The No. 1 Wolverines poured it on late in the game to beat Katahdin 47-28 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
After a fairly close first half that ended 16-13 in Schenck’s favor, the scoring floodgates opened for the Wolverines in the second half. They outscored Katahdin 31-15 in the second half to earn the win.
“This is great, this is why we play,” said Schenck coach Aaron Hutchins said, adding that he was happy for his players. “Obviously a little gut-checked last year against [Bangor Christian] in the finals, it was a little motivational factor.”
The Bangor Christian Patriots got the better of Schenck in last year’s North regional, and ended up winning the state title. But Schenck avoided a repeat by knocking out the Patriots in this year’s semifinal round.
“It feels great, especially after last year, I can tell you that,” Schenck junior guard Brayden Osborne said earlier this week after that win in the previous round.
Osborne had 12 points in the win on Saturday.
“These guys put the time in,” added Hutchins, who said it was awesome to see them celebrating after the win. “This is why they play basketball.”
Senior forward Owen Wyman led the way for the Wolverines with 16 points on Saturday.
“We just had to get it done,” Wyman said after the win. “We beat them once in the season, they beat us. It could have gone either way, and I’m happy that we came out on top today.”
Katahdin’s Calvin Richardson (#2) attempts a shot around Schenck’s Owen Wyman (#32) in the boys Class D North Regional Championship game on Saturday.
Schenck’s head coach Aaron Hutchins hugs Brayden Osborne (#13) after defeating Katahdin 47-28 in the Class D North Regional Championship game.
Katahdin’s Connor Edwards (#4) attempts to block a layup by Schenck’s Samuel Jacobs (#3) in the boys Class D North Regional Championship game at the Cross Insurance Center Saturday.
Senior Sam Jacobs added nine points for the Wolverines.
1,000-point scorer Connor Edwards had nine points for Katahdin on Saturday, followed by Josh Martin with seven and Chandler Smith with six. All three are seniors.
The Schenck boys will now face St. Dominic of Auburn on Saturday at 2:45 p.m, once again at the Cross Center in Bangor, for the Class D state championship.
Hutchins called East Millinocket a basketball town when asked about the strong fan support on Saturday.
“We have such a rich history back in East Millioncket, and selfishly for me, it’s nice to bring this special moment back to our hometown,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
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