Class B North boys regional final
The Orono Red Riots defeated the Old Town Coyotes 58-44 on Friday evening in the Class B North regional finals.
These teams have faced each other before in two outstanding games this season. On January 9th the Coyotes beat the Red Riots 56-54 at home with an overwhelming crowd. So, Old Town and Orono collaborated to move their next match to Memorial Gymnasium, “The Pit,” on the University of Maine campus where Orono took the dub 59-48.
For defense, both teams hustle to round up rebounds when the ball is loose on the floor. The Red Riots bring a high energy man-to-man while the Coyotes cling to the ball for steals.
The Coyotes offense is determined by three key players; Senior forward Brendan Mahaney, Junior forward Emmit Byther and Senior guard Aiden Gomm. Byther and Mahaney are double threats. They can work on the outside, draining jump-shots, but also thrive on the low post playing through contact. Gomm swerves through the defense, winding his way to the open basket collecting foul shots.
The Red Riots have a lot of contributors, similar to their opponents. Senior Pierce Walston, as the point-guard, takes his time to find open teammates, but won’t hesitate to take his open shots. Junior forward Will Francis Senior guard Ben Francis take over as the centers on the court. They gather the rebounds on both ends, scoring easy putbacks and pushing the ball.
As neighboring towns, this game is a big one.
Bergen Soderberg, a Sophomore guard, scored an early layup for Orono, taking a 2-0 lead. Quickly, however, Old Town overtook the scoreboard. Byther and Tyler Priest, a Sophomore guard, hit shots. Down by three, Walston passed the ball to Will Francis who drained the three to tie the game 5-5.
The score bounced in favor of Orono throughout the first half, but Old Town managed to stay within 1 to 3 points. Mahaney got in the groove late in the quarter, missing a lot of previous shots. With four minutes left, he shot-faked on the three and drove by his defender for a jumper, cutting Orono’s lead 8-7. The Red Riots hit a few more shots and took the lead 14-10 at the end of the first.
Neither team had much of a structured defense this game. As the tournament progresses defense turns into a savage effort by the players to regain the ball and take the dub; making this game all about offense.
A minute into the second quarter Grayson Thibeault, a Senior guard, made a pump-fake and stepped by his defender hitting a three, getting within one point of Orono. Byther worked underneath the basket, not necessarily making all of his attempts, but gathering rebounds and providing his team with second and third chance shots. Luckily, with three minutes to go in the half, he stuck a fadeaway jumper in the middle of the key making the score 18-17, advantage Red Riots.
Orono Senior guard, Caden Gray, stole the ball with seconds left adding to his teams 22-20 half time lead.
Old Town was still down with five minutes to go in the third quarter. But, the Coyote’s had a spurt of success. Byther made a layup which led to Gomm’s triple off of a defensive steal the possession before, allowing Old Town to take a 30-28 lead. Showing tremendous hustle, Walston took the ball right back near his own basket to tie the game seconds later.
The teams traded three-pointers back and forth, eventually leading to Thibeault’s winding-layup to take the advantage 39-37. Just as things were looking up for Old Town. Walston stole the ball again, dishing it to Ben Francis to tie the game 39-39 going into the final quarter.
Mahaney and Walston drained threes in the first minute keeping the game tied. Walston continued to play phenomenal defense, stealing the ball several times leading to their 56-44 lead with a minute left in the game. Old Town did in fact take the ball a few times, but couldn’t convert any points. So, Orono took the dub 58-44.
Orono will face Oceanside at 7:45 p.m. in Bangor for the Class B state championship.
