Sophomore forward Landon Clark scored nine of his game-high 21 points during the third quarter Saturday afternoon as Bangor pulled away from Cheverus of Portland 63-41 in a season-opening Class AA basketball game at Red Barry Gymnasium.
Six of Clark’s points came during a 14-0 run that gave the Rams momentum after Cheverus had hung within single digits early in the second half.
“The first half we were kind of just getting back in the swing of basketball. It was our first real game and the intensity obviously picks up from preseason,” said the 6-foot-6-inch Clark, who also contributed seven rebounds and three assists. “Our team loves to share the ball and get everyone involved and I thought we did a great job coming out in the second half with a lot of energy and it started with defense.”
Bangor induced 22 Cheverus turnovers during the contest and limited the Stags to just 12 field goals. Cheverus never led once the Rams scored the first eight points.
The game was the first in front of fans for both teams since the end of the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19.
“The energy that our fans bring and the guys being able to play in front of people, it was an awesome experience for them because they were two seasons away from doing that,” Bangor coach Brad Libby said.
Clark’s older brother, senior forward Max Clark, added nine points and seven rebounds for Bangor while senior guard Keegan Cyr had eight points and six rebounds, Another senior guard, Ben Caron, scored seven points and twin brother Brayden Caron finished with six.
Leo McNabb and Anthony Cloutier paced Cheverus with 10 points each, while Seth Huntington scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
Bangor returns to action at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Class A North preseason favorite Nokomis of Newport, which will be making its season debut in that game.
Bangor was on point defensively from the start, its man-to-man recording two blocked shots and three steals during the first four minutes of play as it built its 8-0 cushion.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Huntington and Cloutier helped Cheverus pull to within 12-8 by the end of the first quarter, but Bangor soon embarked on a 14-2 run over a four-minute span of the second quarter to assume a 29-12 advantage, with four points and an assist from Landon Clark and a 3-pointer and a free throw by Brayden Caron aiding the effort.
Bangor joined Cheverus in some second-quarter foul trouble, and the Stags capitalized to rally within 30-22 by intermission as Huntington contributed a three-point play and an inside basket to help the Stags outscore Bangor 10-1 over the final 3:20 of the half.
Bangor’s Ryan Howard kicked off the game’s decisive run, turning a steal into a three-point play to answer five straight Cheverus points and give the Rams a 38-27 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
Landon Clark then scored twice from the low post and buried two free throws after another being fouled on another foray near the basket. Max Clark hit two more free throws before Ben Caron capped off the 14-point blitz with a 3-pointer from the left wing off a Max Clark assist.
