Windham Survives a Cheverus Rally

The Game of the Day certainly delivered and I had a feeling it might when WHOU told us who would be doing the game.

They're back!

Well, for Christmas break.

Windham came out strong. They put up 21 in the first quarter and there were a couple of stretches where it looked like they might run away with it. Cheverus used a 6-0 run to start the third to get within 3, but the Eagles answered with a 12-2 run of their own to build a 13-point lead with a minute or so left in the third.

But Cheverus wasn't done. They got it down to 7 with about 3 minutes to play. Nicola Plalum hit a three. Then Sammy Nzeyimana came out of nowhere to steal the inbounds pass and found Jameson Fitzpatrick to complete an instant 5-0 run.

Windham could have folded right there, but they didn't. Heart of a champion and all that. To oversimplify it, they hit their free throws, especially Tyrie James. Leo McNabb hit a three with a minute left to get it down to one (he finished with 23), but the Stags couldn't get over the hump. McNabb had a chance to tie it, but he lost the ball off his foot driving into the lane. Windham hit free throws to take it back to 4. McNabb drove the lane again, only this time he scored with 9 seconds left to cut it to 2. James hit the first free throw (he had 15) and then...

That's the sort of play that gives coaches nightmares.

Windham would add another free throw to seal the 4-point win, which hey look at that.

If you want a full breakdown of the game, Michael Hoffer was there.

Round one goes to Windham

Eagles hold off Cheverus’ late rally, 59-55, in initial matchup of Class AA North favorites.

Press HeraldMichael HofferForecaster/Leader/Sentry

Over at Greely, the livestream cut off with 1:45ish to play and Lewiston leading the Rangers by 5.

CUT TO:

Greely is down 1 with 0.6 seconds left.

That's Kade Ippolito with the dagger. He finished with 13.

Got a buzzer-beater video? Send it to mainebasketballrankings [at] gmail [dot] com

Wisdom added the newest member of the 1,000 point club in Camden Pelletier. He's the 6th Wisdom boy to reach that mark, joining his older brother, Carter.

Congrats!

Elsewhere:

Trevin Ripley had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Belfast outlasted Winslow...Chase Flewelling's 25 helped Easton beat Central Aroostook. They got 26 from Jahleel Joseph...Isaac Beaulieu had 22 to lead Madawaska over Hodgdon. Cyran Cairleglieo had 17 & 14 for the Hawks...Gabe Lash had 23 points and 16 rebounds and Rocco DePatsy added 19 & 9 as Medomak handled Mt. Ararat...Conner Smith gave Freeport 23 points, but it wasn't enough as Biddeford turned a close game into a second half rout...Steven Youngs had 22 and Oli Higgins added 13 & 10 in Brewer's blowout. They're now 7-0 after going 4-14 last year...Deering's Evan Legassey went 9 of 10 from deep and went off for 41 in a win over Bangor...Diing Maiwen's 22 helped Edward Little crush GNG...Falmouth's Davis Mann led the way with 23 against Kennebunk...Forest Hills nearly doubled up Rangeley thanks to 23 from Jaxson Desjardin and a 20 & 12 from Blaine Nadeau...Fryeburg needed all of Jagger Helwig's 19 points to get by Westbrook...Spruce's Jace Bessey dropped 30 on Wells...Bangor led 28-2 in the first quarter against Deering. Avery Clark led the way with 21...Kylie Lamson went off for 36 as Cheverus won their 27th in a row...Amara Parker's 3 with 5 seconds left gave Sacopee Valley a 33-32 win over Morse.

March Madness is going to be very different next year.

I know it's better now that you can watch every game, but there was something great about watching the tourney in the 90's. You're watching a game and all of a sudden Greg Gumbel is interrupting the game to take you to the final minute of some 13 seed taking down a 4. It was kind of an early version of NFL Red Zone.

He will be missed.

UMaine has re-upped with New Balance.

Maine Athletics, New Balance announce new seven-year agreement - University of Maine Athletics

ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine has announced that it has entered a new, seven-year agreement with New Balance Athletics as the official footwear and apparel

University of Maine AthleticsUniversity of Maine Athletics

If you thought yesterday was good, can I interest you in a game with an even higher Stax Index?

Led by Miss Basketball candidate (front-runner?) Ella Pelletier, the Oxford Hills girls are 4-1 against the third hardest schedule in the state. They lost to a Lawrence team that everyone thinks is the favorite in A North, but have handed the other 4 in a schedule where the easiest game was against #26 Bangor. The easiest. The schedule gets easier in the new year, but first they've got to go to Brunswick.

The Dragons are the defending champs in A and despite some heavy graduation losses, they're doing just fine. They're 5-1, which is good enough for 4th place in a very competitive A South. Their schedule hasn't been nearly as hard as Oxford Hills', but it's about to be! After this, they've got Falmouth, but then Oceanside, Mt. Ararat, and Marshwood, so if they can win 3 or 4 of the next 5, they'll move up in the Heal Points. If they can get all 5? Well then we'll be wondering if they can go back-to-back.

But first, they've got the Vikings.

This is a 12:30 tip, so if you're going, get in the car.

The rest of the Model's picks for today's game are after the jump.