Cheverus-Bangor postgame quotes
Cheverus Coach Bob Brown:
"Mick DiStasio took the game over. You saw someone who in the tournament took over and realized he could become a great player."
"In the second half we started pressing with more intensity. At the end of the first half they hit a couple of shots because we didn't have our hands over the ball like we should. At halftime I wasn't sure we could come back. We weren't flowing. We were static."
"The beauty of Bangor being so far up (the highway) is we didn't know they were supposed to be unbeatable."
Mick DiStasio of Cheverus:
"We started setting screens in the second half and getting open shots."
"They had height and they were physical, but we felt if we got pressure on them we could use our quickness."
"At halftime I'm sure everyone was down, but with our shooting ability, we felt we could come back."
Cheverus 49, Bangor 41, final
Cheverus wins its first state title since 1997 behind an incredible second half by Mick DiStasio, who scored 19 points and finished with 23. Bangor had won seven straight state finals since losing in five overtimes to South Portland in 1992.
Cheverus 45, Bangor 41, 39.5 seconds left
Doug Alston hits 1 of 2 free throws.
Cheverus 44, Bangor 41, 42:2 seconds left
Cheverus ball, although it has committed several late turnovers.
Cheverus 40, Bangor 36, 3:13 left
Mick DiStasio has 15 points in the second half, and Cheverus has the ball and the lead.
Cheverus 37, Bangor 34, 5:26 left
Doug Alston, who has 11 points, hits a 3-pointer and Bangor calls a timeout.
Bangor 30, Cheverus 29, end of the third period
Mick DiStasio, taking over the game, follows his own miss with a layup at the third-period buzzer to make it a one-point game.
Bangor 30, Cheverus 27, 42 seconds left in the third
The Cheverus defense continues to cause fits, and Mick DiStasio has eight points in the third period to make this a game again.
Bangor 24, Cheverus 19, 5:30 left in the third
Ian Barwise hit a 2-pointer, then a 3 in the first 1:10 of the second half for Cheverus.
Bangor 24, Cheverus 14, halftime
In a game of tough defense on both sides, the difference has been Jon McAllian, the shooting guard for Bangor who is heading to the University of Maine in the fall. McAllian swished two 3-pointers in the second quarter and has 11 points at the half as Bangor, held to a two-point or so game for most of the game, opened its lead near the end of the half.
And that's the difference. Bangor is hitting outside shots and Cheverus isn't. Doug Alston leads Cheverus with eight points but mostly on drives. Mick DiStasio, the team's leader scorer, has just four and Peter Foley has two. Nobody else has scored for Cheverus.
Bangor 16, Cheverus 14, 3:00 left in the half
After Adam Bernstein hits a foul shot and Ryan Weston adds an 8-foot jumper for Bangor, Doug Alson answers with a drive for Cheverus.
Bangor 13, Cheverus 10, 5:03 left in the half
Jon McAllian hits a 3-pointer for Bangor after Mick DiStasio of Cheverus scored the first points of the second quarter.
Bangor 10, Cheverus 8, end of the first
Bangor's man-to-man defense held the Stags to two points in the final five minutes of the period, and that was a nifty back-door pass to Doug Alston. Bangor continues to have trouble with Cheverus' pressure defense, but is countering with strong shooting and a tougher inside game.
Cheverus 6, Bangor, 4:52 left in first
After Bangor scored the first basket, Cheverus went on a 6-2 run fueled by a pressure defense that forced three straight turnovers.
The starting lineups:
Cheverus: Doug Alston, Sam Napolitano, Ian Barwise, Mick DiStasio and Indiana Faithfull.
Bangor: Jon McAllian, Billy Zolper, Lee Suvlu, Adam Bernstein and Ryan Weston.
Welcome to the Cumberland County Civic Center for the boys' Class A final between Cheverus, the Western Maine champion with an 18-3 record, and Bangor, which swept through Eastern Maine while going 21-0.
