BANGOR, Maine — Trailing by seven at the end of the first half and struggling offensively, there was no panic in the Winslow boys basketball team.
The second-seeded Black Raiders withstood every surge the No. 3 Coyotes threw at them, and Winslow used a stifling defensive effort of its own to earn a 48-44 Class B semifinal victory on Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
Winslow (18-2) will play either Medomak Valley or Mount Desert Island in Saturday’s regional championship game, while Old Town finishes the season 18-2.
The Black Raiders were spurred by a 13-4 run to open the third quarter, which erased Old Town’s halftime advantage.
Old Town, the defending state champion, used a stifling box-and-one defense to build its lead in the first half and shut down Winslow center Justin Martin, but the Black Raiders answered with the perimeter shooting of BDN/Darling’s Player of the Game Cody Robertson, who scored all 14 of his points in the second half.
“We just let the kids play in the second half,” said Winslow coach Jared Browne.
The defensive play of Trent Bouchard on Old Town star Eric Hoogterp also was key in the Black Raiders’ surge, as Hoogterp was held to 3-for-14 shooting from the floor and was held without a field goal in the fourth quarter.
“He did a great job,” Browne said. “His value is measured in little things that don’t appear on the scoresheet.”
Old Town appeared poised to take a 3-point lead into the fourth quarter, but Robertson’s layup on an inbounds play at the buzzer gave the Black Raiders the momentum heading into the final eight minutes.
Winslow never trailed after Martin scored on a drive with just over four minutes to play in regulation, and Robertson’s perimeter shot from outside the college line erased a 39-39 tie, and Old Town never tied it again.
“We have a lot of kids on the team who know how to handle under pressure,” said Martin, who finished with 10 points. We just went out and played basketball.”
Hoogterp scored nine of his 17 points in the first quarter as Old Town raced out to a 13-5 lead. Mitchell Cole, who was cleared to play after being fouled hard in the quarterfinals against Caribou, added 11.
“I knew he’d be ready to go, he’s a senior, he wanted to get in there and play,” Old Town coach Brian McDormand said. “He’s still not feeling great, but he gutted it out.”
McDormand credited the Black Raiders for adjusting to Old Town’s gameplan in the second half.
“I think they started to figure out our defense, they started getting penetration to the middle of the zone,” he said. “That’s the best team defensively we’ve played all year.”
