East A-B, West C-D celebrate season’s end with intense wins

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BANGOR – The Maine McDonald’s All-Star Basketball Games typically are more a celebration of the end of the high school season than high-intensity competition.

But fans at Newman Gymnasium on the campus of Husson College got a taste of both during Saturday afternoon’s schoolboy doubleheader thanks to a pair of one-point decisions, as the East A-B all-stars earned a 77-76 victory while the West was a 66-65 winner in the C-D contest.

“It’s been a lot of fun hanging out with the guys that I’ve been playing basketball against and with for as long as I can remember,” said East A-B all-star Derek Libbey of Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. “It’s a good way to wrap up the season.”

The decisive play in the A-B game came on defense, when Mike Poulin of Class B state champion Maranacook of Readfield blocked a potential game-tying shot by Travis Guerrette of Windham in the waning seconds.

The West had closed to within 75-73 on a baseline drive by Tommy Ray of Cape Elizabeth with 50 seconds left, and Ray and Guerrette then combined to strip the ball from Maranacook’s Ryan Martin near midcourt, sending Guerrette the other way racing toward the basket.

But Poulin anticipated the turnover and got back in time to deny Guerrette an uncontested path, and as Guerrette tried to launch a shot Poulin knocked the ball away.

The East regained possession, and Martin – the state’s 2008 Mr. Basketball – made two free throws with 9.3 seconds left to give his team a two-possession lead that was just enough to offset a 3-pointer by Guerrette at the buzzer.

“As you know, all-star games are not really known for defense, but once it came down to the end we knew we had to pick it up on ‘D,’ and I got back and was in the right spot, I guess,” said Poulin. “I saw Ryan slip a little and he had two guys on him, so I figured I might try to get back as fast as I could.”

Bangor’s Lee Suvlu led all scorers with 18 points, including 12 during a second half that featured four ties and four lead changes.

“Everyone loves that kind of game, especially me,” said Suvlu of the wide-open style of play. “We all had a good time and even though there were a few turnovers and not much defense in the first half and part of the second half, we managed to pull it out in the end.”

Martin added 15 points for the East, while Andrew Pullen of Cony of Augusta scored 11 points.

Doug Alston of Class A state champion Cheverus of Portland and Kyle Donovan of Deering of Portland each scored 16 points for the West.

In the C-D game, the East jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but the West went on a 38-8 run over the game’s next 18 minutes to take a 40-20 lead early in the second half.

But the East battled back behind the all-around play of Calais guard Sam Bell, initially with a 16-2 run of its own to cut the gap to 44-28 midway through the period.

“I was getting a little nervous,” said Bell, who finished with a game-high 17 points. “I didn’t want to get blown out, but the team played hard and came back.”

The West reasserted itself over the next few minutes, with a spinning coast-to-coast drive by 6-foot-10 center Marc Zaharchuk, the SportsCenter highlight, in helping his team move back out to a 60-50 lead.

The East had one more run, starting when Brandon London of Piscataquis of Guilford hit a jumper from the key and a 3-pointer off a pass by Cameron York of Class D state champion Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.

Bell then scored twice before feeding Orono’s Seth Dwyer for a 3-pointer that gave the East a 62-60 lead with 1:51 remaining.

Mr. Basketball finalist Sam Leclerc of Class C state champion Winthrop then stepped up, hitting a jumper and two free throws as the West regained a 65-62 lead with 32 seconds left.

Collin Ciomei of Deer Isle-Stonington made a 3-pointer to tie the game with 15 seconds left, but the West broke through the East’s defensive pressure to earn Boothbay’s Kris Noonan a trip to the free throw line with 2.2 seconds to play.

Noonan made the first of two free throws to give the West a one-point lead.

Dwyer then inbounded the ball to Ciomei near midcourt, and he one-timed a pass to Bell on his right. Bell’s 30-foot runner was contested, and came up just short at the buzzer.

“I half-thought it was in,” said Bell. “It felt good coming out of my hands.”

Ciomei finished with nine points for the East, while Dwyer, London and Mike Lowell of Schenck of East Millinocket each added seven.

Leclerc had 10 points for the West, while Trevor Miller of Valley of Bingham scored 10.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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EAST A-B 77, WEST A-B 76

West East

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ray 2 2 0 0 4 McAllian 2 8 7

Alston 6 12 0 0 16 Suvlu 6 16 18

Donovan 5 9 5 5 16 Weston 4 8 8

Adams 4 6 0 0 9 Corrigan 1 2

Jones 1 6 2 2 5 Pullen 5 9 11

Longstaff 1 7 1 1 3 Martin 4 6 15

Furbush 2 8 0 0 5 Poulin 1 4 3

Winnie 2 6 0 0 5 Libbey 2 6 5

Guerrette 3 7 0 0 8 Holmes 1 3 3

Dilworth 2 6 1 1 5 Kingsbury 2 5

Totals 28 69 9 9 76 Totals 28 69 18 21 77

West 35 76

East 33 77

3-pt. goals – West (11-27): Alston 4-6, Guerrette 2-5, Adams 1-2, Jones 1-2, Donovan 1-3, Winnie 1-3, Furbush 1-4, Dilworth 0-2; East (3-20): Martin 1-3, Libbey 1-4, McAllian 1-6, Suvlu 0-1, Poulin 0-1, Kingsbury 0-2, Corrigan 0-3

WEST C-D 66, EAST C-D 65

West East

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Noonan 2 5 4 6 8 Bell 7 15 17

Knapp 2 4 3 5 7 York 2 10 6

Keene 1 4 2 2 4 Ciomei 3 6 9

Lancaster 2 3 0 0 5 Beals 2 6 6

Zaharchuk 3 8 2 4 9 Dwyer 3 10 7

Higgins 3 9 0 0 6 London 3 4 7

Miller 5 9 0 1 10 Trapier 0 4 0

O’Neil 2 9 0 0 6 Lowell 3 14 7

Gingras 0 4 0 2 0 Thompson 3 6

Leclerc 4 8 2 3 11

Totals 24 63 13 23 66 Totals 26 73 65

West 33 66

East 20 65

3-pt. goals – West (5-21): O’Neil 2-5, Lancaster 1-1, Zaharchuk 1-4, Leclerc 1-5; East (8-28): Ciomei 2-3, Bell 1-1, London 1-2, Beals 1-3, York 1-4, Dwyer 1-6, Lowell 1-8, Trapier 0-1