MILLINOCKET – Derek DiFrederico came up well short on a free throw that might have sent his Stearns High boys basketball team home victorious without enduring overtime at Wentworth Gymnasium on Friday night.

But when similar opportunities arose during the extra period, the senior guard displayed a more confident stroke, making four straight from the line during the final 1:03 of overtime to give the Minutemen a 67-63 victory over archrival Schenck of East Millinocket.

“I missed that one earlier. We should have ended it there,” said DiFrederico of the back end of a 1-and-1 with 10 seconds left in regulation and the game locked in a 61-61 tie. “But you just try to put that pressure behind, go out and relax and make sure you follow through and make them.”

Schenck had its own chance to end the game in regulation, but a shot from the lane by senior center Mark Hanington bounced off the rim as time expired.

Stearns’ Steve Cyr and Schenck’s Nick Bishop traded baskets in the first minute of overtime – the last field goals of the game.

Craig Jandreau made 1-of-2 from the line to give Stearns a 64-63 lead with 1:28 left, and he and DiFrederico made five more free throws while Schenck was hurt by late turnovers and fouls.

“We were down throughout the game,” said DiFrederico, who finished with a game-high 27 points. “But good teams find a way to win in the end, and we came to play at the end and showed that we could win.”

Jandreau added 12 points and Cyr 10 for Stearns. Senior point guard Tyler Thompson led Schenck with 20 points, while Hanington had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Brian Graham finished with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

The win improved Stearns to 11-3 on the season, leaving coach Wade Duplisea’s club ranked among the top teams in Eastern Maine Class C with a big matchup looming here Monday night against once-beaten Houlton.

For 4-9 Schenck, this was the Wolverines’ seventh loss by six points or less, including two narrow defeats against Stearns.

“You can’t look at the records in games like this,” said Duplisea, who played for Stearns in the 1980s. “These are two teams that always battle each other, and actually don’t like each other, so they really step up against each other and play hard.”

Schenck held a slight lead through much of this contest, but couldn’t capitalize on early foul trouble to Stearns center Matt LeGassey.

LeGassey, who scored 26 points in Stearns’ 57-55 win at Schenck on Dec. 15, drew his second foul 1:35 into the contest and sat out the rest of the first half.

But by halftime, Schenck’s lead was just 30-27, as 12 points by DiFrederico nearly offset 14 in the first two periods by Thompson, and the Wolverines didn’t shoot well on chances near the basket.

LeGassey returned in the second half, but Schenck maintained a 44-39 lead through three quarters.

Stearns rallied to take a 52-50 lead on a follow-up basket by LeGassey (eight points, eight rebounds) and a shot from the lane by Jandreau, but Schenck countered with seven straight points – with Aaron Waite contributing a hoop and two assists – to take a five-point lead, and held a 61-56 advantage when Waite scored from the lane with 1:29 left.

Stearns then converted a four-point play 14 seconds later, as DiFrederico hit a jumper and LeGassey made two free throws after being fouled away from the shot.

The teams traded possessions before Schenck missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 23 seconds left. DiFrederico rebounded, dribbled the ball downcourt and was fouled with 10 seconds to play.

Schenck called a full timeout, but DiFrederico made the first of his 1-and-1 to tie the game at 61-61. Schenck called another full timeout, and this time DiFrederico missed. Schenck rebounded, but couldn’t convert at the other end as the fourth quarter ended.

STEARNS 69, SCHENCK 63 (OT)

Schenck (4-9) Stearns (11-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Graham 5 21 0 0 10 Cyr 5 15 10

Hanington 5 13 2 5 12 DiFrederico 11 22 5 6 27

Jamo 0 0 0 0 0 C.Jandreau 5 8 12

K.Pelkey 0 1 0 0 0 Barnett 3 6 8

T.Thompson 8 13 2 2 20 McInnis 0 2 0

Waite 4 11 0 0 8 LeGassey 3 8

VanEss 0 1 0 0 0 McGreevy 2 4

Bishop 2 2 0 0 4

J.Pelkey 4 10 1 2 9

Totals 28 72 5 9 63 Totals 29 63 11 16 69

Schenck 19 30 44 61 63

Stearns 19 27 41 61 69

3-pt. goals ? Schenck (2-11): T. Thompson 2-5, Graham 0-2, Waite 0-4; Stearns (0-7): Cyr 0-1, Barnett 0-1, McInnis 0-2, DiFrederico 0-3

Attendance: 600 (est.)

JV: Schenck 57-48