BANGOR – Matt Wheelock wasn’t a dominant offensive presence Friday night.

But the 6-foot-10 senior center for Hall-Dale of Farmingdale controlled the defensive end, blocking seven shots and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs shut down Dexter 52-31 at the Bangor Auditorium to win their first Class C boys basketball state championship in 31 years.

“[Wheelock] made a lot of difference,” said Dexter coach Peter Murray. “We needed to have a big game out of somebody other than [Eastern Maine tourney MVP] Chris Rabideau because he was going to have a difficult time scoring on him, but he altered a lot of shots. You could tell kids were thinking about him in there defensively.”

With Wheelock denying the Eastern Maine champions anything resembling an inside offense, the Tigers were left to shoot from the outside.

That didn’t work, either, against the aggressive Hall-Dale perimeter tandem of Ben Laflin, Jack Leet and Jay Skillings.

Dexter made only 10 field goals during the game, and shot just 33 percent from the field.

“Watching Dexter on film, I knew if we stayed balanced and challenged shots and didn’t get in foul trouble they’d have a difficult time scoring on us,” said Hall-Dale coach Chris Ranslow.

Dexter also hurt itself with 16 turnovers, 12 in the second half as the Tigers were attempting to rally from a 27-13 deficit.

“That really wasn’t a typical Dexter game,” said Murray. “We’re usually very good with the ball, but it’s one of those things where the kids know it’s the last game of the year and they’re looking for that 10-point shot, and it’s just not out there.”

Hall-Dale, meanwhile, executed a virtually flawless offense. The Bulldogs committed zero turnovers in the first half, and finished with just five turnovers overall – three on player-control fouls.

Laflin, a 6-foot-1 senior forward, attacked the interior of the Dexter defense to score a game-high 20 points – the only player on either team to score in double figures.

Wheelock added eight points for the champs, who finish with a 21-1 record.

“We didn’t turn the ball over in the first half,” said Ranslow, “and when you rebound solidly and don’t turn the ball over, and you’ve got two big kids [Wheelock and 6-7 Jon Hill] and Laflin inside, and you play solid defense, it becomes somewhat academic.”

Dexter concludes its season with a 19-3 record.

“We watched them on film and knew it was going to be a tough game for us either way,” said Rabideau, who was held to two points but grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. “But we had faith, and we came out and played with them for a while, but they got a lead and kept extending it. We weren’t playing very good defense, and we just couldn’t overcome it.”

Hall-Dale took the lead for good by scoring the final five points of the first period, a 3-pointer by Skillings and a runner from the lane by Laflin that gave the Bulldogs a 13-8 edge.

While Dexter went for a 5- minute, 32-second scoreless stretch, Hall-Dale extended the run to 11-0 to take a 19-8 lead before Mark Pullen ended the Tigers’ drought with a backdoor layup with 5:37 left in the first half.

Hall-Dale took a 14-point advantage lead into the third quarter, and stretched it to as much as 16 before Dexter mustered a modest comeback.

Senior guard Eric Day converted a three-point play on a fast-break layup, then scored after grabbing an offensive rebound to pull the Tigers within 34-25 and force a Hall-Dale timeout with 2:17 left in the third quarter.

Hall-Dale came out of that break and scored the next nine points to put the game away. Laflin fed Wheelock for a layup to start the run, and he later added two free throws, a lane runner and a fast-break layup as the Bulldogs extended their lead to 43-27 with 4:46 to play.

BULLDOGS 52, TIGERS 31

Hall-Dale (21-1) Dexter (19-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Bell 0 0 0 0 0 A.Woodmn 0 0 0

Abbott 2 7 1 1 5 Lavin 0 0 0

Skillings 2 8 0 0 5 Peirce 1 1 3

McPherson 0 1 0 0 0 Day 2 9 6

Leet 2 8 0 0 6 Murray 2 4 0 5

Laflin 8 13 4 6 20 Pullen 2 5 6

Ype;r 0 0 0 0 0 Bowers 0 2 0

Pratt 1 1 0 0 2 Rabideau 1 2

Hill 0 1 1 4 1 B.Woodmn 0 0 2

Wheelock 4 9 0 1 8 Eastman 0 0 0

Duncklee 0 2 0 0 0 Martin 1 5 3

Shain 1 7 0 0 2 McCarthy 1 4

Gagne 1 1 0 0 3

Totals 21 58 6 12 52 10 33 12 31

Hall-Dale 13 27 37 52

Dexter 8 13 25 31

3-pt. goals – Hall-Dale (4-13): Leet 2-8, Skillings 1-2, Gagne 1-1, Abbott 0-2; Dexter (3-9): Peirce 1-1, Murray 1-2, Martin 1-4, Day 0-1, Pullen 0-1