Oxford Hills survived a late-game rally to pull out a 51-48 victory against Cheverus in a Class AA North boys’ basketball game Monday night.
Chris St. Pierre scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half to help the Vikings (11-6) nail down their sixth consecutive win.
Atreyu Keniston scored 15 points for Oxford Hills, which opened the season by losing four of its first six games.
The Vikings held a 14-point lead with less than four minutes left before the Stags (6-10) closed within three points.
“It’s disconcerting in that we thoroughly controlled the entire game until the last few minutes,” Oxford Hills Coach Scott Graffam said.
“We’ve won a lot of close games where we’ve done the exact same thing.”
Oxford Hills committed eight of its 15 turnovers in the fourth quarter, which helped Cheverus climb back into the game.
“I’m proud of my guys,” Cheverus Coach Ryan Sirois said. “They kept battling and we had a shot at the end.
The Stags actually got the ball back with 3.8 seconds left but were unable to make a tying 3-pointer.
“I’m proud of the grit they showed,” said Sirois. “I wish we could have gotten off to a better start.”
The Stags hit just 4 of 21 shots in the first half.
Oxford Hills built a 15-11 lead in the first quarter, primarily on the inside play of Keniston and Colton Carson, who scored six of his eight points during the quarter.
The Stags, who were unable to finish anything inside early on, managed to remain close despite making just three of their nine shots during the first quarter.
“They were way more physical than we were and we couldn’t answer that challenge in the first half,” Sirois said.
“When you play a team like Oxford Hills, who are disciplined and physical, you’ve got to bring it or that’s going to happen.”
The Vikings also had trouble scoring during the second quarter, making only one of their first 11 shots.
But they finished the first half with a rush. Keniston and Carson each scored a basket in the final 35 seconds to propel them into a 21-13 lead.
St. Pierre stepped up during the third quarter, scoring nine points to help Oxford Hills take a 32-26 lead into the fourth. The Vikings, who made 9 of 10 free throws in the final quarter, moved into a 42-28 lead with 3:30 left to play.
Cheverus held a 15-4 scoring edge over the next 21/2 minutes, to close within three points with less than a minute left. Will Dieterich and Janek Lukska each made two free throws over the next 20 seconds to propel the Vikings into a 50-43 lead with 33.9 seconds left.
Tobias Ephron led the Stags with 13 points, scoring five of those points during their late-game run.
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