Bangor Rams patiently outlast Morse

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BANGOR – Sometimes patience is as important on defense as it is on offense, particularly when the opposing boys basketball team favors lengthy possessions.

Bangor High faced that test in Wednesday night’s Eastern Maine Class A preliminary-round game, but the Rams were able to use their defensive patience to fend off Morse High of Bath 39-33 at Red Barry Gymnasium.

The win advances fourth-seeded Bangor – the lone winner among five Big East Conference teams to play Wednesday – to a quarterfinal at 8:35 p.m. Saturday against 12th-ranked Mount Ararat of Topsham. The Eagles upset No. 5 Old Town 70-62.

Morse, the No. 13 seed, was without its top player, senior Mason Loveitt, a first-team All-Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference selection who was suspended from the team earlier in the day for a violation of team rules, according to Shipbuilders’ coach Brett Barnes.

That necessitated a change in game plan to a much more deliberate style, with Morse routinely working a minute or more off the clock before setting up 6-1 senior Brandon Sewall (15 points) for scoring chances.

“We planned all week to play the game differently than we did,” said Barnes. “We thought before that we could score a little more and make it more up-tempo, but we decided on the way up to make an adjustment and slow it up a bit. The kids did a great job.”

Bangor (14-5) responded with a defensive effort that forced 19 Morse turnovers while drawing just seven team fouls for the game.

“We know they were trying to take their time and get open shots every time, and we just kept putting pressure on them,” said Bangor senior forward Mike Prentiss, who contributed seven points, six rebounds and three steals.

Bangor’s lead was just 15-12 at intermission, in part because of eight possessions in the second quarter, the Rams had four turnovers and four field goals.

Bangor took control with a 10-2 third-quarter run. Senior forward P.J. Dowe hit a hook shot from the lane, then converted a three-point play after grabbing an offensive rebound to give Bangor a 20-14 lead.

Prentiss then took a feed from Jordan Heath and scored from the low post, and Heath followed a basket by Morse’s Craig Lebrecque with a 3-pointer from the right wing to extend Bangor’s cushion to 25-16 with 1:46 left in the period.

Morse still was within 27-20 on a Kyan Dunlap drive early in the fourth quarter, but Bangor held the Shipbuilders scoreless for the next 3:32, and the Rams got baskets from Heath and Aaron Gallant off loose balls and another inside basket from Prentiss for a 33-20 lead with 3:30 left.

In a game in which the two teams combined for just 56 field-goal tries, that 13-point lead may as well have been 25.

“It was an edgy kind of game because you feel like you want to go down and get into things quicker on offense,” said Bangor coach Roger Reed. “But you can’t do it because you’re going to be back on defense for another minute and a half or two minutes, so I just told the kids to stay patient.”

“I thought we were patient. We had some sets that we ran when we got a couple of nice shots, and then they broke down a bit and we were able to get some easy baskets and stretch the lead out a little.”

Heath led Bangor offensively with nine points, all in the second half, while Gallant and Chad Astle each scored eight points.

RAMS 39, SHIPBUILDERS 33

Morse (9-10) Bangor (14-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Dunlap 2 2 0 2 5 Heath 2 6 9

B. Sewall 6 15 2 2 15 Aa. Gallant 3 8

Harrison 0 2 0 0 0 Dowe 3 4 7

Lebrecque 4 4 1 2 9 Astle 3 6 8

Dasch 0 0 0 0 0 Prentiss 3 7

Harkins 2 3 0 0 4 DeRosa 0 4 0

Perkins 0 0 0 0 0 St. John 0 0

Trundy 0 0 0 0

Anderson 0 0 0

Totals 14 26 3 6 33 Totals 14 32 16 39

Morse 8 12 18 33

Bangor 6 15 25 39

3-pt. goals ? Morse (2-7): Dunlap 1-1, B. Sewall 1-6; Bangor (3-12): Aa. Gallant 1-2, Heath 1-4, Astle 1-4, DeRosa 0-2

Attendance: 600 (est.)