BANGOR — Top-seeded Maranacook played a near-perfect first half Saturday afternoon to continue its perfect season.
The unbeaten Black Bears rode their fast break to an early 21-point lead and never looked back in an 84-72 victory against No. 3 Camden Hills at the Bangor Auditorium to capture their second Eastern Class B boys’ basketball championship in three seasons.
Maranacook (21-0) will play Cape Elizabeth (19-2) for the state championship Friday night at the Bangor Auditorium.
“It was a good start for them, and a bad start for us,” Camden Hills Coach Jeff Hart said.
“They are a great offensive team, and I don’t think we played very well offensively.”
It was third game of the season between the two Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference teams.Back in January, the Black Bears handed the Windjammers their only previous loss, 76-67 at Rockport.
Two weeks ago, Camden Hills beat Maranacook 76-70 in overtime in the KVAC Class B championship game at Waterville. That game is considered an exhibition.
Ryan Martin, a 5-9 guard who has led the Black Bears in scoring for three seasons, scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half to help propel Maranacook to a 47-26 lead after the first 16 minutes.
“You don’t get this far with one player,” Maranacook Coach Rob Schmidt said. “You get this far with a lot of good players, a lot of hard work, and guys stepping up when you need it.”
Martin, who is headed to the University of Maine in the fall, had plenty of help.
Will Bardaglio, who sank 11 of 12 free throws, scored 20 points. Devin Gerrity, who sank four 3-pointers, had 18 points. Mike Poulin, who made all eight of his free-throw attempts, added 12 points.
The Black Bears connected on 64 percent of their shots (16 of 25) in the first half. Many of those baskets came off layups at the end of fast breaks triggered by one of nine Camden Hills turnovers in the first half.
Less than three minutes into the third quarter, the Black Bears opened a 56-31 lead before the Windjammers (20-2) were able to make at a run at them.
With Hart substituting five fresh players into the lineup about every minute, Camden Hills pulled to within 15 points (57-42) by the end of the third quarter.
“We were in a situation where we had to do something,” Hart said. “It got us closer, but it didn’t get us over the hump.”
Paul Campbell led the Windjammers, the defending regional champions, with 17 points. Christian Pieri added 11 points.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 386-0346 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
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