Greely’s top-ranked boys’ basketball team used a third-quarter surge to pull away and beat No. 5 Kennebunk 69-62 in a Class A South semifinal Wednesday evening at Cross Insurance Arena.
The Rangers got big games from their trio of stars – Logan Bagshaw, Zach Brown and Andrew Storey, who combined for 52 points – to improve to 17-3 on the year and win their 10th consecutive postseason game.
“We have some guys who have played some serious minutes on this floor and it helped,” said Greely Coach Travis Seaver.
Greely advances to face No. 3 Falmouth (14-6) in the regional final Saturday at 8 p.m., at Cross Insurance Arena.
The Rangers beat the Yachtsmen 46-29 in the teams’ regular-season meeting Dec. 21 in Cumberland.
“Falmouth’s a totally different team than they were two months ago and we’re a totally different team than we were two months ago,” said Seaver. “We’ll try to dictate the game, but it’s a tournament game and it will come down to halfcourt defense.”
Greely came out red hot Wednesday, racing to a 14-2 lead behind a pair of Bagshaw 3-pointers and four points apiece from Storey and Lars Boddie.
Kennebunk (15-5) settled in and got as close as seven points, but a putback from Storey gave the Rangers a 20-10 advantage after one quarter.
The Rams got the first four points of the second quarter when Max Murray made a layup and Zack Sullivan hit a runner, but Greely got a 3-point shot from Brown, a three-point play from Storey and a Brown layup to go up by 13.
When Storey converted a three-point play with 2:27 to go, the lead was 35-21, but Kennebunk got two free throws from Sullivan and a 3-pointer from Kyle Pasieniuk to draw within nine at the half.
The Rangers regrouped in the locker room and came out strong in the second half. Storey fed Brown for a layup, Brown set up Storey for a short jumper and Storey passed to Bagshaw (14 points) for a layup as Greely regained control.
“They caused some quick turnovers and capitalized,” said Kennebunk Coach David Leal. “Storey had a great game for them tonight.”
Greely enjoyed a 14-4 run overall, capped by a basket from Brown (15 points), and when reserve Nick Butler got in on the fun at the horn with a layup, the Rangers had a 55-38 advantage heading for the final quarter.
“We talked at halftime about trying to keep it rolling and put the game away,” said Storey, who paced Greely with 23 points.
Murray went off in the fourth quarter, making four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points, giving him a game-high 30 in all, but Kennebunk could get no closer than seven down the stretch.
“We were a little hesitant and some of our shots didn’t drop,” Leal said. “The kids scrapped back and our future is really bright. We expect to be back here next year and we’ll be better.”
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