The Medomak Valley boys basketball team beat Spruce Mountain 55-43 in a battle between undefeated Class B South teams on Thursday, Jan. 2 in Waldoboro. The Panthers opened the New Year, and the second half of this match, on a very high note. After scoring the final five points of the second quarter to surge to a 27-24 lead, the Panthers went on a 13-2 scoring spree to open the second half, which boosted their advantage to 40-26.
The Panthers improved their regular season record to 7-0 with the win and are now in second place behind York (8-0) in the Heal Points standings in Class B South.
The most consequential sequence of the game, which shifted the momentum permanently toward Medomak, occurred with three and a half minutes left in the third quarter when the Panthers led by just five points.
Gabe Lash hit a short jump shot while making contact with a Phoenix defender who flopped to the floor attempting to draw a charging foul on Lash, who precariously already had three fouls in the game. The officials met at center court and instead of imposing a fourth foul on Lash, decided to call a technical foul on the Spruce Mountain player for embellishment. Kristian Schumann nailed both technical free throws and the Panthers were awarded the ball on the sideline. Mason Nguyen emphatically hit a three point shot to complete the seven point scoring swing that took place in less than ten seconds.
The Panthers continued their rally and led 42-30 at the end of three quarters. They scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to take the largest lead they would enjoy in the game, 45-30, with 6:40 remaining to play.
The speedy Spruce Mountain squad was undaunted as they methodically whittled the Panthers lead down to as few as eight points in the final two minutes, before Medomak Valley sealed the win by calmly making a series of free throws as the Phoenix fouled the Panthers to try to stop the clock. The Panthers were extremely proficient at making foul shots, going a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line in the game, including 5-for-5 by Lash.
Schumann notched 18 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead all scorers in the game. Lash scored 17 points, and led the Panthers with seven rebounds. Also scoring points for Medomak Valley were Nguyen with nine (five rebounds), Owen Dostie five, Rocco DePatsy four (six rebounds), and Vishal Mellor two.
Cal Dougher scored fifteen points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Phoenix, who dropped to 7-1 with their first loss of the season. A key factor in the battle of unbeaten teams was that Lash (and the entire Panthers defense) held Jace Bessey, Spruce Mountain’s leading scorer, to just four points in the match.
