Cape Elizabeth junior Andrew Hartel goes up over Falmouth junior Nik Hester for two of his 13 points in the Capers’ 50-41 victory Wednesday evening.

Mike Strout photos.

More photos below.

BOX SCORE

Cape Elizabeth 50 Falmouth 41

CE- 4 16 16 14- 50
F- 8 11 7 15- 41

CE- Bowe 5-10-20, Hartel 6-1-13, Hare 3-2-9, Jacobson 2-0-6, Carpenter 0-1-1, Hagos 0-1-1

F- Manganello 4-3-12, Marcotte 3-2-11, Bryant 2-2-6, Douglas 2-1-5, Cooke 1-0-2, Dilworth 1-0-2, Pitre 1-0-2, Hester 0-1-1

3-pointers:
CE (3) Jacobson 2, Hare 1
F (4) Marcotte 3, Manganello 1

Turnovers:
CE- 10
F- 17

FTs
CE: 15-22
F: 9-15

PORTLAND—A year ago, Finn Bowe stole the show at the Portland Exposition Building with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime to give Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ basketball team a win over rival Falmouth.

Wednesday evening, the teams met again at the Expo and again, Bowe, a senior captain, played a key role in a Capers’ victory, but this time around, he showed off his complete game as Cape Elizabeth continues to make positive strides.

And even better for the Capers, Bowe got plenty of help.

Cape Elizabeth started slowly, trailing, 7-0, early and 8-4 after one quarter, but late in the second period, senior reserve Liam Jacobson drained a pair of 3-pointers to provide a spark and after Bowe hit two free throws in the final minute, the Capers took a 20-19 lead to the break

Cape Elizabeth’s 6-foot-8 junior center Andrew Hartel then took over in the third quarter, finishing a pair of Bowe feeds and scoring seven points total in the frame, helping the Capers close on a 9-0 run to hold a 36-26 advantage.

In the fourth period, Falmouth tried to rally and got as close as seven, but Bowe’s rebounding and foul shooting helped Cape Elizabeth hold the lead and the Capers went on to a 50-41 victory.

Cape Elizabeth won its fourth game in a row, improved to 4-1 on the season and in the process, dropped the Yachtsmen to 3-3 on the year.

“It always feels good to come out on top against (Falmouth),” said Bowe, who finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. “They’re a great team and they have a great coach. They always bring it, no matter who’s playing for them.”

Marquee event

Wednesday, for the second year in a row, Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth met on the big stage of the Portland Exposition Building as part of the Maine Red Claws Christmas Showcase.

Both teams came into the game having shown promise in the early going.

Falmouth, despite losing star players Nikko DePatsy and Michael Simonds to season-ending injuries, started by downing visiting Marshwood (42-39) and Scarborough (54-50). After a 51-39 setback at Brunswick, the Yachtsmen gave longtime coach Dave Halligan his 500th career victory, 45-32, at Biddeford. Last Thursday, Falmouth fell at home to defending Class A champion Greely, 51-40.

Cape Elizabeth opened with a 66-50 home loss to Greely, then beat visiting Fryeburg Academy (58-47), host Old Orchard Beach (65-50) and host Waynflete (46-38).

Last year, at the Expo, Bowe’s 3-pointer as time expired in overtime gave the Capers a 40-37 victory, but in the rematch, in the Class A South semifinals, the Yachtsmen turned the tables, 43-38, to make it 11 out of the last 13 in the series and 21 out of 35 dating back to the start of the 2001-02 season (see sidebar, below).

This time around, Cape Elizabeth overcame a sluggish start and earned a key interclass victory.

Falmouth got off to a quick lead, as junior Sam Manganello scored on a putback, senior Alex Marcotte knocked down a 3-point shot and senior Jack Bryant got a runner to rattle home for a 7-0 lead. Finally, with 2:12 to go in the first period, in transition, Bowe set up Hartel for a layup. Bowe then added a jumper, but Manganello countered with a free throw for an 8-4 lead one period.

Early in the second, Cape Elizabeth got within two on a jumper from Bowe, but Marcotte sank another 3 and Manganello drove for a layup and a 13-6 lead.

After Bowe hit a step-back jumper and Hartel banked home a shot, Marcotte sank his third 3, from the corner, to extend the advantage to 16-10.

Hartel countered with a driving layup, but with 1:30 on the clock, Manganello sank a 3 from the corner.

The rest of the half was all Capers.

Jacobson first made his presence felt by hitting a 3 from the corner. Then, in transition, senior David Hare set up Jacobson for another 3.

