The Bulldogs grabbed both brass rings Boys beat Westbrook in overtime

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PORTLAND – Allan Richards, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound linebacker in short pants for the Lawrence Bulldogs, got his proverbial 15 minutes of fame Saturday night. And as far as he’s concerned, teammates Tommy Reynolds and Billy Cole can have the spotlight.

With the Bulldogs and Westbrook tied at 47-47 and the Blue Blazes holding the ball for what they hoped would be the last shot of the state Class A basketball championship game, Richards anticipated a pass at midcourt, knocked the ball free, and lumbered down the Cumberland County Civic Center floor.

Twenty seconds left. Uncontested. All alone. For the championship of the free world and a position as a hero-for-life in Fairfield and Benton.

He missed the layup.

But after Cole, who scored nine points in overtime, and Reynolds, who scored five, helped the Bulldogs earn their second gold ball with a 65-58 victory, Richards laughed while thinking about what might have been.

While the Lawrence faithful went home to Fairfield for a parade and reception after the boys and girls swept the Class A titles, Richards said there could have been another kind of party without the overtime heroics.

“I would have felt awful if (we had lost) because of me,” Richards said. “They’d probably have a bonfire, throw me in it, and burn me at the stake or something. I don’t think I’ll watch this game tape again.”

Richards finished with 16 points and five rebounds.

In overtime, the Bulldogs forced five turnovers and converted the Westbrook miscues into a 54-47 lead after 1:30. Lawrence made nine of 10 free throws to seal the victory.

Cole, who finished with 23 points but didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter, opened the extra period with a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 50-47.

Senior guard Greg Harrison’s steal led to a driving layup by Reynolds with 1:52 left that pushed the lead to five. And after the Blue Blazes threw the ball away on their next possession, Cole nailed two free throws to make it 54-47.

Cole said he wanted to be the one to turn the momentum Lawrence’s way.

“There’s no pressure on it,” Cole said. “If I don’t hit it, hey, we’re going to another overtime. It ain’t no big deal.”

The swarming defensive effort for Lawrence in overtime came on the heels of a fourth-quarter defensive stand that forced six turnovers in the final 4:30. Westbrook managed only one field goal in the quarter.

But the Bulldogs really pulled out the stops over the final two minutes of regulation, allowing only one shot from the floor.

“I told them when we finally tied it, I wouldn’t want to be the man who lets his man score and costs us a state championship,” Lawrence coach Mike McGee said. “I thought the kids really dug in at that point, at focusing on their man instead of running around helping all the time.”

The turnovers came after McGee made three key defensive changes late in the game. Reynolds started guarding Westbrook standout Andy McCullough. McCullough finished with 18 points, but shot only once in the fourth quarter. Keith Knights switched with Richards to put a quicker defender on forward Joe Charczenko. The 6-3 Charczenko ended up with 18 points and seven rebounds, but scored only two points in the second half and made four free throws in overtime. In order to keep the ball out of McCullough’s hands, McGee went to a full-court defense and made the Blazes inbound to someone else.

“We just couldn’t stop him,” McGee said. “In the first half, he was the difference. Our defense broke down, they spread the floor, and his penetration killed us.”

After Richards missed the layup, the Bulldogs got another chance to win in regulation when Harrison stole the ball and Lawrence called timeout before he fell out of bounds along the baseline.

Reynolds got the call, but missed a driving layup in traffic as time expired.

Westbrook coach Mark Karter admitted that late mistakes cost the Blazes.

“With 20 seconds left, we turned it over twice,” Karter said. “You’re not going to get that many chances against a team like that. That was the whole game right there.”

Bulldogs 65, Blazes 58

Lawrence boys Westbrook

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

Holstrom 0 0 0 0 0 Lampron 1 0 0 0 0

Seeley 0 0 0 0 0 Charczenko 14 6 7 6 18

Harrison 4 0 0 0 0 Dunphe 0 0 0 0 0

Winship 5 1 3 2 4 Smyth 0 0 0 0 0

Knights 0 0 0 0 0 McCullough 12 7 2 2 18

Richards 11 5 9 6 16 Anderson 7 3 0 0 6

Hiltz 1 1 0 0 2 Murray 0 0 0 0 0

Reynolds 12 7 10 6 16 Binette 1 0 0 0 0

Cole 14 7 6 6 23 O’Brion 6 2 0 0 4

Hamlin 0 0 0 0 0 Gorham 0 0 0 0 0

Nowlin 0 0 0 0 0 Gutierrez 2 1 2 2 5

McArthur 0 0 0 0 0 Sawyer 2 1 7 5 7

Totals 47 21 28 20 65 Totals 45 20 18 15 58

Lawrence 15 23 37 47 65

Westbrook 11 25 39 47 58

3-pt. goals: Lawrence (3-10): Winship 0-2, Cole 3-8; Westbrook (3-8): Charczenko 0-1, McCullough 2-4, O’Brion 0-1, Gutierrez 1-2