BANGOR, Maine — Top-ranked Calais shook off a stern challenge from Central of Corinth with a strong second half Friday night to earn a 60-52 victory over the Red Devils and a berth in the Eastern Maine Class C boys basketball championship game.
The Blue Devils (19-2) will play No. 7 Orono (13-7) for the regional title Saturday night after the Red Riots upended defending state champion Houlton 42-38 in Friday’s first regional semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center.
Central, having one of its best seasons in a generation, finishes with a 14-6 record.
Sophomore forward Travon Rhodes led a balanced Calais offense with 15 points, while senior forward Tyler Niles had 13 points and eight rebounds and senior guard Andre Paul had 13 points and five assists.
Senior guard Kyle Johnson, a Mr. Basketball semifinalist, shook off foul trouble that sidelined him for much of the first half to contribute eight points, six steals and six assists.
Junior forward Kyle Ham led Central with game-high totals of 19 points and 12 rebounds while center Jordn Smith — the lone senior starter for the Red Devils — added 13 points and sophomore guard Caleb Shaw had nine points and six assists.
Central used the inside play of Ham and Smith to control the scoreboard for most of the first half, with that duo combining for 14 points as the Red Devils took a 26-24 lead into the locker room.
“The funny thing is we were actually trying to take away the inside and we didn’t really execute what we wanted to do in the first half,” Calais coach Chris Woodside said. “They were getting what we worried about.”
But Johnson returned to action and sparked the Blue Devils after the break, scoring eight points in the third quarter as Calais took a 40-39 lead.
Niles and Paul then led the Blue Devils on a 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 52-39.
Nile — the Darling’s/BDN player of the game — and senior guard Andre Paul combined for free throws, then Niles scored after grabbing a loose ball in the lane and fed Rhodes for his third 3-pointer of the game to give Calais a 48-39 lead and force a Central timeout.
Senior guard Nathan Newall then took an assist by Paul in for a layup before Niles scored again to give Calais its largest lead of the game with four minutes remaining.
“The guys came out in the second half with a little higher intensity,” Woodside said, “and they just understood that we were making excuses earlier and feeling a little pressure of the moment because of what had happened with the game before.
“We just had to play our basketball — hard hats and boots — and play some defense and they picked up that defensive intensity in the second half.”
