Bangor faces unbeaten Deering for state crown

In regard to Saturday night’s clash between the Rams from Bangor and the Rams from Deering of Portland for the Maine Class A state basketball title, it’s not a difficult game to build up.

Want to go the WWF route? Call it “Rampage 2001”. How about individual matchups? That’s a natural, too, with two Maine Mr. Basketball finalists – Bangor’s Joe Campbell and Deering’s Jamaal Caterina – facing off.

Prefer a more practical approach? Well, there’s the matter of the winner coming away with the much-coveted gold ball. For Deering, that would be a first. For Bangor, it would be the second straight and fifth in the last nine years.

With Saturday’s 9 p.m. game at the storied Bangor Auditorium having so much significance on so many levels already, leave it to focused Bangor coach Roger Reed to cut through the hype.

“I think the key is for the kids to go in and play. Just have fun, play, and don’t worry about all the hoopla,” Reed said.

Of course, that may be easier said than done when taking the floor against an opponent whose starting lineup averages 6 feet, 3 inches in height; has compiled a 21-0 record with an average victory margin of just under 26 points; and two players whose definite Division I talent has the recruiters lined up and the mail rolling in.

“That’s true, but I don’t think the kids are going into this scared. They’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Reed. “We can’t match up with them man to man. We don’t match up with them at all, but we will certainly hang our hat on our man-to-man defense.

“We definitely have to make certain the game doesn’t get out of hand and fast-paced. We want to keep it in the 50s or lower.”

First-year Deering coach Mike Francoeur said he can’t wait to see what Bangor’s going to throw at his team. He expects the defending state champs to come up with something that will give his team some problems.

“We’ve been playing the tapes and I’m really not sure how this game will break down,” Francoeur said. “Roger’s a legend in the state of Maine and I’m sure they’ll be well-prepared. I think they can do whatever they need to do to win.”

Deering’s Rams, who have averaged 79 points per game, are led by the 6-5 Caterina and 6-7 junior Nik Caner-Medley – both forwards. The rest of the starting five includes 6-5, 220-pound banger and senior center Jay Casterella, 6-1 junior point guard and West tourney MVP Walter Phillips, and 5-11 junior guard Bo Belanger.

Bangor starts the 6-5 Campbell, 6-0 senior swingman Joe Vanidestine, 5-10 sophomore point guard Zak Ray, and 6-0 senior guards Josh Johnson and Jim Shea.

Bangor isn’t small by any stretch, but they certainly give up some inches to their namesakes from Deering.

“This year, we’ve tried to get the game up-tempo,” said Francoeur. “We try to get the game in the 60s and 70s seventies. We set a 55-point limit for our opponents.”

On defense, Deering used lots of man-to-man in the West final, but Francoeur likes to utilize matchup zones and his Rams have also had success pressing teams.

“We don’t rely heavily on any one scheme or style to win,” he said. “These guys are pretty good at doing a lot of different things.”

Especially dunking. Caner-Medley leads the team with 39 and Phillips had seven in one game. By comparison, Bangor has had maybe 10-15 all season.

Dunks don’t win games, so expect Bangor to continue eschewing flash and emphasizing old-fashioned, in-your-face defense.

“I’m not changing a whole lot of things. I don’t think you can re-invent the wheel at this point,” Reed said. “We just have to keep doing the things we’ve done successfully all season.”