With 27.4 seconds remaining, Bowe hit two free throws and just like that, Cape Elizabeth had erased a seven-point deficit and held a 20-19 halftime advantage.

“Once we got into the rhythm of our offense, we got going,” Bowe said. “Liam hitting those 3s sparked us and we just used that.”

The Capers were paced in the first half by eight points, five rebounds and four steals from Bowe. Hartel (five boards) and Jacobson each had six points.

Falmouth got nine points from Marcotte and eight from Manganello, but committed eight turnovers.

In the third quarter, Hare and Hartel helped spark a Capers’ run to open up a double-digit lead.

After Manganello tied the score with a free throw, Hare hit a 3 to put Cape Elizabeth back on top to stay.

Bryant countered with a runner off the glass, but Bowe threaded a pass to Hartel for a layup.

After Bryant made it a one-point game with two foul shots, Bowe grabbed an offensive rebound and passed to Hartel for another layup.

“Finn realizes he gets a lot of attention from defenses and he’s good at finding the open man,” Hartel said. “That’s become a big part of his game.”

With 4:22 to go in the frame, Marcotte sank two free throws to pull the Yachtsmen within 27-26, but the next seven points went to the Capers.

After Bryant was called for his third foul with 4:08 to go, five seconds later, Bowe drove for a layup.

Hartel added a free throw, Bowe set up Hartel for a layup and after grabbing a rebound at one end, Hare went coast-to-coast for a layup and a 34-26 advantage with 1:01 remaining in the period.

Then, out of an inbounds set, Hare took a pass from junior Tanner Carpenter and made a layup to extend the lead to 10 heading for the final stanza.

There, the Capers did what they needed to do to hold on.

Bryant was called for his fourth foul on a charge 18 seconds in and Bowe added to Cape Elizabeth’s lead with a fadeaway jumper.

Finally, with 6:33 to go, Manganello drove for a layup to end the Capers’ 11-0 run and a 5 minute, 49 second drought. Falmouth couldn’t draw closer, however, as both Manganello and junior Nik Hester missed front ends of one-and-one opportunities.

After junior Doug Cooke scored on a putback with 5:17 remaining to pull the Yachtsmen within seven, Cape Elizabeth junior Aman Hagos got a point back at the line. Hester countered with a free throw, but Bowe sank two foul shots (after Bryant fouled out), then hit two more (after Manganello was called for his fifth foul) for a 43-32 advantage with 2:13 to play.

Sophomore Brady Douglas made a free throw for Falmouth, but Hare countered with one for the Capers.

After Douglas made a jumper to make it 44-35, Hare made one of two foul shots.

Freshman Sean Dilworth made a jumper after a steal with 48 seconds remaining, but that only drew the Yachtsmen within eight and eight seconds later, Bowe sank two free throws.

A layup after a steal by Douglas with 27.8 seconds to go again cut the deficit to eight, but four seconds later, Bowe converted two more foul shots.

Down the stretch, Niko Pitre made a reverse layup for Falmouth and Carpenter answered with a free throw for Cape Elizabeth to account for the Capers’ 50-41 victory.

“I think we just took a couple quarters to get into the game, then once we started moving, we didn’t stop and we didn’t look back,” Hartel said. “It’s really fun to play here and it’s good practice for us hopefully playing here again in the tournament. It’s always a good game when we play Falmouth. A big game.”

“We had guys going through the motions in practice yesterday and I had to remind them we’re playing Falmouth and it won’t be easy,” said longtime Cape Elizabeth coach Jim Ray. “I knew they’d play hard.”

Bowe stuffed the stat sheet, not only with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but also with five assists and five steals.

“Finn is Finn,” Ray said. “He pressed a little bit at the beginning, trying to do too much. He’s so smart. He moved the ball better and set people up and got good shots for himself. There aren’t a lot of kids around who can create their own shot. Finn can. The other guys have to be ready.”

“(Bowe) played like a senior captain, a premier player,” said Halligan. “He can carry a team. Most teams in the running for a championship have a go-to player like that. We’re still searching for one.”

Hartel turned heads with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

“I feel like I have to rebound and work as hard as I can to help the team,” Hartel said.

“(Andrew) came out aggressive,” Bowe said. “We got him the ball under the rim. He played like a man tonight.”

“If (Andrew) played like that every day in practice, it would just be second nature to him,” Ray said. “He distributes the ball well. He had to be ready for his opportunities.”

Hare added nine points, four rebounds and three assists, Jacobson had six points and Carpenter and Hagos finished with one point apiece.

“Lots of guys can step up and help in different ways, even if they don’t score,” Bowe said. “David plays great defense. Aman and Tanner play underappreciated roles.”

