AUGUSTA — With a chance to join a historically short list of Maine boys’ basketball teams to win three straight state championships, Greely High was looking for a spark.
Andrew Storey provided it.
As a low-scoring first quarter was winding down, Storey anticipated a pass near midcourt. The 6-foot-6 senior made the steal, raced to the basket and finished with a two-handed reverse dunk.
It was only two points, but it seemed to shake all the nerves away, and the veteran Rangers went on to a 62-45 win Friday over Lawrence in the Class A state final at the Augusta Civic Center.
“He’s electric. We just get him the ball and tell him to go bang out,” said senior point guard Mikey Coppersmith. “He just gets us all going, and then we take that momentum and ride it for as long as we can.”
Greely (19-3) became the seventh school in Maine boys’ basketball history to win three consecutive state championships, and joined Winslow (1937-39) and Morse (1987-89) as the only teams to do it in Class A.
Lawrence, which won a total of 10 games the previous two seasons, finished 13-9.
“Most kids dream of winning one, (but three championships), it just gives me the chills to just go out winning three in a row,” said Greely senior captain Zach Brown, a three-year starter.
For the second straight season, the Greely boys followed a state title victory by the Greely girls.
With both the Rangers and Bulldogs off to a slow start, it was Greely’s defense that changed the tempo. Logan Bagshaw intercepted a pass and fed Zach Brown for a layup, and on the next possession, Storey produced his dunk.
“I think it pushed them back on their heels a little bit, but we just had to keep going , offensively and defensively, until we got it done,” Storey said.
The Rangers’ big three of Storey (11 points), junior guard Bagshaw (21 points) and Brown (14 points) each came through.
“They’ve been our leaders for a couple of years,” said Greely Coach Travis Seaver. “At the end of the day, they’re three of the best players in the state, and we’re going to ride them and they’re going to make great decisions, and they did.”
Bagshaw scored 14 points in the second quarter. Two 3-pointers pushed the lead to 16-2.
At that point, Lawrence had made 1 of 15 shots.
“We were getting stops, we just weren’t getting buckets at the other end,” said Lawrence Coach Jason Pellerin.
Bagshaw finished the half with four straight fast-break layups.
Brown had an efficient night, making 6 of 11 shots. He was also the key defender against Lawrence’s leading scorer, Kobe Nadeau, who was held to nine points.
Lawrence did cut an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter to nine with 6:55 remaining when Gavin Herrin converted a three-point play.
Then Greely’s stars rose to the occasion again, combining for an 8-0 run. Storey scored twice inside – his first hoops since his dunk. Brown made two free throws, and Bagshaw scored after a steal by Jakob Bernheisel, pushing the lead to 48-31.
Lawrence couldn’t get closer than 13 the rest of the way.
Nick Robertson led Lawrence with 16 points – 12 in the fourth quarter. Dylan Martin-Hachey added nine.
From beginning to end, Greely’s length and tenacity on defense was a constant challenge for Lawrence.
“All year, the harder we work, the better we play, and tonight it really paid off. Everything we worked for came down to tonight,” Bagshaw said.
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:
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