HAMPDEN, Maine — Nick Mayo came to town Tuesday night and showed local basketball fans why the 6-foot-8-inch forward will be playing in the Division I college ranks next year.
But Hampden Academy had its own star power — its own Nick, in fact — who came up biggest in the final seconds of overtime
Junior guard Nick Gilpin drove the length of the court for the game-winning basket with four seconds remaining as the Broncos erased a six-point deficit midway through the extra period to edge the previously unbeaten Eagles 64-62.
Hampden (3-1) gained possession after Messalonskee’s Noah Caret made the second of two free throws to tie the game with 18.7 seconds left.
Gilpin then took his time dribbling into the frontcourt before exploding to the basket.
“I tried to wait until about seven or eight seconds left,” said Gilpin. “I went a couple of seconds early because there were four seconds left after, but I went by my man and thought (Mayo) was going to step up and I was going to pass it to someone for a layup, but he didn’t and I saw a gap so I just tried to split the gap and lay it in.”
Messalonskee (3-1) called time after Gilpin scored, but a halfcourt shot by Mayo missed as time expired.
“I said to Nick make or miss I wanted us to take the last shot whether we’re down one or it’s tied,,” said Hampden coach Russ Bartlett. “He said, ‘I got you, coach.’
“I didn’t want to call timeout there because I didn’t want them to set up their defense because the ball’s already going to be in his hands hopefully, and if it wasn’t we’d call timeout. Then it’s just trusting him to make a play, and I trust the fact that he’s going to make a play that’s in the best interest of us trying to win, whether it’s delivering the ball to somebody or it’s making a play.”
Gilpin finished with 21 points — 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime — to go with eight assists and eight rebounds, while Brendan McIntyre added 18 points. Conary Moore scored eight points while Jake Black also scored eight, including two 3-pointers during overtime.
Mayo, who already has signed to play at Eastern Kentucky next year after receiving nine Division I scholarship offers over the summer, finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots — with his 3-pointer from the key with three seconds left in regulation sending the game into overtime.
“We wanted to get Nick the basketball,” said Messalonskee coach Pete McLaughlin of Mayo’s long ball that forged a 52-52 tie. “Hampden was running two or three guys at him and making it difficult for us to get him the ball, so we went out of character with a play we hadn’t run all night, but it was the perfect time to call it because Nick loves catching on top of the key like that.”
Messalonskee outscored Hampden 9-2 early in overtime, with Mayo scoring twice and making a no-look pass to Taylor Turner for a layup as the Eagles gained a 61-55 cushion — matching the largest lead of the night for either team — with 2:09 left.
But Gilpin made two free throws six seconds later and Black followed with a 3-pointer before McIntyre scored from the lane to give Hampden a 62-61 edge with 39.4 seconds remaining.
“It was a war the entire game, and when we got up six we needed two or three more stops and not to give them second-chance opportunities,” said McLaughlin. “In that final three minutes or so we gave them several and we missed some foul shots, so we were trading one-of-twos for the big threes Black hit.”
Mayo was relatively quiet early in the contest while being guarded by the 6-foot-2 Moore, but that physical approach eventually led to foul trouble, which loosened up things for the Eagles’ big man.
Mayo had 14 points and eight rebounds by intermission, but a buzzer-beating layup by Hampden freshman Ian McIntyre gave the Broncos a 26-25 edge.
The teams were stalemated at 37-37 through three periods before Caret drove the lane for a layup and Mayo worked the baseline for a three-point play as Messalonskee took a 45-39 lead with 4:47 left.
Gilpin answered with five straight points and Black skied for a tip-in for a seven-point run that gave Hampden back a one-point edge with 2:50 left — setting up a pair of fantastic finishes, the second allowing the Broncos to secure its 42nd straight home-court victory that includes a 21-0 mark in its current gym.
“We’re definitely about tradition here, and it’s a big tradition to win on our home court like that,” said Moore. “We have a very long streak, but as far as what we know, we know we can win and we know we can grit out these tough games. We’re turning into a very tough team, I think.”
