HERMON – A month ago, few would have imagined a big game between the Hermon and John Bapst of Bangor boys basketball teams – for Hermon had started the season 0-3 while Bapst was 2-6.

But two long winning streaks later, those teams squared off in a legitimately important Big East Conference Class B matchup Thursday night – a game decided by flawless execution of an inbounds pass in the final minute as John Bapst earned a hard-fought 48-46 victory.

“This was a huge game for us,” said Bapst coach Jason Mills, whose team is now 7-6 after its fifth consecutive win.

After Hermon jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the game’s opening minutes, neither team led by more than four points in this tightly contested matchup.

Hermon took its final lead at 46-45 when junior guard Derek Helms scored on a runner with 1:03 left in the contest.

The teams then exchanged scoreless possessions before John Bapst advanced the ball to its offensive baseline before calling time with 20 seconds left.

As Kyle Gallant prepared to inbound the ball, Charlie Merritt set a screen for 6-foot-8 center Ethan Cushman. Two Hermon defenders rushed toward Cushman, leaving Merritt open under the basket to take the inbounds pass and score the go-ahead layup.

“I knew the big man was going to get a lot of attention,” said Merritt, “and I know Kyle’s got eyes in the back of his head and he always finds me when I’m open. I figured if I opened up as hard as I could, I might be able to get the ball and he got the ball to me.”

“We knew the big guys for Hermon were going to crash down on Ethan, and Charlie did a good job of sealing off the opposite side with his pick,” added Gallant. “That was a big play for us.”

A Hermon turnover gave John Bapst the ball back, and Merritt hit 1 of 2 free throws with 5.8 seconds left to give the Crusaders a two-point lead.

Hermon worked the ball into the frontcourt one final time, but a turnover with 1.3 seconds left clinched the victory for John Bapst.

“We were down one with a minute to go, but the kids then stepped up and made plays,” said Mills. “It was back and forth, and I thought both teams executed, but we just happened to make the last play.”

The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for 8-4 Hermon, who stayed close despite being without top perimeter defender and second-leading scorer Kevin Tarr, sidelined by an injury suffered earlier in the week during a victory over Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln.

“Without Kevin in there – and we can’t use that as an excuse – the kids played hard,” said Hermon coach Dave Pepin. “We had the ball in our hands and a one-point lead with 24 seconds to go. That’s what you want against a good team that’s on a run like we are, but it just didn’t work out tonight.”

John Bapst also benefited from an edge in close-range shots, and finished the night at 50 percent (20 of 40) from the field compared to 38 percent (18 of 47) for Hermon.

“We didn’t play our best game, we didn’t shoot the ball well, and we still had a chance to win down the stretch,” said Pepin.

Cushman led John Bapst with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while sixth man Aaron Healey added 12 points and Gallant finished with eight points, six assists, and four rebounds.

Helms led Hermon with 13 points, while Ben Hinton scored nine points. Nick Robinson had eight points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Zach Deabay also scored eight points.

CRUSADERS 48, HAWKS 46

John Bapst (7-6) Hermon (8-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Gallant 3 7 1 1 8 Gross 0 8 1

J. Gagnon 0 1 0 1 0 A. Rowe 1 2 2

N. Smith 0 0 0 0 0 Deabay 3 5 8

Ortiz 2 2 1 2 5 Helms 5 11 13

Healey 5 8 0 0 12 Hinton 4 8 9

Frye 0 0 0 0 0 R. Rowe 0 0 3 3

Merritt 2 3 1 4 5 Robinson 4 8

Burke 1 5 1 2 3 Thomas 1 5 2

Cushman 7 14 1 2 15

Totals 20 40 5 12 48 Totals 18 47 14 46

John Bapst 11 25 36 48

Hermon 11 26 32 46

3-pt. goals – John Bapst (3-6): Gallant 1-1, Healey 2-4, Cushman; Hermon (1-10): Helms 1-4, Thomas 0-2, Gross 0-4

JV: John Bapst 62-61

Attendance: 500 (est.)