Valley’s Gaudet displays shooting skills as West teams sweep

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BANGOR – The East C-D senior all-stars had rallied all the way back from a virtually game-long deficit, taking a 56-54 lead on a 3-pointer by Derek DiFrederico of Stearns in Millinocket midway through the fourth quarter.

To those who have followed Valley High of Bingham’s magical basketball story in recent years, what happened next wasn’t surprising.

Mark Gaudet took over.

The 5-foot-11 guard scored eight of his team’s next 11 points, including a pair of 3-point goals, as the West C-D stars fought back for a 73-67 victory Saturday during the 24th annual Maine McDonald’s East-West Senior All-Star Games at Husson College.

“We’re used to that for sure,” said West C-D coach Dwight Littlefield of Valley. “Mark’s just a great player. He’s got tons of confidence, he wants the ball and knows he’s going to knock down the shots, and he does.”

The West made it a sweep of the two boys contests, with the A-B stars taking the lead for good midway through the first quarter to defeat the East 74-65.

In the C-D game, Gaudet and the East’s Darius Parker of East Grand in Danforth traded 3-pointers as the East maintained a 59-57 edge with less than four minutes left.

Michael Norton of Boothbay broke the tie with an inside move, and Gaudet followed with another 3-pointer as the West embarked on an 8-0 run. Randy McMullen of Madison made 1 of 2 free throws, and Gaudet then converted a steal into a successful drive to the basket that gave the West a 65-59 edge with 2:28 left.

Even the opponents were impressed.

“I’d never played against Gaudet, and that was fun,” said Bryan Grew of Central Aroostook in Mars Hill. “The kid can shoot.”

Gaudet finished with game-high totals of 17 points – including 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc – and 10 rebounds.

“Usually I play point guard and I was playing the two-guard this time,” said Gaudet, a 1,000-point scorer who moved with his family to the Bingham area from Texas after his freshman year. “I just had to get up and run the floor and play good defense and do a lot of rebounding.”

McMullen added 12 points for the West, while Mark Wade of Monmouth Academy scored 10.

Josh Madden of Class D state champion Calvary Chapel of Orrington led the East with 16 points, while Whitney Stevens of Washington Academy in East Machias scored 15 points and Parker finished with 12.

Gaudet struck for three 3-pointers in the game’s first four minutes, including two as the West raced out to a 10-0 lead. That margin was 22-11 by the end of the first quarter, but Parker had four points and an assist on a layup by Hodgdon’s Jimmy Griffin late in the second period to pull the East within 29-24 at the break.

Madden brought the East all the way back early in the third quarter, making three 3-pointers during a 12-3 run -Parker had the other 3 – that forged a 36-36 tie.

But the East wouldn’t take its first lead until later. Brett Hutchinson of Georges Valley of Thomaston broke the tie with a tip-in and added another follow-up basket, and McMullen went inside for a three-point play as the West built its advantage back to 43-36.

In the A-B game, the East moved out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes, but the West scored the next nine points and never trailed again.

Shawn Tobey, a 6-foot-5 forward from Marshwood of Eliot, led the West with 16 points, while Rocco Toppi of Class A state champion Portland added 10.

Isaac Hutchinson of Messalonskee in Oakland scored 10 points and Brian Wells of Mt. Blue of Farmington added eight points and 12 rebounds to pace the East. Ralph Mims of Eastern A champion Brunswick, the state’s newly named Mr. Basketball, also scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field.

“This was a little different than in the state game,” said Portland point guard Eric Shone, who guarded Mims both during the state final and parts of Saturday’s all-star game. “He was a little more passive today, but it’s always fun playing against Ralph.”

The West scored 14 straight points midway through the second quarter to break a 20-20 tie. Mac Simpson of Cheverus in Portland hit two 3-pointers among his eight points during the run, while Tobey added a dunk and a layup.

Trailing 40-31 at halftime, the East crept with six points five times during the third quarter, the final time when Andy Frost of Brewer followed in his own miss to pull his team within 56-50.

But each time the East threatened, the West had a counterattack. Tobey worked the low post for eight points in the third quarter, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Jon Marstaller of Lake Region of Naples and Toppi sparked a 7-0 run that gave the West a 70-54 cushion with 5:12 left in the game.

WEST A-B BOYS 74, EAST 65

West East

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Bourassa 3 5 0 0 7 Frost 3 6 7

Simpson 3 8 0 0 8 Mims 3 11 8

Forcella 2 5 0 0 6 Poulin 1 4 2

Mastropaolo 2 9 0 0 4 Donar 2 6 5

Brown 3 12 0 0 7 Woods 4 9 9

Randall 2 4 1 2 5 Hutchinson 5 14 0 0 10

Marstaller 2 4 0 0 5 Sewall 2 4 5

Tobey 8 16 0 0 16 Wells 4 10 8

Shone 2 15 2 2 6 Goodale 3 11 6

Toppi 4 10 0 0 10 Tielinen 2 5

Totals 31 88 3 4 74 Totals 29 80 65

West 20 40 63 74

East 18 31 50 65

3-pt. goals ? West (9-27): Forcella 2-4, Simpson 2-5, Toppi 2-5, Marstaller 1-1, Bourassa 1-3, Brown 1-5, Shone 0-4; East (6-26): Mims 2-8, Frost 1-1, Sewall 1-2, Woods 1-4, Tielinen 1-4, Donar 0-1, Hutchinson 0-1, Goodale 0-2, Wells 0-3

WEST C-D BOYS 73, EAST 67

West East

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Norton 2 4 0 0 4 Bradford 1 2

Hutchinson 4 11 0 0 8 Madden 6 8 16

Wilgus 2 3 1 2 6 Grew 1 5 2

McMullen 4 5 4 6 12 Parker 4 11 12

Wade 4 12 0 0 10 Griffin 2 5 0 5

Goodwin 1 4 2 4 4 Beal 2 11 5

Pullen 4 6 0 0 9 Bailey 0 5 0

Fleet 1 9 1 4 3 Allen 2 4 5

Gaudet 6 14 0 0 17 DiFrederico 2 10 0 1 5

Stevens 6 12 1 15

Totals 28 68 8 16 73 Totals 26 77 11 67

West 22 29 50 73

East 11 24 48 67

3-pt. goals ? West (9-21): Gaudet 5-8, Wade 2-8, Pullen 1-1, Wilgus 1-2, Fleet 0-2; East (10-33): Madden 4-5, Parker 2-4, Stevens 2-5, Griffin 1-2, DiFrederico 1-5, Bailey 0-1, Allen 0-1, Grew 0-1, Beal 0-4, Bradford 0-5