WINDHAM — The key to long-term success for Oxford Hills boys’ basketball, as history has taught us of any Maine team with a future Division I player on its roster, is the performance of the supporting cast.
Senior center Andrew Fleming enjoyed his usual monster game on Saturday afternoon with 41 points and 15 rebounds, highlighted by four dunks, but the Vikings also put three other players in double figures to hold off Windham, 80-76, in a Class AA North clash.
“Even with foul trouble, we stepped up quite a bit,” Fleming said.
Cole Verrier hit a 3-pointer in each of the first three quarters and went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line to finish with 18 points for Oxford Hills (4-1). Chris St. Pierre and Fleming’s freshman brother, Matthew, each added 10 points.
That depth in the scoring column outweighed a sensational show by Windham sophomore Mike Gilman, who drained five 3s and tallied 35 points.
“We knew he was a shooter,” Fleming said. “I guess it was just his night. I don’t know if he’s always like that, but if he is, he’s a good player.”
Nick Curtis, also a sophomore, scored seven of his 14 points in a fourth-quarter comeback by Windham (2-3).
After a technical foul against Fleming, Gilman sank two free throws and Kyle Kilfoil knifed to the hoop to cut what was once a 14-point Vikings’ lead to two, 58-56, with 6:37 to go.
Kilfoil fouled out when he was whistled for a technical of his own on Oxford Hills’ next possession. The two free throws triggered a run of six consecutive points by Fleming, and the Vikings were never seriously challenged down the stretch.
“There was a lot of adversity,” Oxford Hills coach Scott Graffam said. “There was no flow to the game, but we fought through it and were able to score 80 points.”
Oxford Hills and Windham combined for 71 free-throw attempts. The Vikings were 30-for-43 and most importantly kept Fleming’s number from flashing on the foul clock until the fourth quarter.
The University of Maine recruit was 13-for-16 from the stripe, but he delivered his two most authoritative statements in live action, nine seconds apart in the final minute of the first half.
Blake Slicer’s steal in the backcourt set up Fleming for a breakaway jam before his own swipe led to another throwdown for a 40-30 halftime lead.
“Andrew obviously showed why he’s a scholarship athlete,” Graffam said. “It was good. If you score 80 points, you’ve got to have more than Andrew. We hit some 3s, so we were able to withstand the zone.”
St. Pierre and Verrier combined for three strikes from beyond the arc in the third quarter. Oxford Hills’ lead crested at 50-36 on St. Pierre’s second bomb with 5:25 left in the period.
“We knew they were going to play some sort of zone,” Fleming said. “It was just patience and trying to get the shots we wanted instead of settling for the ones they were trying to get us to take.”
Gilman hit three of his five triples in the second half but had only one other field goal after intermission. He added eight more points from the line.
Curtis, Hunter Coffin (eight points) and Zach LaCombe (seven points, 10 rebounds) shared in the effort to keep the Eagles in the game.
“That kid from the other team shot really well,” Fleming said. “In the second half we didn’t do quite as good a job as we wanted to, but we definitely slowed him down, so that helped.”
Gilman went on an 8-0 solo run to get Windham within two, 54-52, late in the third. Fleming answered with a foul-line jumper before the horn.
The Vikings never trailed after Fleming’s two free throws made it 18-17 on their initial possession of the second quarter. A give-and-go, alley-oop dunk with St. Pierre as middle man soon followed.
All that, and Fleming still saved his best for last. He scored 15 points in the fourth period.
“Wow, it’s a good thing I didn’t take him out when he got that (technical), I was just going to put my foot down, too,” Graffam quipped.
koakes@sunjournal.com
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