PORTLAND—For a short time Saturday afternoon at the Portland Exposition Building, Greely’s third-seeded boys basketball team put on a show above the rim.

But it was short-lived, as was its title quest, and ultimately, sixth-ranked Fryeburg Academy did more things well to advance.

The Rangers scored the game’s first four points, but didn’t score the final 5 minutes, 49 seconds of the first quarter and the Raiders took advantage, scoring nine straight points for a 9-4 lead.

Greely senior Kade Ippolito then dazzled with three breakaway slam dunks in a two-minute span of the second period, putting the Rangers in front, 13-12, but again, Greely didn’t finish the quarter strong, being held scoreless the final 4:52, and a 13-0 Fryeburg Academy run put it in front, 25-13, at the break.

Greely hoped to make a run when the third period began, but never got closer than 10 before the Raiders, thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers from senior sharpshooter Jagger Helwig, opened up a commanding 45-21 advantage.

The Rangers couldn’t respond in the fourth and Fryeburg Academy went on to a decisive 51-31 victory.

Helwig led all scorers with 16 points as Fryeburg Academy improved to 11-8, moved on to the semifinal round for the first time in three years, where it will battle No. 2 Falmouth (16-3) Wednesday at 6 p.m., at the Expo, and in the process, ended Greely’s season at 10-9.

“I said all year that our ceiling was high but I’m not sure we ever got there,” said Rangers coach Travis Seaver. “We showed glimpses of it, but the inconsistency hurt us.”

No answers

To call Greely’s season up-and-down would be an understatement, as it won two in a row, lost three straight, had a five-game win streak, then later dropped four games in succession.

The Rangers started with victories over visiting Mt. Ararat (51-46) and at reigning Class AA South champion Gorham (56-53). After a 51-44 home loss to Brunswick and a 56-39 setback at York, Greely went under the .500 mark with a 62-52 setback at Gardiner, but then it flipped the switch with a dramatic, buzzer-beating 41-40 home win over Lewiston before defeating host Fryeburg Academy (43-38), visiting Sanford (56-43), Gray-New Gloucester (50-37), and Wells (61-50). After a 45-43 loss at Messalonskee, the Rangers beat host Mt. Ararat (55-42), then handled visiting Cape Elizabeth (75-46). After a 59-45 home loss to Falmouth, Greely’s skid continued with losses at Freeport (38-32), Brunswick (48-44) and at Gray-New Gloucester (69-56). The Rangers then closed with a much-needed 48-38 home win over Yarmouth.

Fryeburg Academy, meanwhile, started the year 4-1 and closed it on a three-game surge.

Greely took the regular season meeting, 43-38, Jan. 2 in Fryeburg.

The Rangers had won all four prior playoff encounters: 58-48 in the 1980 Western B quarterfinals, 61-47 in the 1981 Western B semifinals, 71-51 in the 2013 Western B preliminary round and 68-53 in the 2018 Class A South quarterfinals.

Saturday, it was the Raiders’ turn, as they just got better and better as the game progressed.

Greely senior Brogan Raftice blocks the shot attempt of Fryeburg Academy senior Michael Malia during the Raiders’ 51-31 victory in Saturday’s Class A South quarterfinals. Photos courtesy Kneka Smith.  

Greely opened the scoring 42 seconds in, as senior Ethan Michaud knocked down a jumper.

With 5:49 remaining in the first period, Ippolito was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and he hit both free throws for a 4-0 lead, but that would be the Rangers’ highwater mark.

With 4:35 on the clock, senior Bojan Bundovski banked home a 3 for Fryeburg Academy to break the ice.

Helwig then first made his presence felt with a layup after a steal, then Helwig scored on a putback before setting up senior Michael Malia for a layup and a 9-4 advantage after eight minutes.

Greely didn’t score a point the final 5:49 of the period and turned the ball over nine times.

The Rangers then turned things around to start the second quarter, as its pressure defense led to some easy looks, allowing Ippolito to soar.

Just 12 seconds into the frame, after a steal from senior Owen Partridge, Ippolito raced in for a dunk to snap a 6 minute, 1 second drought.

Helwig answered with his first 3-pointer, but Michaud set up Ippolito for another dunk, Michaud made a layup after a steal and after senior Andrew Padgett made a free throw, Partridge again stole the ball and passed ahead to Ippolito, who this time added a degree of difficulty to his slam, doing it reverse fashion for a 13-12 lead.

But just when it appeared Greely had all the momentum, Fryeburg Academy roared to life and scored the final 13 points of the half.

With 3:54 left before the break, Helwig hit a 3 to put the Raiders in front to stay.

Helwig then set up senior AJ Navarro for a layup, Navarro fed senior Hugo Delgado for a layup, Navarro made a free throw, Bundovski added another, junior Cody Boyd drove for a layup and a driving finger roll from Navarro just before the horn made it 25-13 Fryeburg Academy at halftime.

“We were able to change the pace, then unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain it,” Seaver lamented. “They hit 3s and we had to come out of the zone press.”

Helwig led the way with 10 first half points and while the Raiders turned the ball over 16 times, they forced 14 turnovers by the Rangers, who got eight points and six rebounds from Ippolito.

Fryeburg Academy senior AJ Navarro drives past Greely senior Owen Partridge on his way to the hoop.  

Greely hoped to answer when the second half began, as Michaud drove for a layup 36 seconds in, ending the 13-0 Fryeburg Academy run and a 5:28 drought, but Helwig immediately countered with a 3-ball.

