North Haven ends Lakers’ postseason, 42-36
By Mike Lange
Staff Writer
AUGUSTA — Since North Haven and Greenville didn’t play each other in the regular season, there were plenty of questions about how the two Western Maine Class D teams would match up.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
LOOKING FOR HELP — Matt DiAngelo looks for an opening past Hawks senior Zeb Campbell during Saturday’s game against North Haven.
The answer came Saturday morning at the Augusta Civic Center, as sixth-seeded North Haven won its first-ever tournament contest by upsetting the third-place Lakers 42-36.
“We had several people come forward who saw Greenville play, and told us what to look for,” said North Haven coach Roman Cooper. “We were able to stifle their top scorers like we wanted. The game’s momentum shift went to us, and we were able to apply the defensive pressure toward the end. I am really proud of these kids.”
Observer photo/Mike Lange
JUST PASSING THROUGH — Howie Stone (25) grabs a pass from Matt Mendez (3) with North Haven’s Ethan Mao (35) also getting into the action. North Haven won the Eastern Maine Class D quarterfinal contest 42-36.
Greenville coach Tyler Erickson said that he didn’t underestimate North Haven. “They had most of their guys back from last year, they’re good slashers and they can shoot very well,” Erikson said. “I knew they were going to be tough this morning. Our guys had a tough first half, but they never gave up. That’s the way tournament basketball goes.”
Greenville finished at 15-4 while North Haven improved to 16-2.
After trading baskets during the first few minutes of the opening quarter, North Haven’s Avery Waterman scored a quick five points on a trey, steal and layup to put the Hawks up 12-11.
Dalton Hornby of North Haven opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, but a five-point mini-run — sparked by a trey from Howie Stone (seven points) — brought the Lakers back to within a point, 17-16.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
AIR TREVOR — Greenville guard Trevor Richards drives for a shot in Saturday’s Western Maine Class D tournament contest against North Haven.
But the Hawks went long distance once again with a pair of three-pointers from Aiden Emerson (15 points) to close out the half with a 25-17 edge.
Stone (14 points) and DiAngelo (15 points) combined for another five points to open the third quarter, but the Hawks ended the stanza with a close 31-28 margin.
The Lakers opened the fourth quarter with a second-chance layup from Trevor Richards, a jumper from Stone and two-for-two at the charity stripe from DiAngelo to pull ahead, 34-31. Hawks center Ethan Mao responded with three consecutive baskets, including a second-chance tip-in, to put North Haven up by 37-36 with 1:14 left on the clock.
Observer photo/Mike Lange
GUARD DUTY — Greenville’s Matt Mendez guards North Haven’s Zeb Campbell.
The Lakers made some gutsy defensive moves, sending the Hawks to the foul line four times. But North Haven dashed the Lakers’ comeback hopes with 5-for-8 from the stripe and a 42-36 victory.
So the smallest high school in the conference — 17 students — finally has their name in the tournament record books. “We worked all year to get to this point,” said Cooper, “and it finally paid off.”