Blue Devils finish unbeaten

loading...

AUGUSTA – It was a simple fast-break layup off a missed shot.

But it just wasn’t any other simple fast-break layup.

When Calais junior Brandon Tomah streaked down the Augusta Civic Center floor and kissed the ball gently off the glass with 2:46 remaining in Saturday’s Class C state final against Winthrop, it pointed the Blue Devils toward something they had never accomplished in 50 long years of Class C boys basketball: a state championship.

Two minutes, 46 seconds later, the Blue Devils and their basketball-hungry community finally had a boys championship to add to the five gold balls the girls have won since 1993, with a 56-49 triumph over the gritty Ramblers.

“I’ll tell ya, it’s a big monkey off these boys’ backs,” Calais coach Ed Leeman said. “These kids really earned it, and it’s for our entire community.”

The Devils put an exclamation point on the title as they also finished a perfect 22-0 – the only Maine high school team, boys or girls, to do so this season.

Winthrop finished 18-4.

It wouldn’t come as easy for Calais as it appeared it would early in the game. Calais torched the Winthrop defense in the first half en route to a 32-20 advantage at intermission.

That’s when the Ramblers put down the hammer defensively, holding the Blue Devils to six points in the third quarter, closing to within 38-34 as the final quarter began.

“We went in at halftime, we were up by 12, and we thought it was gonna be a cakewalk,” said Tomah, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. “Then they came right back and shoved it right [down] our throats, and we had to come back and fight hard.”

Winthrop’s aggressive man-to-man defense prevented Calais from generating any offensive penetration; thus the Devils were forced into outside shots.

“We knew this game wasn’t gonna be a blowout, so we went in at halftime and we said let’s pick up the defensive pressure,” Ramblers coach Dennis Dacus said.

After two Tim Gingras free throws gave the Ramblers their first lead at 41-40 with 4:34 to play in the game, Leeman called his troops over and prepared them for the battle that remained.

“When we took the timeout with about four minutes to go after they hit the second foul shot to take the lead, I looked at the guys and said ‘Hey, we’re in a war. You gotta play like it’s a war; it’s one possession at a time,'” Leeman said.

Senior guard and co-captain Adam Knowles started the Calais charge, then eventually secured the victory. His pull-up jumper with 3:10 to go tied the score at 44 and he later nailed a pull-up 3-pointer from the right wing with a little more than 1:30 left to up the margin to 51-46 and all but end Winthrop’s hopes.

“Adam Knowles just stepped up unbelievable in those last four minutes for us, to hit big shot after big shot,” Leeman said.

Knowles, who led Calais with 19 points, said he couldn’t ask for anything more then to bring the gold ball back to Washington County.

“We’ve got somethin’ to brag about now,” he said with a smile. “We’re undefeated, perfect season, what more could we ask for? Twenty-two and 0!”

Tomah said bringing the gold ball back to a community that loves its hoops teams is special.

“It means so much to me, ’cause during the summer, I put in so much hard work and I just practiced all the time,” he said, bearhugging the precious gold ball. “It just means so much just to bring this back.”

And Leeman mentioned a certain group of kids who he brought to this same arena four years ago.

“This gold ball is not just these boys’ gold ball. It’s the gold ball for those kids on the 2002 team that I felt got really robbed here in this same gym,” he said, referring to the tough 2002 state-title game loss against Jay. “It’s a gold ball for all the kids that have played in the Calais system.”

Junior Chris Taylor added 14 points for Calais, while sophomore Sam Bell came off the bench to score nine points, all in the first half.

Nate Damm scored 19 points to lead the Ramblers and Tyler Smithgall added 12.

And who were the first ones on the floor at the awards ceremony to congratulate the Devils? The girls team, of course, who spelled out the word “undefeated.”

The only undefeated left in Maine.

BLUE DEVILS 56, RAMBLERS 49

Calais (22-0) Winthrop (18-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Tomah 4 12 0 0 10 Gillespie 0 0

Rogers 1 2 0 0 2 T. Gngras 0 6

Taylor 5 14 4 7 14 Plossay 0 1 0

Knowles 7 13 4 6 19 Smithgall 5 14 1 2 12

Guthrie 0 5 2 3 2 Ridley 1 1 2

Stewart 0 0 0 0 0 N. Damm 8 15 19

Bell 4 8 0 0 9 Leclerc 3 8 1 8

Wallace 0 0 0 0 0 M. Gngras 1 13 0 0 2

Shorey 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 21 54 10 16 56 Totals 18 61 15 49

Calais 13 32 38 56

Winthrop 6 20 34 49

3-pt. goals – Calais (4-9): Tomah 2-5, Knowles 1-2, Bell 1-2; Winthrop (4-19): Smithgall 1-4, N. Damm 2-6, Leclerc 1-1, M. Gingras 0-6, T. Gingras 0-1, Plossay 0-1