Edward Little’s Ibn Khalid drives around South Portland’s Scott Lewis. during their game in South Portland on Tuesday. (Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald)
SOUTH PORTLAND — Darby Shea wasn’t about to miss twice.
After failing to cap a stirring comeback at the end of regulation when he missed a pair of foul shots with 17 seconds to go, Shea got another chance in overtime and his two free throws with 1:49 remaining put Edward Little on top to say and two more foul shots with 15 seconds left salted away a 66-62 victory over South Portland in a battle of Class AA title hopefuls at Beal Gymnasium.
“I wanted those (free throws in regulation) so bad,” said Shea. “I was so (mad). I wasn’t missing those (in overtime).”
The Red Riots held an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter before the Red Eddies roared back to set up a fantastic finish.
After South Portland grabbed a 19-8 lead after one period, behind eight points apiece from Scott Lewis and Noah Malone, the Red Riots were on the brink of going into the half up double digits before Shea made a free throw and Austin Brown sank a desperation 3-pointer at the horn to pull Edward Little within eight, 34-26, at the break.
South Portland extended its lead to 45-27 with 5:13 to go in the frame, but the Red Eddies battled back.
Edward Little closed the frame on a 14-2 run, pulling within 47-41 when Wol Maiwen made a short bank shot with under a second to go.
The Red Eddies then capped their comeback when Shea sank an NBA-range 3-pointer with 1:57 on the clock, making it 53-51.
Riley Hasson tied it for the Red Riots with a driving layup, before Edward Little’s Ibn Khalid made a layup with 27 seconds to go.
After Shea missed the two free throws, Malone drove for a layup with 3.4 seconds on the clock and that sent the game to overtime deadlocked at 55-55.
Tied at 57-57, Shea was fouled after an offensive rebound and his two free throws gave the Red Eddies the lead for good.
“(Darby’s) our best free throw shooter and we want him on the line,” Edward Little Coach Mike Adams said.
Khalid (22 points, seven rebounds) added a layup and Morin tacked on a free throw, but a runner from Malone with 16 seconds remaining made it a one-score game again, 62-59.
Shea then hit two clutch free throws and even though Malone buried a desperation 3 with 10 seconds on the clock, Maiwen (14 points, 10 rebounds, two blocked shots) iced it with two more foul shots and Edward Little prevailed, 66-62, leaving both teams 11-4.
“We practiced for this,” said Shea (21 points). “Coach Adams gets us prepared for every situation. We didn’t panic.”
“I might have been panicking a little bit, but the guys believe in each other,” Adams said. “We wanted to chip away and we got on a roll. We believe we have the players who can go on those stretches.”
South Portland got a game-high 31 points from Malone and 12 from Lewis, but it wasn’t enough.
“We made a few poor decisions with the ball and got tentative offensively, but they played hard and came back,” Red Riots Coach Kevin Millington said. “It was an excellent, playoff-caliber game.”
Edward Little’s Ibn Khalid takes a shot while South Portland’s Scott Lewis knocks it away during their game in South Portland on Tuesday. (Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald)
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