BANGOR – The Central Aroostook Panthers tempted fate Saturday morning at the Bangor Auditorium but eventually came through in the clutch.

Despite not connecting on some free throws at the end of regulation, the top-seeded and undefeated Panthers of Mars Hill hit 8 of 10 foul shots in overtime, holding off a scrappy, gritty Woodland team 67-59 in an entertaining Eastern Maine Class D boys basketball championship game.

Coach Tim Brewer’s Panthers (21-0) face Western Maine champion Richmond in Saturday’s state final at the Augusta Civic Center.

Troy Cilley’s No. 3 Dragons finished 15-7.

It appeared the Panthers were going to run away with this one early, as they raced out to a 10-0 lead four minutes into the game while holding Woodland to 1-of-10 shooting in the first eight minutes.

The resilient Dragons fought back to trail only 27-25 at halftime, setting up a blistering second half.

The Panthers increased their lead back to nine halfway though the third, but Woodland refused to quit. The Dragons fought back, slowly but surely, and eventually closed to within three on Ben Sears’ free throw with 52 seconds left in regulation.

Chad James hit a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key with 31 seconds left to tie the score at 52.

Both teams had chances to win it in regulation, but Central Aroostook’s Manny Martinez missed a 3 with 20 seconds left and James’ 16-foot, pull-up jumper clanked off the rim.

Martinez redeemed himself in a big way in the extra period, as his 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:17 left gave the Panthers a three-point lead after James had tied it with a 3-point bucket of his own on the previous possession.

“I knew we needed something. I was wide open and just knocked it down,” said Martinez, who finished with 16 points.

Scott Boomer hit two free throws to draw the Dragons back within two, but the Panthers went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line the rest of the way to salt it away.

“We hit some pretty big free throws. We hit most of them right at the end of it,” said Martinez.

The Panthers also got more aggressive on the defensive end, pinching the paint and forcing Woodland into hurried jump shots.

“When they dished, we’d just run out to the shooters and guard them,” said Martinez. “We just protected the middle of the court.”

The Panthers did a better job of taking care of the ball and attacking the rim in overtime than the end of regulation, Brewer said.

“We didn’t take care of the ball. I wasn’t real happy with that,” said Brewer, whose team committed 10 turnovers in the second half.

“I thought at the end of regulation we were awfully tentative with the ball, didn’t look to attack,” added Brewer.

Senior guard Cameron York led all scorers with 19 points for the Panthers, including two clutch free throws with 38 seconds left in overtime to put CAHS up by four. Kasey Brewer, the coach’s son, contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

Woodland did an exceptional job, Cilley thought, of responding after falling behind early.

“When you start out down 10-0 to an undefeated team who has got a lot of experience here, it would’ve been awful easy to just fold the tent, give up and play out the clock,” Cilley said. “I’m very proud of my guys and how hard they fought.”

James finished with 18 points and Sears 16 for the Dragons.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net

PANTHERS 67, DRAGONS 59 (OT)

Woodland (15-7) Cen. Aroostook (21-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Curtis 4 6 0 0 8 Martinez 5 17 4 4 16

St. Pierre 0 8 2 2 2 Folsom 0 0 0

James 7 20 2 3 18 York 6 15 19

Boomer 2 6 2 2 7 McLghlin 2 5

Sears 7 18 2 3 16 Brewer 2 6 10

Brown 4 5 0 0 8 B.McCthy 1 2

L.McCthy 7 12 15

Totals 24 63 8 10 59 Totals 23 56 13 20 67

Woodland 2 25 39 52 59

Cen. Aroostook 10 27 46 52 67

3-pt. goals – Woodland (3-14): James 2-3, Boomer 1-2, St. Pierre 0-7, Curtis 0-1, Sears 0-1; Central Aroostook (8-21): Martinez 2-9, York 3-4, McLaughlin 1-3, Brewer 2-5