BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor boys basketball team is not blessed with an abundance of experience this season, but in Ethan Dorman the Rams possess a veteran backcourt presence who absolutely hates to lose.
So after Bangor watched a 14-point second-quarter lead shrink to just four points by intermission Tuesday night, the senior guard helped propel his team to a dominant defensive effort over the final two periods as the Rams secured a 59-42 Class AA victory over Lewiston at Red Barry Gymnasium.
“We just had to come out with the same mindset we had to start the game,” said Dorman. “We knew they were going to be a quick team both ways, so defense was pretty much the main thing.”
Bangor (1-1) limited Lewiston to 12 second-half points as the Blue Devils made just 4-of-26 field-goal tries and committed 14 turnovers over the final two periods.
“(Bangor was) solid, they didn’t make many mistakes defensively and Dorman played well,” said Lewiston coach Tim Farrar. “He really bothered our guards, and we hadn’t had a kid do that to us in the preseason or regular season so far.”
Dorman finished with game-high totals of 17 points and six steals to go with seven rebounds.
“Ethan’s a very talented defender,” said Bangor coach Carl Parker. “He wants to win so bad that I thought he was a little tight to start the game, but as he got into the flow I thought he controlled the game at both ends to some degree.”
Senior forward Justin Smith added 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Bangor, which also had good production from its bench with sophomore guard Luke Tuell contributing nine points and three assists and junior forward Ian Nagle adding seven points and five rebounds.
Seniors Abdinasir Issack and Mohamadsidiq Hussein led 0-2 Lewiston with eight points apiece, while Luke Madore grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Garret Poussard had eight boards.
Bangor outscored Lewiston 14-4 during the first four minutes of the second quarter to build a 31-17 lead, as two drives by Tuell, a 3-pointer from Logan Alley and a pair of steals that Dorman converted into a layup and two free throws provided much of the spark.
Lewiston attacked the baseline to mount its comeback, and when Salat Hassan then beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer off an inbounding pass, the Blue Devils were back within 34-30.
But Lewiston couldn’t maintain its offensive flow against Bangor’s defense, as the Blue Devils went without a field goal for the first 3:21 of the second half while the Rams surged back to a 10-point lead.
A drive by Issack cut Lewiston’s deficit to 40-33, but it was the Blue Devils’ lone field goal of the period. A drive and a free throw by Dorman and a follow-up basket by Nagle helped Bangor take a 45-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Tonight it came together a little bit,” said Dorman, who along with Smith are Bangor’s lone senior starters. “We’re just going to keep improving.”
