PORTLAND, Maine — Ethan Murphy’s fast-break layup as time expired lifted Cape Elizabeth past Medomak Valley of Waldoboro 44-42 at the Cross Insurance Arena on Friday night to win its first Class B boys basketball state championship since 1988.
Cape trailed 42-37 after a free throw by Medomak Valley’s Cameron Allaire with 52.2 seconds left before scoring the game’s final seven points to claim the gold ball.
Freshman Finn Bowe’s 3-pointer drew coach Jim Ray’s club within 42-40 with 40 seconds left, and after Medomak’s Nicholas DePatsy missed the front end of a one-and-one from the free-throw line, Cape’s Jack O’Rourke converted the game-tying layup off a high-post feed from Bowe with 23 seconds left.
Medomak Valley’s Micah Williamson missed on a contested drive to the basket, and Cape Elizabeth’s Eddie Galvin grabbed his 10th rebound of the game and spotted Murphy downcourt streaking toward the basket.
The outlet pass was perfect, and Murphy raced to the basket to convert the championship-winning layup with 0.1 second reading on the scoreboard.
“We got a big stop there,” Galvin said. “I grabbed it and knew we had 10 [seconds] or less. I started dribbling and looked up and saw Murph filling the lane and he had a step on his guy.
“I got it to him and looked up and there was one on the scoreboard and he shot it and then there was zero. I thought, ’Oh my God, I’m dreaming right now.’”
Cape Elizabeth, which was playing in the state final for the fourth time in eight years, ends its season with a 19-3 record.
“I’m glad I didn’t screw it up and call time out at the end,” Ray said. “We got it with about five [seconds left], and then it was Galvin and Murph. It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
Medomak Valley, seeking its first state championship since 1980, also finishes its season at 19-3.
Trailing by five points entering the fourth quarter, Medomak Valley put together the game’s biggest run for either team, a 10-0 blitz that gave the Panthers the lead.
Williamson opened the period with two free throws, then DePatsy hit a 3-pointer and followed a Allaire post-up shot with a transition three-point play during which he was fouled while making an off-balance shot from the left wing and added the free throw to suddenly give Medomak Valley a 39-34 lead with 5:09 to play.
Quinn Hewitt made one free throw with 3:54 left to pull Cape Elizabeth within four points, but the Capers came up empty on their next possession despite six shots at the basket.
DePatsy fed Colton Spear for a layup with 1:37 left to make it 41-35, then Murphy scored on a drive to draw Cape Elizabeth back within 41-37 with 53.5 seconds remaining.
Allaire then made 1 of 2 from the line to give the Panthers a five-point cushion.
Murphy led Cape Elizabeth with 13 points while O’Rourke scored 11.
DePatsy led Medomak Valley with 14 points and seven rebounds while Allair added 12 — 11 in the second half — and eight boards. Williamson finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists for the Panthers.
Williamson’s 15-foot jump shot — Medomak Valley’s only field goal of the second quarter — gives the Panthers a 17-15 lead at the end of a defensive-minded first half.
Neither team shot well in the game’s first 16 minutes, a tribute to the respective defenses
Cape Elizabeth made just 7 of 32 field-goal tries, or 21 percent, but did score four of its first-half field goals after grabbing offensive rebounds.
Medomak Valley was a slightly better six of 17 from the field, and after falling behind 7-0 in the game’s first three minutes began to handle Cape Elizabeth’s trapping fullcourt and halfcourt defenses more effectively.
The Panthers answered Cape’s early burst with a 12-2 run to close out the first quarter with a 12-9 lead. Reserve guard Noah Beck came off the bench to give Medomak Valley a lift with a 3-pointer and a follow-up shot, while DePatsy added four points.
The second quarter was even more defensive-minded, with the teams combining for just four field goals.
Medomak Valley took its lead into the locker room by scoring the final four points of the period, with Williamson making two free throws with 2:23 left before adding his late jumper.
Williamson led all scorers at the break with seven points.
Cape Elizabeth finally got its shooting touch untracked in the third quarter to outscore Medomak Valley 19-12 and build a 34-29 lead.
The Capers made four of their five 3-point attempts, including two early in the period by O’Rourke and one to beat the buzzer by James Bottomley to give Cape its largest lead since the first quarter.
