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BANGOR – Bangor’s stiffest test of the schoolboy basketball season to date lasted just over a quarter.
Then the Rams’ defense took control, holding Messalonskee of Oakland without a field goal for the first 7 minutes, 24 seconds of the second quarter as Bangor went on to a 69-44 victory over the Eagles at Red Barry Gymnasium on Friday night.
Messalonskee did score more points than any previous foe had managed against Bangor, which is allowing only 34.4 points per contest and has an average victory margin of 30 points in its undefeated start.
It wasn’t nearly enough.
“They play great, great team defense,” said Messalonskee coach Tom Hill. “You watch them play, and the kids are always in the right spot, and if they get beat, there’s always someone there to help them. They’re aggressive and they pound the glass. They’ve just got a good, good basketball team.”
Bangor also got a stellar performance from senior forward Alex Gallant, who scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in helping the Rams overcome foul trouble that limited starting center Ryan Weston’s effectiveness.
Gallant overpowered a less physical Messalonskee front line, shooting an efficient 10 of 14 from the field.
“He was very tough,” said Bangor coach Roger Reed. “We figure Alex is probably going to be as strong as anybody on the inside for a kid who’s 6-3. He’s pretty fundamentally sound and he’s got a nice jump hook, so anytime we can get him the ball inside he’s going to get a good shot off and he’s going to get fouled a lot.”
Gallant scored nine points in the third quarter when Bangor broke the game open, including a layup and a three-point play off an offensive rebound as part of a 12-0 run that extended the Rams’ lead to 52-33 by the end of the period.
“Alex Gallant took the game over in the second half,” said Hill. “He’s always been a thorn in our side whenever we’ve played them. He just took over in the second half and we didn’t have an answer for him.”
Junior swingman Lee Suvlu complemented Gallant’s inside play with a strong perimeter game, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbing six rebounds.
“Lee gave us a real lift,” said Reed. “When he’s playing under control and taking advantage of what the defense gives him, he does some really good things, and he made some big shots for us tonight.”
Messalonskee, which was coming off a big win at Mt. Blue of Farmington on Tuesday night, built an 11-7 lead five minutes into the game before back-to-back turnovers aided a Bangor comeback.
Gallant soon scored from the low post, Billy Zolper followed with 3-pointer, and Suvlu added a layup off an offensive rebound to comprise a 7-0 run that gave the Rams the lead for good at 14-11.
Messalonskee (3-1) closed within 16-15 by the end of the period, but Bangor outscored the Eagles 10-0 during the first 5:24 of the second quarter in building a 26-15 cushion, and the lead then grew to 30-16 on inside baskets by Sam Martin and Gallant.
“I don’t think we got any good shots in the second quarter,” said Hill. “For some reason we decided to go one-on-one and forced some things up. We really didn’t have an offensive flow.”
But Messalonskee wasn’t quite done, getting a 3-pointer from Ben Dubois and a transition jumper from Ray Bernier in the final 36 seconds to pull within 30-21 at the break.
“We had a pretty good lead in the second quarter, but then they came back and we were only ahead by nine,” said Gallant. “I was concerned, and coach was concerned, because that’s the thing that’s keeping us from being a great team, we’ve got to be able to close teams out once we have them on the ropes. We’ve got to keep them there.”
RAMS 69, EAGLES 44
Messalonskee (3-1) Bangor (5-0)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Brann 1 2 1 2 3 Jellison 2 5
Pelletier 0 1 0 2 0 McAllian 2 11 0 0 4
Bernier 2 4 0 0 4 Zolper 2 8 8
Haggan 1 2 0 0 2 Edwards 0 1 0
Hutchinsn 1 1 0 0 2 Suvlu 7 13 17
Gilbert 1 2 2 2 4 Gallant 10 14 23
Natole 1 11 2 2 4 Chase 0 0 0
Hash 0 0 0 0 0 Weston 0 2 1 1
Ouellette 1 4 1 2 3 Webb 2 6 6
Dubois 3 7 0 0 8 Larochlle 0 0
Holmes 0 5 0 0 0 Clrd-Segn 0 1
Taylor 6 10 2 2 14 Martin 1 2 2
Crews 1 2 0 2
Francis 0 1 0 0
Totals 17 49 8 12 44 Totals 27 67 17 69
Messalonskee 15 21 33 44
Bangor 16 30 52 69
3-pt. goals – Messalonskee (2-12): Dubois 2-3, Ouellette 0-1, Bernier 0-1, Natole 0-3, Holmes 0-4; Bangor (6-18): Zolper 2-5, Webb 2-5, Jellison 1-2, Suvlu 1-3, Francis 0-1, McAllian 0-2
JV: Bangor 71-43
Attendance: 400 (est.)
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