Cape Elizabeth finished with a 31-28 rebounding advantage, only turned the ball over 10 times and hit 15 of 22 free throws.

Falmouth was paced by 12 points and six rebounds from Manganello, who fouled out, Marcotte, who had 11 points, and Bryant, who had six points before fouling out.

Douglas added five points, Cooke, Dilworth and Pitre had two apiece and Hester finished with one (to go with eight rebounds and three blocks).

The Yachtsmen committed 17 turnovers and made just 9 of 15 free throws.

“That’s sort of the story of our season, we play in runs,” said Halligan. “Jack got in foul trouble and we tried some of the younger guys. That’s the only way they can learn.”

Out with the old

Each team has one final game to play in 2017, then hopes for big things in the new year.

Falmouth looks to bounce back at York Saturday, then opens 2018 at Kennebunk on Jan. 2.

“Everybody we’ve played either was undefeated or had one loss,” Halligan said. “We asked for a tough schedule and we got one. We’ll keep working and get better.”

Cape Elizabeth, meanwhile, hosts Westbrook Friday. The Capers then welcome Brunswick Jan. 5.

“It’s coming along slowly but surely,” Bowe said. “We get better every practice. It’s nice to have a little win streak before our big game Friday.”

“We have to work on defense, like always, and slowing it down on offense and developing more chemistry as a team,” Hartel said.

“We have to find a way to bring it every night and get better,” Ray added. “It won’t get any easier. Westbrook has a different style of play. I wouldn’t be surprised if they chased us around and see if we can make plays.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Falmouth senior Alex Marcotte floats for a shot between Cape Elizabeth senior Finn Bowe (24) and junior Aman Hagos.

Cape Elizabeth senior David Hare ties up Falmouth junior Nik Hester.

Falmouth senior Jack Bryant goes up over Cape Elizabeth junior Tanner Carpenter.

Cape Elizabeth senior Finn Bowe hits a fadeaway jumper over Falmouth senior Jack Bryant (10) and junior Nik Hester. Bowe led all scorers with 20 points.

Cape Elizabeth junior Aman Hagos grabs a rebound.

Falmouth’s Nico Pitre dribbles past Cape Elizabeth senior David Hare.

Falmouth junior Sam Manganello shoots as Cape Elizabeth junior Tanner Carpenter defends.

Recent Cape Elizabeth-Falmouth results

2016-17
Cape Elizabeth 40 Falmouth 37 (OT) (@ Expo)
Class A South semifinal
Falmouth 43 Cape Elizabeth 38

2015-16
@ Falmouth 69 Cape Elizabeth 66
Falmouth 44 @ Cape Elizabeth 42
Class A South semifinal
Falmouth 52 Cape Elizabeth 49 

2014-15
@ Cape Elizabeth 50 Falmouth 45
@ Falmouth 69 Cape Elizabeth 62

2013-14
@ Falmouth 71 Cape Elizabeth 49
Falmouth 62 @ Cape Elizabeth 50

2012-13
Falmouth 72 @ Cape Elizabeth 49
@ Falmouth 53 Cape Elizabeth 41

2011-12
@ Falmouth 60 Cape Elizabeth 37
Falmouth 52 @ Cape Elizabeth 37

2010-11
Cape Elizabeth 55 @ Falmouth 48
@ Cape Elizabeth 53 Falmouth 44

2009-10
Falmouth 62 @ Cape Elizabeth 55
Cape Elizabeth 48 @ Falmouth 45
Western B Final
Falmouth 53 Cape Elizabeth 40

2008-09
Falmouth 55 @ Cape Elizabeth 53
Cape Elizabeth 73 @ Falmouth 70
Western B Final
Cape Elizabeth 58 Falmouth 48

2007-08
Cape Elizabeth 58 @ Falmouth 57
@ Cape Elizabeth 53 Falmouth 37

2006-07
Falmouth 57 @ Cape Elizabeth 48
Cape Elizabeth 52 @ Falmouth 44

2005-06
@ Falmouth 58 Cape Elizabeth 47
@ Cape Elizabeth 53 Falmouth 46
Western B semifinals
Falmouth 60 Cape Elizabeth 45

2004-05
Cape Elizabeth 65 @ Falmouth 64
Falmouth 44 @ Cape Elizabeth 34

2003-04
Falmouth 47 @ Cape Elizabeth 38
@ Falmouth 65 Cape Elizabeth 45
Western B quarterfinals
Cape Elizabeth 44 Falmouth 42

2002-03
@ Falmouth 67 Cape Elizabeth 58

2001-02
@ Cape Elizabeth 65 Falmouth 41