PORTLAND—Waynflete junior Nico Kirby got the job done early with his shooting, then helped put it away with his rebounding and defense.
And as a result, the Flyers continue to flummox their longtime rival, North Yarmouth Academy.
Kirby scored eight first quarter points as Waynflete opened up a 17-14 lead and senior Safwan Hussein drained a clutch 3 at the horn to make it 28-20 at halftime.
The Flyers then went ahead by as many as nine points in the third period, but the Panthers fought back to make it a 39-35 contest heading for the final stanza.
Where Waynflete did just enough to hold on.
Midway through the fourth quarter, a three-point play from senior Cal Nice pulled NYA within two, 46-44, but junior Sam Riberio drained a clutch 3 and the Flyers were able to go on to a 55-46 triumph.
Kirby led the way with 16 points and Waynflete snapped a three-game losing streak, evened its record at 3-3 and in the process, dropped the Panthers to 1-4.
“It’s exciting to beat NYA,” Kirby said. “We’ve talked about fixing our little mistakes and being stronger with the ball. With the pressure they applied to us, that was huge.”
One-way rivalry
While NYA has been a consistent contender under coach Jason Knight, Waynflete has had the Panthers’ number year after year after year.
Last season, the Flyers took both meetings, 52-38 in Portland and 57-45 in Yarmouth.
Waynflete opened the 2022-23 campaign with victories over visiting Sacopee Valley (63-42) and host Seacoast Christian (52-23), but then lost at home to Cape Elizabeth (50-42), Old Orchard Beach (61-49) and Fryeburg Academy (62-49).
As for NYA, it started with a 60-56 victory at St. Dom’s, then lost at Poland (62-46), at Traip Academy (49-41) and at Monmouth Academy (53-37).
Thursday, the Panthers looked to beat the Flyers for the first time since Jan. 17, 2017 (41-37, in Portland), but Waynflete instead made it 26 victories in the teams’ last 27 meetings.
But not without some anxious moments.
North Yarmouth senior Cal Nice and Waynflete junior Nico Kirby take part in the jump ball to begin the Flyers’ 55-46 victory Thursday night. Hoffer photos.
The Flyers went on top to stay just 23 seconds in when senior Connor Ford made a layup after a steal. Riberio then added a 3 and Knight took an early timeout.
NYA got on the board with 6:45 to go in the first quarter, as Nice scored on a leaner. Junior captain Nate Oney then added a free throw, but senior Matt Adey hit a foul shot for Waynflete, then Riberio drained another 3 to make the score 9-3.
Senior Wyatt Thomas made a layup after a steal for the Panthers, but Kirby scored his first points on a 3 before Oney made a long 3, then sophomore Moses Semuhoza hit another 3 for NYA to cut the deficit to just one, 12-11.
The Panthers couldn’t go ahead, however, as Kirby scored on a putback in impressive fashion, then Kirby buried a 3.
Oney made a free throw and freshman Brayden Kloza scored on a putback but the Flyers held a 17-14 advantage after eight minutes.
A Kloza putback 47 seconds into the second period pulled NYA within one again, but that’s as close as the visitors would get.
A 3-point shot from sophomore Lucas McChesney extended the lead for Waynflete. After Semuhoza countered with a jumper, Adey banked home a shot, senior Cole Isherwood sank a free throw, then Kirby scored a putback to make it 25-18.
Nice got two points back in the final minute with a floater, but as time expired, Kirby got the ball to Hussein, who threw up a long 3-point attempt which found the mark for a 28-20 advantage.
In the first 16 minutes, Kirby led all scorers with 10 points, but the Flyers weren’t able to pull away.
And the Panthers continued to make things interesting in the second half.
Waynflete senior Connor Ford looks to pass to classmate Cole Isherwood in the corner as NYA junior Nate Oney defends.
Nice opened the third quarter with a reverse layup, but Isherwood canned a 3 to push the lead to nine.
After Nice got a point back at the line, Semuhoza scored on a putback, then Oney made a 3. Oney was fouled on the shot, but couldn’t convert the free throw for the rarely seen four-point play and NYA was down by three.
Waynflete responded, as Ford sank two free throws, freshman Jed Alsup scored on a leaner, then Kirby stole the ball and made a layup for a 37-28 advantage.
