Fourteen games into the regular season, the Hampden Academy Broncos are the team to beat in the Class A North boys basketball ranks.
That’s because no one’s done it yet. Coach Russ Bartlett’s club combined tenacious first-half defense with a third-quarter clinic in ball movement on Friday night to dispatch Medomak Valley of Waldoboro 80-61 at the Stable.
Hampden (14-0) entered the contest with a robust 34-Heal Point lead over second-place Cony of Augusta in the standings, and that cushion figures to get larger with a victory in its lone regular-season meeting against No. 3 Medomak Valley (12-3).
“We always play really good as a team but tonight we came out really strong,” Hampden senior guard Bryce Lausier said. “We were hyped to play. Medomak’s a pretty good team and we put it to them.”
Lausier, the Broncos’ newest 1,000-point scorer, finished with a game-high 32 points along with nine rebounds and four assists in a well-rounded effort that included two 3-pointers, an 8-of-12 effort from the free-throw line and a variety of drives and other inside work.
Junior guard Andy Raye and junior forward Brayden Cole each posted 11 points and five assists for Hampden while senior forward Mikey Raye contributed nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Sophomore center T.J. Henaghen and freshman guard Landon Gabric added seven points each for a Broncos’ offense that generated 12 3-pointers.
“The shots we got were great shots and we had the right guys taking the shots,” said Bartlett of his team’s long-range production. “We were pretty comfortable taking those shots.”
Senior forward Gabe Allaire made six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 19 points for a Medomak Valley, while sophomores Patrick McKenney and Trevor Brown added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
This contest featured the top two defensive teams in Class A North, but Hampden established its dominance in that category by racing out to a 39-17 intermission lead as Medomak Valley managed just seven field goals in 32 first-half attempts.
The Broncos then ripped off a 25-point third quarter that featured eight assists on nine field goals and multiple possessions when shots were generated without use of the dribble either in transition or while running half-court sets.
“We have a good group of guys who can all score and are pretty unselfish about moving the ball,” Lausier said. “We all want to see each other succeed.”
Five Broncos totaled six 3-pointers during the period, with Lausier making two while accounting for 13 points as Hampden stretched its advantage to 64-36 entering the final quarter.
“In the first half we defended real well so that makes it easier because you don’t have to be as efficient to get separation,” Bartlett said, “and obviously in the third quarter we had a really special quarter.”
