BANGOR — The barbs started over an hour before game time.
Bangor launched the first shot with the chant “You wear purple!” The Cheverus fans answered, and from there it went back-and-forth for the rest of the evening.
The Class A boys’ basketball game followed that same pattern right up through overtime. When a Wes Day fadeaway 3 put Bangor ahead for good early in overtime, the exchanges ended. The Rams went on to win its third state title in four years with a 48-43 victory over Cheverus at the Bangor Auditorium.
“It’s an amazing way to close things out,” said Bangor senior guard Zak Ray, who led the Rams with 15 points. “This is exactly the way I wanted to end my career. Being able to cut down the nets was just an incredible feeling.”
Bangor, which now has 10 state crowns, scored seven straight points in overtime to rally from a 43-41 deficit to start the extra session. The Day 3, one of three on the night, put the Rams in the lead with 2:58 left. When an Andrew Ward basket on a leaner in the paint was waived off because of an offensive foul, the momentum surged in Bangor’s favor.
“The pace of the game was what we wanted,” said Bangor coach Roger Reed . “It was difficult to get shots. We worked very hard changing things during the week to create shots. We got some good shots from the outside. We had to get people into those gaps. Sophomore Jordan Heath hit some big shots for us and Day hit some big shots down the stretch.”
Heath, Day and Aaron Gallant each finished with nine for the Rams. Bangor finished with eight 3’s, one shy of the state game record set by Biddeford in 1991.
Cheverus (19-3) got 16 from Jeff Holmes and 10 from Mac Simpson.
With the 44-43 lead on Day’s 3, the Rams (21-1) dictated play the rest of overtime. Bangor tried to nurse a five-point lead in the fourth quarter only to watch three turnovers allow Cheverus to rally. In the overtime, Bangor didn’t make the same mistakes.
“We definitely learned from our mistakes,” said Ray. “We knew we couldn’t make the same mistakes and win. That was proven when (Austin) DeAngelis almost capitalized at the end of the game.”
Ray was fouled by Ward with 1:31 left. He hit both free throws for a 46-43 lead. Cheverus had a try from Simpson hit the rim and an off-balance bid by DeAngelis that missed. Ray got the rebound and was fouled. He added two more free throws to seal it.
“I really feel sorry for these kids,” said Cheverus coach Bob Brown.
“They played hard. All the credit to Bangor. We had a chance, and we didn’t get it done. They took charge in the overtime.”
Cheverus had the chance to win in regulation when Bangor threw the ball away with :35 left. Ray had tried to sneak the ball in behind the Stags zone to Mike Prentiss, but the ball went through his hands. Cheverus couldn’t set up much of a play and only got a DeAngelis heave at the buzzer. DeAngelis finished with eight for the Stags.
“We were really fortunate that Austin missed that shot because he’d been hitting all game long,” said Ray. “He had an incredible game. We were fortunate that he missed, and we capitalized. We got the momentum after that.”
Bangor had built a 39-34 lead early in the fourth. It was the largest lead of the game since a 9-2 lead for Cheverus in the first quarter. Three’s by Ray and Day provided a four-point lead late in the third, and a Heath trey made it 39-34 in the fourth. The Rams turned the ball over twice while trying to milk the clock. Simpson scored on a steal and hit a 3 with 2:52 to tied it. After a pair of Ray free throws, Jeff Holmes scored in the post with 1:25 left to even it at 41-41. Both teams at a crack at the game-winner but came up empty.
“We came up with the ball a couple of times and that was critical for us, enough that we had a chance to win it,” said Brown.
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