’s riding the best vibes. We’re having fun. We have one more week of the regular season, then we have some time off and then we’ll be ready for the tournament. I enjoy the guys. They’re good guys.”
BOX SCORE
Cheverus 54 South Portland 37
C- 9 16 13 16- 54
SP- 7 7 6 17- 37
C- McNabb 7-3-21, Fitzpatrick 8-2-18, Plalum 3-0-7, Nzeyimana 1-0-3, Rwaganje 1-1-3, Lauture 1-0-2
SP- Johnson 5-3-13, Jackson 2-3-9, Hidalgo 2-2-6, Soucy 1-0-3, Kangethe 1-0-2, Maloji 1-0-2, O’Donnell 1-0-2
3-pointers:
C (6) McNabb 4, Nzeyimana, Plalum
SP (3) Jackson 2, Soucy
Turnovers:
C- 17
SP- 12
Free throws
C: 6-8
SP: 8-9
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.