Medomak Gets a Sweep
The Panthers end two unbeaten seasons in one night.
The Game of the Day brought a playoff-like atmosphere to early January when the unbeaten Spruce Mountain boys traveled to the coast to face the unbeaten Medomak Valley Panthers.
The teams traded blows throughout the first half, with neither team leading by more than 4 points and 7 lead changes over the first 12 and a half minutes, the final one thanks to a three by Cai Dougher (he had a big 11 points in the first half).
Then with 3:26 to play in the half, Medomak's Gabe Lash exited with his third foul and the Panther's found themselves down 2 with their defensive anchor on the bench. It's the sort of situation where the color guy will invariably say, "Jim, we're going to learn a lot about this time in the next few minutes".
Kristian Schumann gave Medomak the lead with a triple and Mason Nguyen beat the buzzer with a layup to finish the half on a 5-0 run. In the 3rd quarter, the Panthers extended the run to 9-0 before Dougher hit some free throws.
Then with 3:30 left in the third, the game shifted for good. Spruce Mountain got called for a flop technical–🙄–on a short Gabe Lash jumper, Schumann hit both free throws, Mason Nguyen hit a dagger three to make it a 7-point trip down the floor and all of a sudden, Medomak was up 12.
Spruce wasn't done. Sophomore point guard Dylan Jewett tried to mount a comeback, but it wasn't enough. Medomak beat a very good, very fast Spruce Mountain team 55-43. Schumann led the way 18. Lash had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Medomak's defense held Jace Bessey to 4 points.
Along with Valley, Spruce was one of two schools with an unbeaten boys and girls team.
Well up in Jay, the Spruce girls held Kytana Williamson to only 7 points, but the Panthers got 15 points from Chloe Fox and avenged their semifinal loss to the Phoenix with a 38-34 win.
That win clutters up the top of B South
The title game rematch between Windham and Gorham was a bust, as the Eagles won by 30. Enter the Windham girls, who got a late bucket from Stella Jarvais to hand Gorham their first loss on the year.
Drew BonifantPortland Press Herald
Jarvais led the way with 14. Julia Reed had 18 for Gorham.
Elsewhere:
Rachel Penny had 17 as Edward Little handed Cheverus their second straight loss...Parker Studholme hit a 3 with 11 seconds left in OT to give Erskine a win over Morse...Brody Taylor beat the buzzer to give Bonny Eagle a win over over Westbrook. He finished with 20 & 12...The Brewer boys squeaked out a low-scoring win to move to 9-0...Brayden Monto had 23 as Buckfield blew out Rangeley...Leo McNabb fueled a big second half for Cheverus. He finished with 22...Theo Pow had 20 as Kennebunk handled Massabesic...Maranacook got 21 from Jack Fontaine to beat Madison...Messo's Ryan Parent scored 18 in a win over Nokomis...Josh Grunkemeyer's 21 points wasn't enough for Bangor as they lost to Oxford Hills and Brayden Murch's 26...Silas Nielsen had 15 points, 16 boards, and 5 blocked shots in Sacopee Valley's win over Traip...Brady Adams hit 6 threes as part of his 22 points as Sanford held off a late Biddeford charge...Manny Hidalgo went off for 31 points for SoPo...Jeremy Therrien's shot from deep broke a tie with 30 seconds left to give Wells a win over Freeport. He finished with 23...Creighty Dickson led a balanced Windham attack with 17 as they beat Gorham by 30...Braden Rodrigue had 26 points and 8 assists in Winslow's win over Mount View...Reece MacDonald scored 21 points as York stayed unbeaten...Derek Couture's 24 wasn't enough for Waterville as they lost to Belfast. Trevin Ripley led the Lions with 12...Ella Pelletier had 25, but Oxford Hills couldn't find a winning bucket in the final minute and fell to Bangor. Avery Clark led the Rams with 13...Kendall Therrian had 15 as Kennebunk more than doubled up Massabesic...Celia Bergdahl 21 & 11 double-double led Maranacook by Madison...Poland's Charlotte Grenier drilled 8 treys for 30 points to out-duel NYA's Athena Gee's 7 treys and 21...Portland's Baleria Yugu dropped 30 on Lewiston, who got 27 from Bailey Tardif-Mockler...Mollie Puffer's big 4th quarter fueled Sanford as they pulled away from Biddeford. She finished with 22...TA's Sienna Eldred's 24 points out-did Noble, who only managed 22 as a team...Leavitt's Colin Scholbohm had 22 points, including the free throws to force overtime against MCI and the eventual game winner.
The Mt. Ararat girls are 5-1 on the season and sitting third in a very competitive A South. They lead A South in %Perfect, the metric that measures how well you're maximizing your opportunities relative to your schedule. They've also got the second best scoring offense in the region.
They're travel to Augusta to take on the second highest-scoring offense in A North, the defending champions of the region. They're 7-1 on the season and trying to keep pace with Lawrence in the race for the 1 seed. Unless they beat Lawrence (who they still have to play twice), this is easily their best opportunity to pick up some much needed Heal Points.
The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.