BANGOR – Offense didn’t come easily for the Bangor girls basketball team against Messalonskee Friday night. But with the defense clicking, the Rams rebounding well, and Serena Dubois and Kelsey Curtis knocking down free throws late, Bangor got all the scoring it would need.

Free throws and two huge steals by Amy Hackett sealed a 37-34 victory over the Eagles of Oakland at Red Barry Gymnasium.

“Defense is what’s holding us together right now,” Hackett said. “We’re struggling on offense but our defense is just incredible now.”

Curtis scored 12 points and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line for the Rams, who are now 4-1 and have won four straight.

“We’ve had a lot of close games this week,” Dubois said with a smile.

Messalonskee falls to 2-2.

Dubois and Curtis combined to go 15-for-16 from the line, including 5-for-6 in the fourth quarter.

Even more impressive, the Rams made seven free throws in the final 3:39 of the game.

Both teams were pleased with their defense, but Bangor shut down Messalonskee in the final three minutes of the game, after Amanda Barker hit her second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter at that point to give the Eagles a 34-32 lead.

However, Curtis made two free throws with 1:10 left to pull even with Messalonskee.

After a series of turnovers and fouls, as well as a missed Messalonskee free throw, Curtis was called for Bangor’s third player control foul of the game with 29.9 seconds left. Hackett stole the ball back four seconds later and was fouled.

She missed both of her shots, but Dubois rebounded Hackett’s second shot and was fouled, putting Bangor into the double bonus. Dubois made the first free throw for a 35-34 lead.

“You just have to pick up everything at the end, because everything counts,” said Dubois, who had team-high 10 rebounds. “Every possession counts.”

Dubois missed the next free throw, but Emily Heath scrapped for the loose ball and got it to Ilyse Angst, who was fouled and made two free throws.

The Eagles brought the ball down the floor with about 15 seconds left and looked for a 3-point shot, but Hackett stole the ball again with less than five seconds left.

“We had some really good defensive plays down the stretch that made a difference,” Bangor coach Tom Tennett said. “The big steals at the end turned it around.”

Dubois made two free throws earlier in the quarter. She missed her first shot on a 1-and-1, but Messalonskee was called for a lane violation. This time, Dubois converted both free throws.

“It was little things like that,” said first-year Messalonskee coach Brian Laramee. “It’s a 1-and-1, we step in for a violation, and she makes both free throws after that. You can’t do that against a good team like Bangor. We have to clean up those things if we want to compete.”

Barker led the Eagles with 12 points. Her twin sister, Chelsea, had two. Hackett guarded Amanda Barker and Angst had Chelsea Barker.

“Both the Barkers are really good shooters, and we had to shut down their dribble-penetration,” Hackett said.

RAMS 37, EAGLES 34

Messalonskee (2-2) Bangor (4-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

C. Barker 1 12 0 0 2 Angst 1 4 4

Busque 2 10 2 2 6 Heath 1 4 2

A. Barker 5 11 0 3 12 A.Hackett 0 0

Oliver 3 10 2 4 8 Smith 3 3 6

Perry 0 0 0 0 0 Lincoln 0 5 0

Duren 1 3 1 2 3 Wadleigh 0 0

S. Haiss 0 0 0 0 0 Dubois 2 8 9

Roderigue 1 5 0 0 3 Curtis 1 4 10 10 12

Clukey 0 4 0 0

Godinez 2 7 0 4

Totals 13 51 5 11 34 Totals 10 41 17 24 37

Messalonskee 7 17 26 34

Bangor 10 16 28 37

3-pt. goals – Messalonskee (3-14): A. Barker 2-6, Roderigue 1-4, Busque 0-1, C. Barker 0-3; Bangor (0-3): Lincoln 0-3

JV: Bangor 42-29

Attendance: 150 (est.)