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BANGOR – Forget the seedings, the division alignments, the fact the game wasn’t played in the Bangor Auditorium, and the new wacky playoff system in general.
Wednesday night’s Eastern Maine Class A prelim playoff game at Bangor High was a semifinal playoff matchup in scope, intensity and quality of play.
Red Barry Gym was packed with approximately 1,100 fans, two bands, two cheering squads, and a court-long table filled with press watching the Bangor boys stage a third-quarter comeback, play ball-control offense along with solid defense, and pull out a 48-42 victory over fellow perennial tourney contender Lawrence of Fairfield.
The 15-4 Rams charged out of the locker room and went on a game-turning 16-1 run to turn a 22-16 Lawrence halftime lead into a 32-23 Rams lead with 1:40 left in the third. As a result, Bangor will take on unbeaten Brunswick Saturday in an 11:10 a.m. Auditorium tournament quarterfinal.
“We knew if we didn’t come out fired up in the second half, our season would be over, so that’s what we did,” said Rams forward Derrick Shain, who came up big with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The key players during the run were Rams guards Zak Ray and Buddy Nickerson, who combined for 14 points in that crucial span of six minutes, 20 seconds.
Ray got the Rams going by scoring back-to-back hoops on dribble penetration to the low post.
“I got after him a little bit to do that because he wasn’t in the first half and we need him to get in and score or get the foul,” said Rams coach Roger Reed. “I thought the third period was the key for us because we came out and played hard. We didn’t give [Trafton] Teague too many good looks and put pressure on their guards.”
Nickerson (11 points, five rebounds, two steals) drilled two 3-pointers after going 0-for-2 from 3-point range in the first half. His rejuvenated perimeter shooting helped things open up a bit for Shain and the other big guys.
Another key was the man defense Ray and Chris Bombardier played on Teague (18 points, nine boards) despite giving up at least two inches to the Bulldogs’ senior star forward. They got great support from Rams forward Robert Flynn.
Guard Ross Murray (15 points) kept the ‘Dogs close and caused the Bangor fans some nervous moments with 5-for-12 shooting from 3-point range, but Lawrence couldn’t get closer than six for most of the final quarter. When they closed to three with 10 seconds left, time was running out and Ray iced it with a fast-break layup off a full-court inbound pass by Bombardier from the opposite baseline with two seconds left.
“That first half was a coach’s dream. It’s as well as we’ve played defensively all year,” said Lawrence coach Mike McGee of his triangle-and-two alignment on Ray and Nickerson. “We got the looks we wanted later on, but we just couldn’t convert. That’s been the story for us this year.”
Lawrence outrebounded the Rams 8-1 on the offensive boards in the final quarter and 19-13 in the game, but Bangor finished with a 36-35 overall rebounding edge.
Ray scored 14 points and dished out five assists. Flynn led the Rams with seven rebounds. Junior forward Peter McLaughlin led 12-7 Lawrence with 12 rebounds.
RAMS 48, BULLDOGS 42
Lawrence boys (12-7) Bangor (15-4)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Pratt 0 0 0 0 0 Achorn 0 1 0
Kent 0 0 0 0 0 Ray 4 11 6 14
Murray 5 14 0 0 15 Gallant 1 2 5
Foster 0 3 0 0 0 Bombardier 1 3
Pellerin 0 0 0 0 0 Nickerson 4 10 0 1 11
Dennis 1 3 0 0 2 R.Flynn 1 7 4
Teague 5 22 8 9 18 Shain 5 7 11
McLaughlin 1 7 2 2 4 Guerette 0 0
Bradstreet 0 1 0 0 0
Lambert 0 5 3 4 3
Totals 12 55 13 15 42 Totals 16 43 13 19 48
Lawrence 11 22 25 42
Bangor 9 16 32 48
3-pt. goals: Lawrence (5-16): Murray 5-12, Teague 0-4; Bangor (3-13): Nickerson 3-7, Achorn 0-1, Flynn 0-1, Gallant 0-1, Ray 0-3
Attendance: 1,100 (est.)
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