AUGUSTA — Medomak Valley blew open a one-point game with dominant third and fourth quarters to beat Skowhegan 63-31 in the Class A North quarterfinals Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.
Brent Stewart scored 16 points for No. 6 Medomak Valley, which went on a 35-2 run to pull away. Josh Goldrup added 13 points and Ryan Creamer had 11.
The Panthers improved to 12-7 and will play No. 2 Nokomis in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday. No. 3 Skowhegan is done at 11-8.
The Panthers didn’t try to hide it: This game meant a little extra.
It was the first game between the teams since last year’s dramatic A North quarterfinal, in which Skowhegan, then an eighth seed, shocked an undefeated and top-seeded Medomak Valley team, 54-53.
All of the Medomak Valley starters from that game are gone. But enough of the players who had to watch it unfold were back to know the value of another crack at the Indians.
“We all had last year in the back of our minds,” said Stewart, a senior. “We were feeding off of it.”
Coach Nick DePatsy downplayed the revenge angle, but a quick grimace when reminded of last year’s result said enough.
“We talked about it. We didn’t dwell on it,” he said. “I think they had it more in their mind than I did.”
Determined as they were, the Panthers’ hopes for vengeance were on hold as the game unfolded into a tight, back-and-forth contest, with Skowhegan pulling within 28-27 on a Marcus Christopher free throw with 6:18 remaining in the third.
The game was close – but not for long. Medomak Valley caught fire, Skowhegan ran out of answers and the Indians were quickly buried beneath an avalanche of Panthers points and their own mistakes.
The stats were staggering. Medomak Valley scored the next nine points, and after the Indians made it 37-29 on a Barnes layup with 38 seconds left in the third, the Panthers put up a whopping 26 straight points to blow the game wide open.
“We had to make a decision about trying to pressure the ball a little more, and they were able to get points in transition,” Indians Coach Tom Nadeau said. “We struggled to get stops, they hit shots. … We didn’t execute, we didn’t finish, we didn’t hit shots. … It didn’t go our way.”
Skowhegan didn’t make a field goal in the fourth (0 for 8) and went 1 for 13 with 12 turnovers during the 35-2 run, which took up 13:24 of game time.
“They were a lot better than us today,” Christopher said. “We weren’t tough enough today. … I think we were just trying to play too fast at times.”
Medomak Valley’s run began ordinarily enough, with Gabe Allaire hitting a shot, and Stewart following with a 3-pointer and a drive to make the score 35-27 with 4:06 left in the game.
There wasn’t a response from the Indians, however, and the Panthers, who were 6 for 9 from the field for the third quarter and 12 for 20 for the second half, kept attacking.
“When you’re on the court, you’re not really paying attention to the score. You’re just playing,” Stewart said. “But it makes everyone get a lot more hyped, and everyone gets going more.”
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