With a half-hour to go before the opening tip, it looks like there will be a small crowd for the game, which was postponed from Saturday night. With poor weather forecast for late tonight, as well as it being a school and work night, the crowd traveling a couple of hours from Bangor may be significantly reduced.
Bangor has had few challenges this season. Only Edward Little came within 15 points of the Rams, doing it in three of their four meetings but never taking a game to the final minute.
Cheverus had a strange season. It was undefeated until late January, then lost three straight, including a 15-point home loss to South Portland, but hasn't lost since.
Final: Deering 55, Oxford Hills 43
Deering won its first state championship since 2004 and second overall with a convincing victory. The Rams dominated inside early in the game, built a lead, and Oxford Hills, a first-time state finalist, was never able to pull closer than nine points. Freshman Kayla Burchill scored 14 points to lead the Rams, who started two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman to go with senior Nicole Garland.
Deering 51, Oxford Hills 40, 53 seconds left
And it's down to fouls, free throws and celebrating.
Deering 47, Oxford Hills 38, 2:56 left
Oxford Hills has caused turnovers with full-court pressure to pull within nine points and truthfully should have been closer, except for three straight missed free throws and a missed layup.
Deering 45, Oxford Hills 33, 3:43 left
No appreciable difference as the teams basically trade points.
Deering 42, Oxford Hills 29, 6:15 left
Oxford Hills hasn't been able to put a sustained run together as time winds down.
Deering 40, Oxford Hills 26, end of the third quarter
Oxford Hills pulled within 33-25, the first time it was within 10 points since early in the game, before Deering used a 7-1 run to end the period. Freshman Kayla Burchill has been strong inside, scoring seven points in the period. She has 11 in the game.
Deering 29, Oxford Hills 17, halftime
Oxford Hills uses a 6-2 mini-run over the final four minutes of the half to stay reasonably close. But Deering has dominated inside, especially in the first quarter when it built its lead. Diana Manduca and Nicole Garland, both with sweet shooting, have eight points each for the Rams at halftime, and its prime inside threats, Claire Ramonas and freshman Kayla Burchill, have combined for another nine.
Kari Anna Pelletier leads Oxford Hills with five points, but was saddled with her third foul midway through the second period. The Vikings trailed Cony by double digits in the Eastern Maine final, which Deering Coach Mike D'Andrea is sure to be stressing to his team during halftime.
Deering 29, Oxford Hills 15, 1:39 left in the half
Oxford Hills starts to penetrate inside, leading to a quick Deering timeout.
Deering 27, Oxford Hills 11, 3:43 left in the half
Deering regains command, forcing an Oxford Hills timeout when Nicole Garland swishes a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Deering 22, Oxford Hills 11, 5:43 left in the half
Kari Anna Pelletier hits a 3-pointer for Oxford Hills and when the Deering offense stalls, the Rams call a timeout.
Deering 22, Oxford Hills 8, 7:02 left in the half
Oxford Hills calls time after Stefanie Saavedra scored inside on the first possession of the period.
Deering 20, Oxford Hills 8 (end of the first quarter)
After a 5-5 tie in the first two minutes, Deering went on a 15-3 run, capped when Diane Manduca hit a 3-pointer while being fouled as the buzzer sounded to end the period. She made the free throw to cap the four-point play.
As the teams continue to warm up at the Cumberland County Civic, here's the useless fact of the day. The losing team in the girls' Class A final has scored 39, 40 or 41 points each of the past five years.
Good atmosphere for the game. Both teams brought bands and cheerleaders, which is becoming more and more rare. The crowd as the game approaches is probably around 2,500.
Starting lineups:
Deering: Jessica Ruhlin, Diana Manduca, Nicole Garland, Kayla Burchill and Claire Ramonas
Oxford Hills: Kari Anna Pelletier, Lindsay Fox, Teira Durgin, Melanie Cloutier and Megan Joyce.
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