The Hampden Academy Broncos headlined a State Championship Saturday that saw the final high school basketball games to ever be played at the Bangor Auditorium.  In all 4 classes, between the boys and girls, it was an even 4-4 split of Gold Balls between the eastern and western Maine.

Penquis Boys Close Out Auditorium With Gold Ball

The Bangor Auditorium doors have been closed to high school basketball forever, and locking those doors were the Penquis Valley Patriot boys following a 61-54 win in the class "C" state final, the last one to be played at "The Mecha".  Leading the way for Penquis was Isaiah Bess scoring 27 points, leading all scorers.  Trevor Lyford threw in 20 points for Penquis as well, including 9 of those from the free-throw line in the 4th quarter alone.  Penquis finishes their season 21-1, and state class "C" champions.

Hampden Broncos Finish Unbeaten Season with Boys "A" Gold Ball, Waynflete Girls Earn Girls "C" Title

The Hampden Broncos boys have never had an unbeaten season until now following a 45-41 win over South Portland in the class "A" championship game from the Augusta Civic Center.  Zack Gilpin lead all scorers for Hampden with 23 points as well as adding a couple of blocks giving him a complete game.  The win came one week after Zack's brother Nick hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Hampden into the state game in one of the most dramatic Eastern Maine title games in memory.  At the same time Hampden was earning the boys "A" crown, at the Bangor Auditorium, the Waynflete Girls, the number 4 seed in the West, upset the previously unbeaten Calais Lady Devils 59-55 to earn their first ever class "C" gold ball.

McAuley Wins Their Third Gold Ball in Three Years

The McAuley Lions just wore down the Bangor Rams winning 60-45. The Lions had more speed, size, and depth and it showed, especially in the first half. McAuley was up 34-23 after the break. The Cordelia Stewart and the Rams sparked several runs in the third quarter as they were just down by nine going into the final quarter. Stewart finished with a team-high, 17 points. The Lions at that point made an adjustment and held the Rams scoreless for the first four minutes in the fourth quarter. Olivia Smith was just brilliant the entire game as she finished with 20 points. Allie Clement and Victoria Lux chipped in with 22 combined points.

Forest Hills' Boys Win Their First Gold Ball

Forest Hills beat the Central Aroostook with a final score of 55-48. The Forest Hills' Tigers came out with some stellar defense in the first quarter holding the Panthers to only three points. Chandler Brewer got it going for his team in the 2nd quarter hitting a couple of three-pointers to bring the game to 19 a piece at the break. Brewer finished with a game-high 23 points. Leading the way for the Tigers were the combination scoring of Derek Ouellette and Evan Worster. Ouellette finished with 13 points and seven rebounds to go along with some high pressure defense against Steven Decker who was held to just eight points in the game. Evan Worster played well throughout, but with just under four minutes to play he fouled out with 10 points on the night. His team carried on and finished it out with a seven point victory.

Washburn Girls Three-peat as Class D Champions

The Washburn Beavers cruise past the Richmond Bobcats 75-55, notching their third championship in three years. Washburn offense got rolling early as they started the game with an 11-2 run. The combination of the Beavers half court and full court zone pressure forced the Bobcats to turn the ball over throughout the first half. Washburn was in control of the game leading 36-21 at the break. Jamie Plummer from Richmond did her best to battle back and make it a game cutting the lead to eight several times, but the Bobcats just turned the ball over too many times. Leading the way offensively for the Beavers was Mackenzie Worcester with 20 points as she also scored her 1000th point in this contest. Carmen Bragg did her part putting in 16 of her own. The Washburn Beavers claim the last Gold Ball for the Class D girls at the Bangor Auditorium.

Here's Saturday's schedule and a link to the updated brackets so you can see how the regional champions made their way to the state finals.

 

CLASS A

at Augusta Civic Center

Saturday, March 2

Boys: Hampden Academy (21-0) vs. South Portland (18-3), 7 p.m.*

CLASS C

at Bangor Auditorium

Saturday, March 2

Girls: Calais (21-0) vs. Waynflete (19-3), 7:05 p.m.

Boys: Penquis Valley (20-1) vs. Boothbay (20-1), 8:45 p.m.*

* Broadcast live on 929theticket.com

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