AUGUSTA, Maine — Messalonskee High School of Oakland used its postseason debut on Saturday night to show why it was the preseason favorite among Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference coaches to win the Class A North boys basketball title.
Coach Peter McLaughlin’s Eagles shook off an 11-point, first-quarter deficit and went on to defeat Gardiner 53-46 in a quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
“I thought our defensive intensity basically from the five-minute mark of the first quarter for the rest of the game was as good as it’s been all year,” said McLaughlin. “We limited a lot of things that they did.”
Fifth-ranked Messalonskee (14-5) moves on to Wednesday’s semifinals against the winner of Saturday’s late game between top-ranked and undefeated Medomak Valley of Waldoboro and No. 8 Skowhegan.
No. 4 Gardiner bowed out with a 10-9 record.
Senior guard Nate Violette and junior guard Chase Warren led a balanced Messalonskee offense with 13 points apiece, while senior guard James Kouletsis scored nine.
Junior guard Isaiah McGee paced Gardiner with a game-high 21 points and junior forward Connor McGuire scored 11.
Gardiner used a run of 10 unanswered points to build a 12-2 lead early in the game and went on to lead by as much as 15-4 on a 3-pointer by McGee with 1:42 left in the opening quarter.
But Trevor McCray closed out the first period with a basket, then Warren scored nine points while Messalonskee outscored Gardiner 21-9 in the second quarter to take a 27-24 halftime lead.
“We talked about how they were going to go on a run,” said McLaughlin. “I didn’t expect it to happen in the first three or four minutes of the game but that was there run and how how were we going to react to that — are you going to back down when your backs are against the wall or are you going to fight your way out.
“Our guys fight their way out every single time.”
Messalonskee stretched its lead to 39-31 by the end of the third quarter and 49-35 midway through the fourth, and while Gardiner rallied within 51-46 in the final minute two free throws each by Violette and Griffin Tuttle kept the Tigers at bay.
“It’s something we can talk about, but it never got below five,” said McLaughlin. “The next two possessions we executed and moved the ball and then Nathan hit some foul shots and Griffin hit some down the stretch and now we’re playing on Wednesday.”
