Winthrop connection paces West win

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ORONO – Winthrop dominated the Class C schoolboy basketball ranks last winter, winning the state title with a 20-0 record behind a quartet of outstanding seniors.

The Ramblers’ four mainstays played together for the last time here Saturday, powering the West Classes C-D team to a 111-95 victory over the East in the McDonald’s East-West Senior All-Star Games at the Alfond Arena on the University of Maine campus.

The West team split up the Winthrop connection, placing two on each of the five-man squads. The foursome combined for 58 points, 30 rebounds, seven assists, six steals and eight blocked shots in a well-balanced effort.

The West placed seven players in double figures, with Winthrop’s Bill Harris, a 6-foot-5 forward, leading the way with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Swingman Jeff Love of Winthrop tossed in 15 points and made five assists.

R.J. Jenkins, Winthrop’s 6-5 center, contributed 14 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, while guard Geoff Cobb of Winthrop chipped in 12 points and four steals.

Half of the Winthrop connection played a key role in a decisive 15-4 scoring run that enabled the West team to take the lead for good during a three-minute span early in the second half.

With the score knotted at 51, Zach Kramer of Falmouth scored off a loose rebound in the lane. Love knocked down a 3-pointer and Harris scored from underneath off a pass from Love to make it 58-51 with 18:29 to play.

Ron Coombs of Lee Academy and Calais’ Jeff Hinton sandwiched two foul shots and a driving layup, respectively, for the East around an 18-footer by Love. However, Harris scored off a rebound and Taylor drove in for a hoop to make it 64-55 with 17:42 left.

The East did not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Hinton, a rugged 6-foot swingman, was the catalyst for the East team. He led all scorers with 21 points and contributed eight rebounds and three steals.

Hinton burned the West with strong moves to the basket, including the day’s only slam dunk, off a long pass by Robert Burnett of Narraguagus in Harrington.

He played with Ryan Cilley of Woodland, Jonesport-Beals’ Mike King, Garth McNally of Katahdin in Sherman Station, and Burnett.

Limestone’s Tony Tobin tossed in 15 points, heading up the unit that included Brian Alley of Penobscot Valley in Howland, Jonas Allen of George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Chris Bridges of Washington Academy in East Machias, and Coombs.

Burnett provided 11 points and seven rebounds. Cilley added 11 points and three steals, with Coombs (7 rebounds), King (3 steals) and Allen scoring eight points apiece.

The West’s balanced effort included a 14-point and seven-rebounds performance by Kramer, 12 points, six rebounds and six steals by Jeremy Horne of Maranacook of Readfield, and 10 points from Jay’s Wayne Richards.

The East trailed by only two at intermission after Burnett, Cilley and Hinton came alive in the final three minutes of the first half. Cilley kicked off a 10-4 spurt with a 14-footer from the lane and Hinton finished it with his dunk to cut the West lead to 47-45 with 1:08 left.

West C-D Boys 111, East 95

West C-D Boys East C-D Boys

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Harris 9 6 8 5 17 Hinton 17 8 6 5 21

Love 12 5 8 4 15 Tobin 9 4 8 7 15

Kramer 14 7 0 0 14 Burnett 12 5 2 1 11

Jenkins 13 5 5 4 14 Cilley 14 4 5 3 11

Horne 7 4 6 4 12 Allen 2 2 4 4 8

Cobb 10 6 0 0 12 King 8 3 3 2 8

Richards 6 3 2 2 10 Coombs 8 3 6 2 8

Theriault 7 3 4 2 8 Alley 3 3 1 0 6

Chretien 5 2 0 0 5 McNally 5 2 1 0 5

Taylor 7 2 4 0 4 Bridges 5 0 4 2 2

Totals 90 43 37 21 111 Totals 83 34 40 26 95

West C-D Boys All-Stars 51 111

East C-D Boys All-Stars 49 95

3-pt. goals: West (4-12): Richards 2-3, Love 1-3, Chretien 1-3, Horne 0-1, Theriault 0-1, Kramer 0-1; East (1-8): McNally 1-2, Bridges 0-1, Coombs 0-1, Burnett 0-1, Tobin 0-3