Yarmouth boys’ basketball coach Jonas Allen presents his team with a new defensive game plan every time the Clippers take the court.
It’s safe to say that the one Allen and his staff drew up for Tuesday evening’s Class B South semifinal against red-hot York was exceptional.
Second-seeded Yarmouth took the third-seeded Wildcats out of their game virtually the whole evening, and that smothering defense allowed the offense to find its stride in a 50-41 victory at the Portland Expo.
Senior standout Peter Psyhogeos not only led the scoring with 19 points, he also frustrated York junior guard Kevin Burke at the other end. Matt Waeldner added 16 points as Yarmouth (17-3) advanced to take on fourth-seeded Medomak Valley in the regional final, currently scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Friday at Cross Insurance Arena.
“We expect so much from our kids,” Allen said. “We have a different scheme every game, and for high schoolers, that’s asking a lot. We had a plan we thought might work and the kids just bought in.”
“I thought (Yarmouth’s) defense was very good and they made us take some tough shots,” said York Coach Jerry Hill. “They did a pretty good job limiting us to one shot.”
There were six lead changes in the first quarter. Yarmouth shot to an 8-3 lead, but Trevor Parker sank a couple 3-pointers, and a late three-point play from Burke made it 15-12 York.
The Clippers then took control with 18-3 run in the second quarter. Waeldner hit a 3 to put them ahead and Stevie Walsh added another 3-pointer before a Waeldner fadeaway jumper capped the surge.
“With this bigger court, I feel like there’s more space and my teammates got me the ball in the right space to attack,” said Waeldner.
York (14-3), which entered with a 14-game winning streak, closed to within 30-22 by halftime.
The Clippers turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter and were whistled for seven fouls, but they still managed to increase their lead. When Psyhogeos stole the ball and set up sophomore Evan Hamm for a fast-break layup, Yarmouth took a 39-28 advantage to the fourth quarter.
York then got as close as seven, but two quick Psyhogeos hoops and a pair of Quin O’Meara free throws produced the Clippers’ largest lead.
“We knew York was really good and we knew we had to come out and play great basketball to win,” said Psyhogeos. “We were confident in the position our coaches put us in.”
The Wildcats were led by 11 points apiece from Parker and JP Frazier. Burke was held to five.
“We focused on JP and on Kevin, just because we knew how good they are,” Allen said. “We didn’t want either one of them to bury us, and we’d take our chances from there.”
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