OLD ORCHARD BEACH — For a quarter Saturday, the Old Orchard Beach boys basketball team’s game plan against Waynflete seemed to be working; slow the game down, play solid half court defense and let leading scorer Joey Gildard go to work on the Flyers’ smaller guards.
But for the final three quarters, the tide turned the way Waynflete wanted it to go ”“ namely, an upped tempo and matchup nightmare Serge Nyirikamba exerting his will ”“ and as a result, so did the game.
After taking an early lead and trailing 13-10 after an even opening quarter, things fell apart for OOB in the second quarter as the Flyers went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-point lead into the half, and then pulled away in the second half on the way to a convincing 72-43 victory in a Western Maine Conference Class C game.
It was the second time Old Orchard Beach (10-4) has fallen to Waynflete (12-2) this season.
“We were thinking we could play with these guys and maybe upset them at home, but that didn’t happen,” OOB coach John Regan said.
“I thought the first quarter we played real well. The pace was more conducive for us at that point. And then the second period they got on a little bit more of a roll; it seemed like we’d get one shot down, and they’d feed off of that.”
After a 69-49 victory over Traip Academy, it was the second win in as many days for the Flyers, and the first time in “four or five years” the team has played a back-to-back, according to coach Rich Henry, who credited his bench for its role in both games.
“Our bench really helped us out,” he said. “I was able to rest some guys yesterday because our bench really played hard, and that made it so we could focus here a little bit more today. We had some energy.”
That energy was personified by 6 foot 3 inch forward Nyirikamba, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, many of them on second chance opportunities as his length and athleticism took its toll on the Seagulls down low.
“Serge is a tough matchup. We really don’t have a guy who can cover him straight up,” Regan said. “If you front him they throw it over the top, if you play behind they kick it and he has some good low post moves.
“We’re undersized a little bit and pretty much a guard team, but the kids battled and did the best we could with him.”
It was OOB’s top scorer who controlled the game early as Gildard recorded his team’s first eight points to give the Seagulls an 8-5 lead after five minutes. But from there Waynflete started to get into a rhythm, scoring nine straight points in a stretch of the second quarter to build a 34-21 lead at the half.
“It takes a little while. Teams are smart, and John’s a very good coach and wanted to try to slow us down a bit,” Henry said. “And it takes us a little while to find our groove and figure things out.
“We were able to play a little bit more up tempo in the second. We started to hit some shots, the guys got fired up and we were able to get back into the way we play.”
Waynflete’s lead crept up to 18 early in the third, but an 11-4 Seagulls run closed the gap to 11. That’s when the Flyers’ long-range shooting played its part, with Milo Belleau hitting a 3-pointer and Harry Baker-Connick knocking down two more from behind the arc as Waynflete took an unassailable 58-38 lead after three.
“They shot it extremely well from the outside,” Regan said. “We had it to 11 at one time and it looked like we were making a bit of a run, and then they came down and went bang, bang, bang.
“That was probably the turning point, the third quarter. I think we got a little deflated at that point and they started to pull away.”
In addition to Nyirikamba’s 21, Belleau and Baker-Connick scored 12 points apiece for the Waynflete, while Henry Cleaves chipped in 11 and Abel Alemayo nine as the Flyers spread the wealth throughout the starting lineup.
On the other side, Gildard had a game-high 22, but the Seagulls weren’t able to deliver the same kind of balanced scoring assault to back him up.
“Joey had a nice game getting his shots off,” Regan said. “But we’ve got to get some other people to step up and contribute scoring.”
Waynflete now has an entire week off before heading to Sacopee Valley next Saturday, while OOB will be back in action Tuesday when it visits Traip. Regan stressed the point that his team, currently in 10th in Western Class C with 12 teams making the playoffs, would have to get over the defeat quickly.
“We don’t have any time to dwell on this,” he said. “We’re right on the cusp of whether we host a (playoff) prelim or go on the road, so every game’s important. We’ve got to get ready for Tuesday.”
— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.
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