After Padgett went coast-to-coast and made a layup, Bundovski sank a 3 and after Ippolito tipped in a missed shot, Boyd sank two free throws to make it 36-19 with 3:46 remaining.

Senior Luca Cimino made a layup for the Rangers, but Delgado got a contested leaner to drop, Navarro set up Helwig for another 3 and as time wound down, senior Matthew Kim banked home a shot for a 45-21 advantage.

“We came into the locker room and knew they’d go on some runs, so we had to stick through and we hoped to bury them in the first four minutes of the third quarter and we did,” Helwig said. “We came out strong and kept our foot on the pedal.”

Greely fought hard to the finish, but the die was cast.

Greely senior Ethan Michaud shoots over Fryeburg Academy senior Jagger Helwig.  

A Cimino putback started the fourth period, but Kim made a layup, then Malia did the same.

The Rangers rattled off six straight points, as Cimino got a leaner to roll in, Partridge stole the ball and set up Ippolito for one more dunk and Michaud tipped home a miss, but that only cut the deficit to 20.

With 3:53 to play, Delgado set up Bundovski for a layup and the Raiders’ final points.

Partridge then hit two foul shots with 2:27 to go to account for the final score as Fryeburg Academy prevailed, 51-31.

“One of our goals coming in was ‘On to the next play,'” Helwig said. “We had to have each other’s backs, keep each other up. It’s so awesome.”

“It feels phenomenal,” said Fryeburg Academy coach Dan Thomas. “We’ve been here all four years and hadn’t won one at the Expo since (2022). To get back over that hump into round two means a lot to me and I’m super-happy for this group of seniors. Guys like Jagger, Michael, they’ve been with me since they were freshmen. and for them to keep this going, I’m so proud of them.

“Hats off to Greely. They beat us at our place. They’re a very, very well-coached team. I owe a lot of credit to our scout team this week. They learned Greely’s offense to a T and gave us opportunities to guard them. Kudos to the guys on the court too, making plays and following the scouting.”

Helwig, who set a Class A South tournament record a year ago with eight 3-pointers in a game, made “only” four this time around, but led all scorers with 16 points and also had five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.

“I really like the ecosystem here,” said Helwig. “I can hear everything the fans are saying. It’s such a help to hear my family and my teammates on the bench. That was the biggest factor tonight. As a senior, my biggest fear that keeps me up at night was what if this could be it, but when I got on the court, it’s gone.”

“Jagger is someone who, as he goes, we go,” Thomas said. “We had a skid early in the year and we lost some games we should have won. Jagger was hard on himself and didn’t let it go on all season. He keeps shooting and takes the right shot. I told him, ‘This is your homecourt.’ He feels comfortable here. He let it fly tonight.”

Bundovski added nine points, Boyd and Navarro (three assists, two rebounds and two steals) had seven apiece, Delgado (five rebounds, four assists, two steals, two blocked shots) finished with four, as did Kim and Malia (four rebounds).

The Raiders seven 3-pointers to the Rangers’ none, enjoyed a 27-22 rebound advantage, hit 4-of-6 free throws and overcame 23 turnovers.

Looking ahead, Fryeburg Academy did not play Falmouth this year. The Navigators have won all three previous playoff meetings, with a 70-34 win in the 2022 Class A South semifinals the most recent.

Falmouth will be a decided favorite Wednesday, but the Raiders will show up.

With confidence.

“We just have to play our best basketball,” said Helwig. “Once we do that, we’re a really good team. I think it will be a great game.”

“Class A is very competitive,” Thomas said. “We didn’t look past Greely and we won’t look past the next opponent. Falmouth’s a great team, but I’ve been telling the team, if we play our best ball at the right time, anything can happen.”

A class to remember

For Greely, Ippolito led the way with 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals in his final game. Michaud added eight points (as well as three rebounds and two assists), Cimino had six, Padgett three and Raftice two.

Partridge didn’t score, but had five steals and three assists.

The Rangers committed 23 turnovers and made 5-of-8 free throws.

“We couldn’t get anything consistently on the offensive end,” Seaver said. “All of our field goals except for one was a layup. We couldn’t put the ball in the hoop and that’s what hurt us. Transition hurt us in the first half and we didn’t get back and gave them easy looks.”

One hundred percent of Saturday’s scoring will depart, as a big senior class has played its final game.

“The seniors have done really well,” Seaver said. “It’s a good group. They’ve put a lot of work in. They’ll be missed for sure. They did a nice job setting up the underclassmen.”

Greely will have a different look in 2025-26, but expect the Rangers to find their way to the tournament again.

“We had a lot of underclassmen in the gym with us this year knowing we’d have a lot of holes to fill next year,” Seaver said. “It will be ‘next guy up.’ We’ll see.”

BOX SCORE

Fryeburg Academy 51 Greely 31

FA- 9 16 20 6- 51
G- 4 9 8 10- 31

FA- Helwig 6-0-16, Bundovski 3-1-9, Boyd 2-2-7, Navarro 3-1-7, Delgado 2-0-4, Kim 2-0-4, Malia 2-0-4

G- Ippolito 5-2-12, Michaud 4-0-8, Cimino 3-0-6, Padgett 1-1-3, Raftice 0-2-2

3-pointers:
FA (7) Helwig 4, Bundovski 2, Boyd
G (0)

Turnovers:
FA- 23
G- 23

Free throws
FA: 4-6
G: 5-8