AUGUSTA, Maine — Third-ranked Medomak Valley of Waldoboro used tight defense and a second-half offensive surge to storm past No. 2 Brewer 48-31 in a Class A North boys basketball semifinal Wednesday night at the Augusta Civic Center.
The win advances Medomak Valley, in its first year back in Class A after winning Eastern Maine Class B titles in both 2013 and 2015, to Friday afternoon’s regional final against the winner of Wednesday’s late semifinal between top-ranked Hampden and No. 5 Oceanside of Rockland/Thomaston.
Senior forward Nicholas DePatsy rebounded from a one-point, zero-rebound first half to lead Medomak Valley (17-3) to its 13th consecutive victory, finishing with 15 points and nine boards.
“Basketball’s a mental game, and you’ve got to just keep going and trudging through when things are going bad,” said DePatsy. “I was a little long on my shots in the first half, but then we got in transition. We started running, just like we did against Lawrence, and that’s how we get a lot of our points.”
Junior center Cam Allaire added 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Panthers while leading a smothering defensive effort that limited Brewer star Matt Pushard to seven points.
Junior forward Kyle Donlin also played a key role in that defensive effort while adding 11 points and nine rebounds as the taller Panthers dominated the rebounding action.
Pushard grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for Brewer, while sophomore guard Kobe Rogerson scored a team-high 14 points, including a 4-of-7 effort from beyond the 3-point arc to keep the Witches in contention for much of the night.
Both teams struggled offensively during the first half, but Medomak Valley had the better balance and control of the backboards to gain a 19-10 lead.
Neither team’s Mr. Basketball semifinalist, Pushard or DePatsy, could get untracked, with Pushard smothered by multiple defenders and limited to a 1-of-9 shooting effort while DePatsy came up empty on just four field-goal attempts while scoring one point from the line.
Donlin led the way for Medomak Valley, scoring nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Donlin’s 3-pointer gave Medomak Valley an 11-5 lead at the end of the opening quarter, and Brewer got no closer during the second period.
“Our defensive scheme was to shut (Pushard) down and limit their shots,” said DePatsy, son of Medomak Valley coach Nick DePatsy. “Holding them to 10 points in the first half was unbelievable. Our rotations and everything was down just perfect tonight.
DePatsy got going after intermission with eight third-quarter points, but a Pushard 3-pointer at the end of the period kept Brewer within 29-22.
Medomak Valley got its transition game going and outscored Brewer 12-2 over the first four minutes of the final period, with Allaire working inside for eight points and DePatsy adding a 3-pointer and a free throw as the Panthers’ lead grew to 41-24.
