AUGUSTA, Maine — Junior center Cameron Allaire scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds as third-ranked Medomak Valley of Waldoboro pulled away from No. 6 Lawrence of Fairfield 62-44 in a Class A North boys basketball quarterfinal Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.
The win was the 12th straight for coach Nick DePatsy’s defending Eastern Maine Class B champions, who will take a 16-3 record into Wednesday night’s semifinal against No. 2 Brewer. The Witches defeated No. 7 Gardiner 50-34 in Saturday’s second game.
Lawrence ended its season with a 10-9 record.
Allaire scored 18 of his points after intermission as the Panthers unleashed its transition offense and generated a game-deciding 24-4 run midway through the second half.
Senior guard Brandon Douglas added 13 points for Medomak Valley, while senior forward Nicholas DePatsy, son of the coach, amassed 10 points — eight in the second half — along with seven rebounds and six assists despite being face-guarded throughout the contest by Lawrence defenders.
Kyle Donlin, a junior forward, contributed eight points and eight rebounds to the Medomak Valley attack while point guard Zach Starr had five rebounds and five assists.
Senior forward Seth Powers led Lawrence with 16 points, while junior guard Mason Cooper had 12 points and five assists.
Lawrence rallied from a nine-point first-quarter deficit to take a 22-21 halftime lead behind seven points from Cooper and six points each from Powers and Kyle Robinson.
Robinson’s tight defense against DePatsy was a pivotal part of the half, as Medomak Valley’s 1,000-point scorer managed just three shot attempts and did not score until burying a 3-pointer from the right wing with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Panthers thrived without direct offensive production from their leader early in the contest, with Donlin scoring three straight baskets — the third after a steal by Starr — to help them take a 12-3 lead.
Lawrence scored eight unanswered points to draw within 12-11 on a runner by Powers with 4:41 left in the half, and after Douglas answered with a drive Lawrence scored six straight points to build an 18-14 lead when Cooper drove for a three-point play.
A follow-up basket by Allaire and a fast-break layup by Starr tied the game before Lawrence retook the lead on a spinning drive by Cooper and a loose-ball layup by Powers.
Medomak Valley took the lead for good by scoring the final seven points of the third quarter as DePatsy and Allaire each converted from the low post before Allaire took a backcourt steal into a three-point play to give the Panthers a 36-30 advantage entering the final period.
That run soon grew to 24-4 as Allaire scored eight fourth-quarter points — including a fast-break dunk — to go with five each by DePatsy and Douglass — to help Medomak Valley lead by as much as 53-34 on an Allaire layup with three minutes to play.
