First, the Medomak Valley boys basketball team showed some dominance. Then, the Panthers showed some resilience.
Rocco DePatsy scored 18 points, Gabe Lash added 17, and No. 1 Medomak Valley extended its undefeated season into the Class B South final with a 57-40 victory over No. 4 Lincoln Academy at the Portland Expo on Tuesday.
The score suggested a runaway, but there was drama, particularly when the upset-minded Eagles (13-7) narrowed a 15-point deficit to six by the end of the third quarter. The Panthers (20-0), however, used a strong fourth quarter to stop the bleeding and set up a clash of unbeatens on Friday against No. 2 York (20-0).
“It’s definitely a big team win,” Lash said. “We knew all four quarters, they were coming at us. … Knowing what we have to do, how we break the press, and just being strong to the ball, I think that was the biggest thing.”
Key moment
• After Lincoln Academy cut a 31-16 deficit to 36-30 going into the fourth, Kristian Schumann opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer. Roan Donaghy countered with a layup, but DePatsy made a pair of free throws and Lash drove for a basket, making it 43-32 with 5:32 to play. The Eagles didn’t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
How did they do it?
• The Panthers leaned on their two 6-foot-6 standouts, Lash and DePatsy. After going up 15, Medomak Valley turned the ball over on six straight possessions, allowing the Eagles to cut the gap to 31-22. The two seniors then combined to score all but three of the Panthers’ next 14 points, allowing Medomak Valley to regain its rhythm.
“We really just had to slow the ball down and stop dribbling into a lot of people,” DePatsy said. “As long as we just hit the middle guy in the middle of the court, we could level that out and get our points back up.”
• The Panthers outscored the Eagles 13-3 in the second quarter, then scored seven of the first 10 points of the third to build the 15-point lead.
Turnovers and timeouts
• Medomak Valley coach Nick DePatsy called three timeouts during the third quarter, including two 43 seconds apart, in an effort to halt the Panthers’ turnovers. It worked, as a 21-point fourth quarter wrapped up the victory.
“They rattled us in the third quarter,” he said. “They were just running at us and doubling, blitzing, trying to trap, and we were just holding the ball too long.”
Stat leaders
• Lincoln Academy: Drew Hunt (16 points), Roan Donaghy (seven points)
• Medomak Valley: Rocco DePatsy (18 points), Gabe Lash (17 points), Kristian Schumann (10 points)
They said it
“We did kind of let up, and we don’t normally do that. You won’t see it again.” — Gabe Lash
“We knew they were going to come out and try to punch us in the mouth and hit us. As long as we just didn’t let them hit us and really just tried to play through it, we got to (finish) strong.” — Rocco DePatsy
“Schumann came up big in the fourth quarter, we finally got on the board with some of his points, the big 3 in the corner. And we rebounded better in the fourth.” — Nick DePatsy
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