Finn Bowe felt responsible for letting Sean Walsh of Falmouth get free for a game-tying 3-pointer with 14.2 seconds to play Thursday in their Western Maine Conference game at the Portland Expo.
So when Bowe and the rest of the Cape Elizabeth boys’ basketball team gathered after the ensuing timeout, he asked Coach Jim Ray to run “baseline,” a play designed to put the ball in Bowe’s hands.
“At the end of the game I’m always looking to take the last shot,” said Bowe, a 6-foot-4 junior.
Bowe made it, too, shooting over the tough defense of Jack Bryant and two other players to nail a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 40-37 victory against previously unbeaten Falmouth.
“It was a smart call,” said Cape Coach Jim Ray, noting he initially called an alternative play.
“It put the ball in his hands and we’re in the bonus so they can’t foul. He’s a smart kid. He’s got a high basketball IQ and it worked out pretty well.”
The game counts in the Class A South standings and put a capper on the four-day Red Claws Christmas Showcase.
Cape improves to 3-2 and Falmouth is 5-1.
Walsh finished with 22 points, 16 in the first half. Bowe led Cape with 14, including 11 in the first half.
Bowe took only seven shots, just two in the second half, and was 4 of 6 from behind the arc.
“A great play by a great player,” Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan said of Bowe’s shot.
Falmouth relied on Walsh and point guard Colin Coyne (8 points) for its offense. Coyne finished with five assists but had to work for everything because of tough defense applied by Quinn Hewitt, who has a six-inch height advantage.
“I’ve played against Colin ever since fifth grade,” Hewitt said. “He’s an amazing player and we had a good game plan to play against him, and we played well against him.”
Hewitt added nine points. His steal and breakaway layup after overplaying a pass to Coyne near midcourt gave Cape a 37-32 lead with 3:04 to play.
Cape led 22-21 at the half and was able to expand its lead by getting just enough complementary scoring. Marshal Peterson and Jacob Allen both chipped in two baskets – key points in such a low-scoring game.
“Falmouth was playing up on me a lot and my teammates had to step up in the second half and they did a great job of it,” Bowe said.
In the first half it was Nat Spicer who came off the bench to spark the Capers after Falmouth grabbed early control.
Falmouth rolled to a 19-8 lead behind the mid-range and 3-point shooting of Walsh, a 6-foot-6 senior, with several baskets coming from open looks orchestrated by Coyne.
Cape Elizabeth settled in after Spicer rattled in a baseline jumper, then scored on a drive down the lane. That started a 14-3 half-closing run for the Capers.
Bowe lined up one of his left-handed 3-pointers with 52 seconds to play, and then Hewitt hit an open 3-pointer just before the buzzer off a high-post pass from Andrew Hartel in a well-executed set.
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