Bangor to battle Skowhegan in semi

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BANGOR – A balanced scoring attack and heads-up efforts by a senior-laden lineup were enough – barely – to overcome a furious rally by the never-say-quit Mt. Blue boys as No. 3 Skowhegan edged the Cougars of Farmington 71-66 in a fast-paced Eastern Class A quarterfinal thriller.

Saturday afternoon’s win by the 14-5 Indians over their Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference foes sets up a much-coveted rematch with Big East champ Bangor in an 8:40 p.m. Friday semifinal.

The second-seeded Rams punched their ticket to the semifinals by whacking No. 7 Cony of Augusta 66-40 Saturday night at the Bangor Auditorium. Bangor, now 15-4, simply asphyxiated Cony with its nearly impenetrable man-to-man defense in the third quarter and turned a 23-16 halftime lead into a runaway with an 18-3 run.

The third period was a lesson in frustration for Cony as Bangor held the other Rams scoreless for two long stretches – three minutes and 22 seconds after Cony pulled within 23-18 on a Greg Dean baseline drive 36 seconds into the period, and the final 3:51 after a 3-point play by Jared Cushman.

“I thought this was just a total team effort, especially defensively,” said Rams coach Roger Reed.

Cushman shot 5-for-16 from the field during constant harassment by Bangor swingman Nick Loukes and guards Miles Levy and Joe Vanidestine. The standout junior guard was Cony’s only double-digit scorer with 14 points as Cony managed just 31 percent shooting from the field.

And the bad news didn’t end there for Cony fans as Bangor dominated the paint, outrebounding Cony 43-24 overall and 15-7 on the offensive end.

“We tried to get all the rebounds and play tough defense,” said junior forward Joe Campbell, who led the Rams with 16 points, 17 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks before retiring to the bench midway through the fourth.

Also pacing Bangor’s versatile attack was Loukes (10 points and eight rebounds despite early foul trouble) and senior guard Corey Gildart (12 points, three steals).

Saturday afternoon, things were decidedly much more difficult and hair-raising for Skowhegan, which seemed poised for a similar runaway with a 28-11 lead midway through the second quarter. Then the Cougars closed the first half with a 15-6 run to make it a game.

The second half turned into the Justin Almy show as Mt. Blue’s mercurial junior guard torched the Indians for 24 of his game-high 35 points, nine of his game-high 11 rebounds, and four of his game-high five assists. Oh, he also had two steals and a blocked shot.

In spite of foul trouble – Almy drew his fourth in the first minute of the fourth quarter while forward Matt Wasco and center Jamie Bryant fouled two minutes later – the Cougars refused to back off, even after the Indians upped their lead back to 11 points with five minutes left in the game.

A disguised 2-2-1 full-court press and Almy, a one-man show as he sprinted, drove, one-handed, and knifed his way to eight straight points, cut Skowhegan’s 60-52 lead with 4:29 left to a precarious 63-60 lead with 3:09 to play.

Even though Skowhegan hit just five of their last 11 foul shots, fouls and time were killing Mt. Blue and the Indians were milking the clock. The last coffin nails came in the form of Cougar turnovers – three in the last minute.

“That’s the way we’ve played all year. We’ve always fought back, and I’ll tell you it’s fun to coach a group like that,” said Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey.

Senior guards Sean Walker and Jack Rowbottom led the Indians with 15 points each. Forward John Clossey had 13 points and Burnham had 10 before fouling out with three minutes to play.

Bangor Rams 66, Rams 40

Cony boys (11-8) Bangor (15-4)

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

Gallagher 1 5 0 0 2 Vanidestine 2 6 3 4 7

Cushman 5 16 3 4 14 Loukes 3 6 4 6 10

Arbour 1 1 0 0 2 Gildart 4 11 2 3 12

Hinds 0 7 0 0 0 Shea 1 3 0 0 2

Merrill 1 2 0 0 3 Levy 2 3 2 4 8

Nyada 0 1 0 2 0 Hughes 0 0 0 0 0

Dean 1 5 0 1 2 Campbell 7 11 1 2 16

Schlager 1 2 0 0 2 Bradford 0 5 2 6 2

Vallee 0 0 0 0 0 Johnson 2 3 0 0 4

Gervais 4 6 1 1 9 Bouchard 0 0 0 0 0

Beck 1 2 0 0 3 Goldsmith 1 1 1 2 3

Sousa 1 3 0 0 2 Bradford 1 2 0 2 2

Beer 0 0 0 0 0

Raber 0 1 1 2 1

Totals 16 51 5 10 40 Totals 23 51 15 29 66

Cony 8 16 21 40

Bangor 12 23 39 66

3-pt. goals: Cony (3-20): Beck 1-2, Merrill 1-2, Cushman 1-6, Sousa 0-1, Nyada 0-1, Gallagher 0-1, Hinds 0-7; Bangor (4-15): Levy 2-3, Campbell 1-1, Gildart 1-6, Loukes 0-1, Shea 0-2, Bradford 0-2

Indians 71, Cougars 66

Mt. Blue boys (12-7) Skowhegan (14-5)

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

Nile 3 4 0 0 6 Burnham 2 4 6 9 10

Parlin 1 2 1 2 3 Higgins 4 6 0 0 8

Almy 9 17 17 21 35 Larkin 1 2 1 2 3

Bryant 3 7 0 2 6 Rowbottom 4 7 6 7 15

Phillips 5 16 0 0 11 Brod 0 0 0 0 0

French 0 0 0 1 0 Washburn 1 2 0 0 2

Wasco 2 4 1 2 5 Walker 4 8 6 13 15

Clossey 3 5 7 9 13

Kelley 1 4 3 5 5

Totals 23 50 19 28 66 Totals 20 38 29 45 71

Mt. Blue 7 26 42 66

Skowhegan 22 34 51 71

3-pt. goals: Mt. Blue (1-11): Phillips 1-9, Nile 0-1, Almy 0-1; Skowhegan (2-7): Rowbottom 1-1, Walker 1-4, Burnham 0-2