BANGOR – After consecutive games in which they lost to Mount Desert Island in overtime and to Presque Isle on a last-second 3-pointer, the John Bapst boys basketball team was in need of a victory to restore its self-confidence.

The Crusaders got one the hard way Monday, building a 10-point lead and then holding off a late rally by Mattanawcook Academy to outlast the Lynx 55-51 on Senior Night at the Bangor Auditorium.

“It was important for us mentally to beat a quality team like these guys,” said John Bapst coach Jason Mills. “The way they play, they can beat anyone on any night, so mentally it was huge for us to beat a top-notch team, especially after those close losses.”

John Bapst (9-6) capitalized on foul trouble that sidelined Mattanawcook star Derek Libbey for the final 10:58 of the first half to hold the Lynx to two second-quarter points en route to a 19-11 halftime lead.

The margin grew to as much as 10 points, the first time at 41-31 when Brock Bragdon hit a medium-range jumper with 6:35 left in the game.

But Libbey, who scored 23 of his game-high 26 points after intermission, ignited a subsequent 13-3 run that rallied the Lynx to a 46-46 tie on a 3-pointer by Brady Vose with 1:04 to play.

But Mattanawcook (9-3) never gained the lead, as John Bapst’s Aaron Healey made six straight free throws to give the Crusaders a 52-48 edge with 15.2 seconds left.

Libbey banked in a straight-ahead, 22-foot running 3-pointer three seconds later, but with John Bapst clinging to a 52-51 lead, the Crusaders’ Jon Gagnon was fouled with 7.2 seconds to play. He made his first free throw but missed his second – only to chase down the offensive rebound and be fouled again.

This time he made both free throws with 4.8 seconds left to give Bapst an insurmountable four-point lead.

“All we can do is get better,” said Mattanawcook coach Rick Sinclair. “We can’t wait until we’re down 10 to get into maximum-effort mode. If you don’t play as hard as you can for 32 minutes, you’re going to get beat, especially in this league.”

John Bapst benefited from one of its better shooting games of the season, making 49 percent (20 of 41) of its field-goal tries while committing just 12 turnovers.

“Everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses, and our weakness has been turnovers,” said Healey. “Tonight we had 12, and before the year we set a goal of 12 or under. I think this might be the first time we’ve met it.”

Senior center Ethan Cushman led John Bapst with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Healey added 16 points.

MA, which began the evening on a four-game winning streak, shot just 33 percent (18 of 54) from the field.

“They’ve been scoring a lot of points, so to hold them to 51 is pretty good defense,” said Mills. “I know they had foul trouble, but they still had some firepower out there. We had a couple breakdowns at the end, but defensively we were pretty solid.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

CRUSADERS 55, LYNX 51

Mattanawcook (9-3) John Bapst (9-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Campbell 0 2 0 0 0 Gallant 0 5 1

Libbey 7 15 10 10 26 Carr 0 2 0

Vose 3 13 0 1 7 D. Smith 4 6 8

Smith 3 6 0 1 7 N. Smith 0 0

White 3 5 1 3 7 Bragdon 1 1 2

McKinnon 0 2 0 0 0 J. Gagnon 2 7

Langevin 2 11 0 0 4 Healey 4 8 16

Hanscom 0 0 0 0 0 Moriarty 0 0

Bernier 0 0 0 0 0 Merritt 2 2 4

Cushman 7 12 3 17

Totals 18 54 11 15 51 Totals 20 41 14 19 55

Mattanawcook Acad. 9 11 29 37

John Bapst 11 19 37 55

3-pt. goals – Mattanawcook (4-15): Libbey 2-6, Smith 1-1, Vose 1-7, Campbell 0-1; John Bapst (1-5): Healey 1-3, Carr 0-2

JV: Mattanawcook 43-32

Attendance: 400 (est.)