The Bangor High School boys basketball team used Monday night’s victory over Deering of Portland to secure second place in the Class AA North standings.
On Tuesday night, the Rams rose all the way to the top.
Henry Westrich celebrated Senior Night at a packed Red Barry Gymnasium with 27 points, including 22 during a blistering first half for coach Brad Libby’s club, as Bangor knocked off previously undefeated Hampden Academy 80-54.
Westrich made four 3-pointers before intermission alone as the Rams outscored the Class A Broncos 50-26 over the first 16 minutes.
Hampden got no closer than 16 points after the break.
“We had some fun, we got into it and brought the crowd into it,” said Westrich, who also grabbed nine rebounds. “It’s a great feeling.”
The pointworthy victory moves 14-3 Bangor past Edward Little of Auburn and into first place in Class AA North with a third game in as many nights, at Oxford Hills of South Paris on Wednesday, left before tourney time.
“I’m incredibly proud of our guys,” Libby said. “We’ve got a little bit of adversity here late in the season, playing Deering and then another tough team in Hampden and now going on the road to Oxford Hills.
“But like I told the team, adversity builds character and if we stick together and do what we do every day and play Bangor Rams basketball, we’ll be fine.”
Hampden, which already had clinched the No. 1 seed in Class A North, falls to 16-1 with a game left against Nokomis of Newport.
Junior forward Andrew Szwez added 23 points for a Bangor team that placed four scorers — including three of the team’s four seniors — in double figures. Center Sam Martin had 16 points and nine rebounds and guard Parker Noyes finished with 10 points.
Senior guard Bryce Lausier led Hampden Academy with 26 points, but Bangor’s defense limited the Broncos to just three 3-point goals during the contest after being burned from long range during their earlier meeting this season, a 72-64 Broncos’ victory on Jan. 7.
“They’re a great offensive team, they’ve got a lot of guys who can hit threes,” Szwez said. “But I think our rotations were just incredible tonight. Coach said after the game that they couldn’t get a shot off that they wanted, they were taking contested shots all game.”
Bangor did spot Hampden a Brayden Cole 3-pointer to open the rematch, but then ran off 10 unanswered points — including 3-pointers by Szwez and Noyes — to build a 10-3 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
Hampden crept within 10-8, but there was no stopping Bangor’s offense during the first half.
Westrich buried two 3-pointers as well as scoring on a drive and an offensive rebound good for a three-point play to total 11 points during a 16-4 run that helped Bangor build a 28-16 cushion at the end of the first period.
The Rams followed that with a 17-2 blitz early in the second quarter fueled by nine more points from Westrich to build a 48-20 advantage, and two free free throws by the Colby College-bound forward with 24.8 seconds left lifted Bangor to the half-century mark at intermission.
Szwez scored 14 points and Noyes posted eight in the first half for Bangor.
“I think we came out with a lot more intensity than Hampden did,” Szwez said. “We put up 50 points in a half, and when you score that many points in a half it’s hard for a team to really come back.”
While Bangor cooled off from long distance after an 8-of-13 effort from 3-point land before the break, the defense remained constant and the Rams worked the ball inside to the 6-foot-8 Martin, who scored 12 second-half points.
Lausier scored 10 third-quarter points as Hampden rallied within 58-42 on a Mikey Raye drive with 44.5 seconds left in the period, but a 3-pointer by Szwez closed out the quarter and served to quell any momentum the Broncos might have built.
Two inside baskets by Martin soon ignited a 9-0 Bangor run that gave the Rams a 72-45 cushion midway through the final period.
“I think just going into this game it was Senior Night, Hampden, and we needed this game to get the [No.] 1 spot,” Szwez said. “I think we came out with a different type of intensity that we hadn’t had all season.”
