AUGUSTA – When Kyle Bradford became one of Calvary Chapel Christian School’s first students in the fall of 2002, his basketball future was less than certain.

“When the school opened two years ago, we didn’t even know if there would be a basketball team,” he said. “We knew three people in the whole school who might play basketball, but we didn’t know if there would be anyone else coming to school who wanted to play.”

Two years later, the fledgling school from Orrington not only has a basketball team, but one of state-championship quality.

The Sabers capped off an undefeated season Saturday with a 72-69 victory over Valley of Bingham in the state final at the Augusta Civic Center, ending the Cavaliers’ 46-game win streak and record-setting six-year run as Class D champion.

“They had a little more than we could handle, one basket more,” said Valley coach Dwight Littlefield, whose club is 147-2 since the start of the 1997-98 season.

Calvary Chapel (22-0) led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, but had to withstand a 15-point third-quarter outburst by Valley guard Mark Gaudet that led to one tie and 10 lead changes over the game’s final 12 minutes.

“It’s just an awesome feeling,” said Calvary Chapel guard Brock Bradford, a sophomore who choreographed the Sabers’ offense and finished with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists. “We looked at Valley, and there was no way we could look by them because of who they are and their record, but we couldn’t put them up on a pedestal and think we couldn’t play with them.

“Our team played with great composure when Valley made its run,” he added.

Calvary Chapel trailed by as many as six points after 6-foot-5 sophomore center Travis Hovey sparked a 7-0 Valley run to open the fourth quarter.

But the Sabers rallied thanks to some relentless offensive rebounding. Sixth man Bryan Miller scored three key baskets, two after grabbing rebounds, and Kyle Bradford hit a second-chance jumper to give the Sabers the lead for good at 65-64 with 2:55 left.

For the game, Calvary Chapel outrebounded Valley 42-28, earning the Sabers 13 more field-goal attempts (73-60) than the Cavaliers.

“We didn’t control the boards as well as we needed to,” said Littlefield. “We knew they were going to score because they’ve got great shooters, but we didn’t want to give them that many shots.”

Calvary Chapel took a 70-66 lead into the final minute after senior forward Josh Madden – who had lost to Valley in the state final each of the last two years while playing at Bangor Christian – scored on a feed from Kyle Bradford.

But Gaudet, who had a game-high 28 points, hit a 24-foot 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to cut the gap to one. It was Gaudet’s only basket of the fourth quarter, the result of Calvary Chapel coach Ross Bradford – the father of Kyle and Brock – opting to switch to a box-and-one defense against the Valley star.

“We had used that previously in the tournament,” Ross Bradford said, “and we were kind of saving it in case we needed it.”

The Cavaliers were then forced to foul, and Brock Bradford made both ends of a one-and- one to make it 72-69.

Valley (20-1) had one last chance, but Gaudet’s running 3-pointer as time expired was on line but long, bouncing off the back of the rim.

“You don’t have too many options at that point,” said Littlefield. “It’s hard to get a good look because they knew who was going to shoot it, everybody knew who was going to shoot it. We just didn’t make it this time.”

Madden finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds for Calvary Chapel, while Kyle Bradford added 16 points. Miller and senior forward Tyler Gans combined for 13 rebounds.

“They have so many different scoring weapons,” said Gaudet. “We’re used to playing teams with one or two guys who can score, but they have four or five who can score and its difficult to stop them.”

Travis Hovey supported Gaudet offensively with 20 points for Valley, while Lucas Melcher had eight rebounds and five assists.

Valley opened the game seeking to stop Calvary Chapel from unleashing its long-range shooting game, one that produced 30 3-pointers in three Eastern D tournament wins.

That left Brock Bradford able to penetrate the Cavaliers’ defense, either for his own mid- range jumpers or passes to Madden in the low post. That duo combined for 26 points as Calvary Chapel took a 34-27 halftime lead.

But when Gaudet rallied Valley in the third quarter, Calvary Chapel had the fortitude to withstand the pressure, not only of the game, but of going head-to-head against a Class D legend.

“There was an incredible mental aspect to it,” said Kyle Bradford. “One thing Coach kept going over and over was not to let their record scare you to the point where you don’t play as well as you should, and I don’t think we did.”

SABERS 72, CAVALIERS 69

Calvary Chapel (22-0) Valley (20-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

B. Bradford 10 22 2 2 24 Hibbard 1 2 2

Madden 7 18 4 9 18 T. Giberson 0 0

Gans 1 9 2 4 4 Atwood 1 1 0 2

K. Bradford 6 18 1 2 16 Melcher 3 7 6

Astle 2 3 0 0 4 Hovey 8 10 20

Miller 3 3 0 0 6 Gaudet 11 23 28

Gilbert 1 3 0 2

Hyland 3 11 2 9

Hatfield 0 0 0

Totals 29 73 9 17 72 Totals 28 60 11 69

Calvary Chapel 20 34 52 72

Valley 14 27 51 69

3-pt. goals ? Calvary Chapel (5-20): K. Bradford 3-10, B.Bradford 2-6, Astle 0-1, Madden 0-3; Valley (5-17): Gaudet 4-9, Hyland 1-7, Giberson