Windham Rallies to Beat Cheverus

As I get deeper into doing...whatever this is I'm doing here, I'm trying to make a point of seeing as many different teams as I realistically can, especially if they're good. So on a night where Medomak Valley was in Rockland to play Oceanside, I went south to Portland to get eyes on Sanford, the highest-ranked boys team I hadn't seen yet. I'll get to the County eventually, I swear.

In John Morgan's first year after the move from Noble, he's got the Spartans fighting for a top seed in A South and it didn't take long to see why. They're balanced, they defend, and they get out and run.

I was only able to catch the first half, but they look legit. They had 4 players in double-figures in a win over Portland.

Steve Craig was there.

Sanford boys have the answers at Portland​

The Spartans score in a variety of ways to improve to 15-1 in Class A South with a key win at the tournament venue.

The Portland Press HeraldSteve CraigStaff Writer

At halftime, I headed over to Cheverus for the second game in a boys/girls doubleheader with Windham. It was also Cheverus' Senior Night and the place was packed. I would guess Windham made up 35% of the crowd and both schools had an amped-up student section.

ESPN was struggling to maintain their neutrality, but that seems to be an on-going issue at the network.

Just over two minutes into the game, Jameson Fitzpatrick noticed we were playing with a women's ball.

Fitzpatrick had a 6-0 solo run after they gave him the correct ball, then Joseph Iaccarino hit 3 shots from deep in the second quarter, and Cheverus had a 28-21 lead at the half. They extended the lead in the third quarter, as Khaelon Watkins got going. He had 8 in the quarter, including a putback with 3:43 in the third that made it 42-28.

But Windham isn't the 2-time defending champs for nothing. They've been coming back from double-digit deficits all season and you knew they'd make a run. Just maybe not as fast as they did. Windham ripped off a 17-2 run over two minutes, capped by a three-point play by AJ Moody to give the Eagles the lead.

Tyrie James scored 10 of his 24 points in that third quarter after going scoreless in the first half.

The fourth quarter and overtime was a heavyweight fight. James and Moody vs. Fitzpatrick (6 in OT) and Watkins.

Let's go to the final minute of overtime with Windham up 1, thanks to a deep AJ Moody 3.

The video is worth watching for the drama of the call, but also to get a sense of how awesome the atmosphere was.

That ends up being a big call. I obviously have a terrible angle (Travis Lee has a great angle) and kudos to the refs for getting together, but this is one of those situations where replay would be nice. That's a hard call to make live.

The foul is Colton Jewett's 5th. Boston Krainis makes both free throws to give Windham a 75-72 lead. Fitzpatrick scores and is fouled, but the free throw is no good. Watkins grabs the offensive board. After the timeout, Sean LeBel steals the entry pass to Fitzpatrick. Cheverus fouls Tyrie James, who makes both free throws. Windham fouls AJ Lauture, who matches. LeBel makes two free throws with 6.7 left to make the lead 3 and Cheverus needs a miracle.

When you need a three to force double-overtime, there's no better time to break out the Lord's Prayer.

I'm pretty sure if Cheverus had won the game that student section was going to charge the floor. They were HYPED.

Windham hangs on in a thriller.

Michael Hoffer was there.

Windham boys rally to beat Cheverus in OT instant classic

PORTLAND—Keegan Gymnasium was stuffed to the gills Friday evening and those on hand, whether they were cheering for the host Cheverus Stags, or for visiting Windham, got their money’s worth in a late-season showdown. A contest which featured a little of everything. And one which required more than 32

Hoffer's High School SportsMichael Hoffer

The A South tourney is going to be awesome.

Hodgdon's Cyran Ciarleglio is the latest member of the 1,000 point club with a layup last night.

Elsewhere

Kylie Lamson hit 7 3's and scored 25 points in Cheverus' win over Windham...Brooklyn Decker had a triple-double (29 points, 16 rebounds, 10 blocks) in Penquis' win over Stearns...Kollin Donlin's 14 & 18 led Medomak over Oceanside...Austin Armandi had 13 as Spruce beat Mount View...Delia Hill led Valley's balanced attack against Carrabec with 18. Liana Hartwell had 17/15/9...Hall-Dale's Tayshaun Cleveland dropped 25 on Mountain Valley...Isaac Tarring hit 5 3's as Kennebunk rallied past Biddeford in the second half...Chase Ober's 15 led Lincoln Academy over Waterville...Bonny Eagle ran away from Massabesic. Tyson Warren led the way with 15...Logan Gray was a rebound shy of a double-double in Brunswick's win over Mount Blue...Biddeford's Natalia Silva dropped 27 on Deering...Kelsie Dunn's 17 & 6 led Erskine to a 23-point win over Cony. Kya Douin led the Rams with 20...Janessa Moffitt had 18 in Forest Hills' win over Islesboro...Emily Groves scored 19 points as Greely outlasted Freeport...Ashley Shores went for 28 and Maddie Provost added 21 in Lawrence's win over Messo...Kendall Therrien scored 19 as Kennebunk handled Noble...Mt. Abram's Jenna Osgood dropped 21 on Boothbay...Megyn Mertens had 17 in Wells' win over OOB...Caleigh Corcoran had 20 and SoPo led 30-2 after one quarter against Falmouth...Zoe Dellinger's late 3 forced OT but Brooke Bodnar (18) and TA prevailed over Gorham in the extra time...Blanca Sanchez-Aviles had 16 in Winslow's win over Winthrop...Gabe Jackson and Darius Johnson each scored 17 as SoPo got by Falmouth...Liam Hamilton's 17 led TA past Gorham...Fisher Tewksbury went off for 24 points and 17 boards in Valley's win over Carrabec...Abe Medrano's double-double (15 & 12) helped Wells double up OOB...Winslow's Carter Calvo dropped 26 on Winthrop...Darren Flagg's 21 and Colin Schlobohm's 19 & 10 gave Leavitt a win over Morse...Jacob Linkletter's 22 wasn't enough to overcome the combo of Levi Laverdiere's 17 and Jacob Harmon's double-double as Monmouth beat Madison...Braden New had 20 as Oak Hill cruised by Lisbon...Ava Lerman's 25 led Wisdom over Katahdin...Ava Toussaint scored 19 as Madawaska beat Hodgdon in double overtime.

Friend of the podcast Dylan Rottkov has a new gig.

As someone who went to college with one of LeBron's high school teammates, I'm just going to walk into the ocean now.

The scenarios are starting to get easier.

For Kent has a lead in the Heal Points and a win today would I think wrap up the 2 seed. They're a massive favorite over Houlton (99.3%), so there's virtually no scenarios (0.3%) where they lose out, so pencil in 12-6 at a minimum. I think it's safe to assume the 4.9% where they finish 13-5 and are the 3 seed are scenarios where they lose to Mattanawcook and beat Hodgdon. If they win out, they can still get the 1, but they would need a lot of help.

It looks like Mattanawcook needs to win out to get to 2.

As for the game itself, Fort Kent won the earlier meeting 70-69 in a thriller. Aden Jeffers scored 36 points (including the game winner) and added 11 rebounds. Regardless of how this game turns out, these two teams seem to be a collision course for a regional semifinal.

The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.