Nice, set up by senior Jack Byrne, answered with a layup, but after another steal, Kirby fed Alsup for a layup.
The Panthers then closed the quarter strong, as Kloza hit a free throw, Thomas made a shot after a steal and in the final minute, Byrne set up Kloza for a layup to make it anyone’s game, 39-35, with eight minutes left.
The Flyers threatened to pull away when Isherwood found Hussein for a layup, then Adey made a short jumper early in the fourth quarter. After Semuhoza banked home a shot after a nice spin move, Adey kept possession for Waynflete with an offensive rebound, got the ball to Isherwood and Isherwood set up Kirby for an apparent dagger of a 3, but it wasn’t over yet.
First, Nice scored on a bank shot. Semuhoza then converted a leaner in the lane and with 3:13 to go, Nice made a layup while being fouled and added the and-one free throw for a three-point play to make the score 46-44.
But as they did almost the entire game, the Flyers came up big when they had to, as Ford spotted an open Riberio, who calmly drained the biggest 3-point shot of the game with 2:45 remaining.
After the teams traded turnovers, Semuhoza scored on a short shot in the lane to make it a one-possession contest, but Isherwood twice made one of two free throw attempts, Adey broke away for a layup, was fouled and completed the three-point play with a free throw, then Kirby scored the game’s final point at the line as Waynflete prevailed, 55-46.
“Jason did a great job with those guys, got them fired up,” longtime Flyers coach Rich Henry said. “It’s NYA and Waynflete, so there’s familiarity there. We needed a win. I can’t look too harshly on a win because we needed it, but there are some things we need to work on. We were able to answer most of the time. I wish we dealt with pressure a little better, but we did it when we had to.”
The Flyers were paced by Kirby, who not only tallied 16 points, but also collected nine rebounds and had eight steals.
“We don’t have a lot of size and somebody has to (rebound),” Kirby said.
“It’s something when your point guard goes down and snatches rebounds in traffic like (Nico) does,” Henry said. “He’s a special player and a special young man. He’s a pleasure to coach. Hardest worker, most pleasant countenance of anybody.”
Riberio added nine points, Adey had eight (to go with seven rebounds), Isherwood six (as well as five assists), Hussein five, Alsup and Ford (four rebounds, four assists, three steals) four apiece and McChesney three.
“We’re a deep team again,” said Henry. “I’m trying to find minutes for the guys. I’m proud of how all the guys who played contributed.”
Waynflete had a 32-31 rebounding edge, made 8-of-15 free throws and overcame 25 turnovers.
The Panthers were paced by 14 points from Nice, who also had four rebounds. Semuhoza contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Oney finished with eight points, four rebounds and four steals, Kloza had seven points and four boards and Thomas (six steals, six rebounds) finished with four.
NYA finished with 24 turnovers and made just 5-of-12 free throws.
“It was a game of runs,” said Knight. “I thought we withstood their early runs. We had early turnovers and a lack of continuity on offense. We dug ourselves a hole, then spent time burning effort to get back in it. Nico came out on fire and we adjusted. I thought Wyatt Thomas did a fantastic job on him. We got back to two. We expended our energy and just didn’t have that last push, but I’m really proud of the effort. We don’t quit and we hang our hat on that.”
New Year’s wishes
The rivals square off again Jan. 11 in Yarmouth.
“I think we’re evenly matched this year,” Knight said. “We’re back at it in two weeks at home and we’ll see how we fare there.”
NYA tries to get back in the win column next Thursday when it welcomes Richmond.
“The building blocks are there,” said Knight. “We’re just trying to find our identity and our chemistry. We have a good foundation. We’ve learned in December. We’d like a few more wins, but we’re getting better and I think we’ll be fine. We don’t have an easy game on our schedule this year. We’re getting better every day, working to fix our mistakes. If we do that, we’ll be there in February.”
Waynflete, meanwhile, is idle until next Thursday, when it goes to Sacopee Valley.
“If we can keep doing what we’re doing, sharing the ball, get good shots, rebound, I think we can go far,” Kirby said.
“I like this team a lot,” Henry said. “They’re fun to be around. They’re serious. They drive each other. We just have to clean up a few things. I gave them the speech that January will be a blur. We start off slowly, then we have a bunch of games in a row. I’d like to see us deal with pressure better on the perimeter and not settle for 3s on against the zone.”
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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