‘A’ quarterfinal upset likely biggest since 1988

BANGOR – Russ Bartlett was stopped by a Bangor Auditorium security guard as he tried to pass through the doors into the building’s back hallway before Saturday night’s Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball quarterfinal between Brewer and Leavitt of Turner Center.

He didn’t have his “participant” ribbon on, so the guard was right to stop him. But you’d think a few hours after pulling off one of the biggest tourney upsets in recent memory, Bartlett would get a bit more recognition.

Bartlett, coach of the ninth-seeded Hampden boys basketball team, orchestrated the latest chapter in the heated Bangor-Hampden rivalry – the Broncos’ 44-40 win over the top-ranked Rams in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinals.

The win was likely the biggest upset in the Eastern A boys tournament since 1988, when No. 8 Presque Isle beat No. 1 Lawrence of Fairfield 86-81 in double overtime.

Other games featuring upsets when the No. 8 defeated No. 1 include: 1979, Cony of Augusta beat Old Town 67-50; 1976, Old Town defeated Stearns of Millinocket; 1972, Bangor topped Houlton 51-50; 1971, Brewer edged Bangor 58-57; 1968, Presque Isle beat Old Town; and 1966, John Bapst of Bangor defeated Stearns 72-64.

The John Bapst victory also snapped Stearns 81-game winning streak against Eastern Maine teams.

Ironically, the Hampden victory also ends a recent storied history under coach Roger Reed for the Bangor Rams at the Bangor Auditorium as the Eastern A tourney moves to the Augusta Civic Center next season. Bangor won’t get a final chance to play for a state title after claiming state titles under Reed on the Auditorium hardwood in 1993, 1995, 2001 and 2003.

Hampden now moves on to play another team that has captured two upsets to advance, No. 13 Brewer, in Friday’s semifinals.

The Broncos lost three regular-season games to Bangor but Bartlett said he had a sense they could beat the Rams this year.

“I didn’t know when it was going to be, but I really felt like we could,” said the 1995 Hampden graduate. “It just happens we got the one that matters the most.”

It took those three losses to sort out what the Broncos wanted to do in Saturday’s game. Bartlett said his biggest decision was what kind of defense to play.

Hampden usually plays man-to-man but Bartlett had some matchup concerns. On the other hand, he said, the Broncs tend not to rebound well in a zone.

Based on what he saw from his defense at the end of the season, he went with man.

“Our defense had made some big steps and after years of the same kids working on it, we feel like we can man up all the time,” he said. “We played man, ended up winning the rebound war, and I thought that was key.”

The win over Bangor was also a huge victory in a rivalry that spills into other sports like soccer. That was part of the reason for the outpouring of emotion after the game, when some of the Hampden fans managed to run onto the court.

“I was little disappointed. I thought we got a little overemotional,” he said. “I wanted us to act like we’ve been here before. And I think if it had been a different [opposing] team it wouldn’t have been the same way. Hopefully we won’t act like that again, but at the same time I was happy for these kids.”