AUGUSTA, Maine — Hampden Academy’s tenacious team defense and a 19-point scoring effort by senior guard Aiden Kochendoerfer carried the second-seeded Broncos to a 52-44 win over No. 3 Brewer in a Class A North basketball semifinal game at the Augusta Civic Center Wednesday night.
Hampden improved to 16-4 and advanced to Friday night’s regional championship game against No. 1 Messalonskee of Oakland. It was the third time the Broncos defeated Brewer this season.
Kochendoerfer drove the lane for a layup to give Hampden a 37-32 lead with 4:48 left in the game and, after a Brewer turnover, took a nifty pass from senior guard Sawyer Worcester and scored off a cut to the basket to make it a 7-point edge with 3:51 to go. The Witches got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Brewer (16-4) had clawed its way back into contention with its full-court press that helped force seven Hampden turnovers in the third quarter. The Witches outscored the Broncos 17-10 in the period, including a driving dunk by 6-foot-7 freshman forward Oli Higgins and trailed 32-26 at the end of the third. But the dunk was the last basket Higgins would score, giving him six points on the game.
Hampden forwards and brothers Liam Henaghen and Andy Henaghen helped hold Higgins in check with their physical defense most of the night, with a lot of help from the rest of the Broncos.
“Liam just guarded the post guy and Andy guarded the left corner guy,’’ Hampden coach Russ Bartlett said after the game, noting the plan was to do a lot of switching. “As long as Oli didn’t post we wouldn’t have been exposed to all the switching. Oli only posted once and Liam was on him the one time he posted. It allowed us to stay in front of him.”
Kochendoerfer hit a couple of big 3-pointers on the night, including one from the right wing to make it 35-28 with 6:14 to play, slowing Brewer’s comeback.
“My teammates helped me with everything,” Kochendoerfer said after the game. “I trust them with my life. They’re my brothers out there and no matter what happens I know I can trust them. I can play my game and I know they’ll play their game.”
Hampden junior guard Miles Shain hit four clutch free throws in the final minute on his way to 10 points.
Brewer got 14 points from senior guard Charlie Brydges and 13 points from senior forward Owen Fullerton to help dig them out of a deep hole.
Hampden’s tenacious defense was on full display in the first half, limiting Brewer to 3-for-16 shooting from the floor and helping force 8 turnovers. The Witches went scoreless over a 9:46 span in the first and second quarters.
Meanwhile, Worcester (12 points on the night) hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter, the first extending Hampden’s lead to 13-4 and the second upping the advantage to 20-8 with 2:36 left in the half.
The Witches went to the locker room trailing 22-9.
“We didn’t have much offense in the first half. They did a good job on Oli,” summed up Brewer coach Carl Parker, who said he was proud of his team’s effort.
Hampden and Messalonskee will play at 7:45 p.m. on Friday in Augusta. Messalonskee defeated No. 5 Camden Hills 63-61 in the other semifinal.