BANGOR, Maine — Finally there’s a celebration to replace a winter of frustration for the Bangor boys basketball team, which ended a seven-game losing streak Saturday with a 75-69 overtime victory over Brewer at Red Barry Gymnasium.
“It has been a struggle for us, finishing games,” said Bangor senior guard Ethan Dorman, whose game-high 23-point performance included a 15-of-17 effort from the free-throw line. “But we were able to keep our poise the whole game. We knew we had to keep fighting and the guys gave it everything they had.”
Bangor (3-11) won despite the absence of head coach Carl Parker, suspended for the contest after drawing two technical fouls in Friday night’s 57-47 loss to Hampden Academy.
“We came out with the same mindset,” said Dorman. “Obviously we sat down and talked as a team before the game about how we were going to approach this game. We were doing it for coach, and we wanted to prove something to everybody that’s been down on us and I think we did that today for him.”
The win should provide Bangor some significant Heal points as the Rams cling to their Class AA North tournament hopes, but those points weren’t easily earned as 12-2 Brewer battled to the final seconds before having its six-game winning streak ended despite having four players foul out, including star senior forward Matt Pushard.
Pushard, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, left with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter and Bangor already holding a 54-48 lead.
But senior guard Carter Smith picked up the offensive slack for coach Clayton Blood’s club, hitting two late 3-pointers to produce a 61-61 tie and force the rivals into overtime.
Brewer guard Cameron Wood struck first in the extra period, but George Payne countered with a 3-pointer to give Bangor the lead — for good, as it turned out.
Freshman center Marc Hutchings scored five of his eight points for Bangor during the overtime and Dorman followed up his only two misses from the line with four straight free throws to offset 3-pointers by Wood and Smith.
Dorman also contributed eight rebounds and five assists, while senior forward Justin Smith added 16 points and five boards for Bangor
“The leadership came from our two seniors that were in there for however many minutes we played, all 36,” said Bangor boys freshman basketball coach Jay Kemble, who filled in for Parker.
Payne, a junior guard, added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting as well as six rebounds.
“You’re looking for those kids who play with confidence and aren’t afraid to shoot in certain situations, and [Payne’s] come a long way as this year’s gone along,” said Kemble. “He played great.”
Carter Smith scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Brewer, which trailed by as many as 15 (41-26) early in the third quarter only to battle back in this matchup of teams each playing its second game in less than 24 hours.
Wood finished with 18 points for Brewer, which remains second behind undefeated Hampden Academy in Class A North.
