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.

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