Tuesday’s boys’ high school roundup: Windham earns key basketball win over Cheverus
The Eagles make a run in the second quarter to take control and earn a 55-51 win.
Posted Yesterday at 9:14 PM
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/01/30/tuesdays-boys-high-school-roundup-windham-earns-key-basketball-win-over-cheverus/
Steve Craig
Windham improved to 14-2 and moved a significant step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed and a quarterfinal bye in the upcoming Class AA North boys’ basketball playoffs with a 55-51 win against No. 2 Cheverus (13-3) on Tuesday evening in Portland.
The top-seeded Eagles used an 18-8 second-quarter surge to gain a 34-24 halftime lead thanks in large part to the offense from reserves Conor Janvrin and Matthew Searway. Janvrin, a junior, scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the second quarter while Searway, a senior, made all three of his shots in the paint for six points. Windham was without starter Creighty Dickson, out with a rib injury.
“I love our bench. Our bench doesn’t get talked about enough but they’re hungry and ready to contribute, and know what they need to do on the floor and tonight was a great example,” said Windham Coach Chad Pulkkinen.
Erik Bowen (7 points) hit a 3-pointer and Tyrie James (9 points) scored in transition to push Windham’s lead to 39-24 early in the third quarter.
Cheverus rallied behind 33 points from Leo McNabb – 22 in the second half. Over an 11-minute stretch McNabb scored 20 straight points for the Stags, who trimmed the lead to 50-47 before a key 3-pointer from Janvrin helped seal the win.
Windham boys capture late-season showdown at Cheverus
Eagles build 15-point second half lead, hold on for 55-51 victory.
Posted12:29 AM
Michael HofferThe Forecaster
PORTLAND—Leo McNabb put on a command performance, but his individual brilliance wasn’t quite enough for Cheverus’ boys’ basketball team to prevail Tuesday evening at Keegan Gymnasium.
That’s because the visiting Windham Eagles brought a pair of secret weapons off the bench and the play of junior Conor Janvrin and senior Matthew Searway was just enough to propel the team a pivotal victory in a late-season Class AA North showdown.
BOX SCORE
Windham 55 Cheverus 51
W- 16 18 12 9- 55
C- 16 8 12 15- 51
W- Janvrin 5-0-12, Moody 4-1-10, James 3-3-9, Bowen 3-0-7, McPherson 3-0-7, Searway 3-0-6, Lindsay 2-0-4
C- McNabb 13-7-33, Fitzpatrick 4-0-8, DePatsy 1-2-4, St. Onge 2-0-4, Rwaganje 1-0-2
3-pointers:
W (5) Janvrin 2, Bowen, McPherson, Moody
C () 0
Turnovers:
W- 18
C- 7
Free throws
W: 4-7
C: 9-17
The Stags got nine first quarter points from McNabb, but were deadlocked, 16-16, after eight minutes. Janvrin and Searway then combined for 15 second period points as the Eagles took a 34-24 advantage to the half.
A layup from sophomore Tyrie James put Windham ahead by 15 points early in the third quarter, but Cheverus drew back within 10, 46-36, heading for the final stanza.
There, McNabb did his best to will his team to a come-from-behind victory, even cutting the deficit to a single possession, on a layup after a steal with 2:44 remaining, but Janvrin slammed the door with a 3-pointer and the Eagles went on to a narrow 55-51 victory.
While McNabb produced a career-high 33 points, it wasn’t quite enough, as Janvrin paced a balanced attack with a dozen points and Windham improved to 14-2, dropping Cheverus to 13-3, snapping its seven-game win streak in the process.
“Windham’s scrappy and they played tough,” said Stags coach Richie Ashley. “They deserve the credit. They played better than we did tonight. We’ve played twice (this season) and it was close both times. I’m not sure we’ve played our best game against them yet.”
Encore
On the second day of the new year, Cheverus and Windham produced an instant classic, as the Eagles dug out of a 14-point first half hole and appeared to have the game won only to see McNabb make three late free throws to force overtime before host Windham prevailed, 67-62.
That win was just part of a superb season so far for the Eagles, who entered the game having fallen just twice, at Gorham and last Thursday by a single point at Portland.
Cheverus, meanwhile, opened with a 58-49 home win over South Portland, then rolled past visiting Oxford Hills, 74-36, before winning at Thornton Academy, 66-64, Portland, 49-44, and Deering, 67-60. The Stags fell from the unbeaten ranks at Scarborough,(59-51), but bounced back to down visiting Lewiston, 70-53 before losing at Windham. Cheverus responded with wins at Oxford Hills (56-37) and Bangor (65-51), then knocked visiting Gorham from the unbeaten ranks (51-37) before beating host Edward Little (51-37), visiting Deering (63-50), host Lewiston (56-42) and visiting Edward Little (49-46).
In the teams’ first meeting, Eagles senior Blake McPherson led all scorers with 24 points, while McNabb had a terrific game for the Stags, scoring 23.
Tuesday, Windham again won narrowly, building a seemingly comfortable second half lead before holding on for dear life down the stretch.
Cheverus junior Sammy Nzeyimana defends Windham senior Quinton Lindsay during the Eagles’ 55-51 victory Tuesday. Hoffer photos.
Senior Gio St. Onge gave Cheverus the early lead with a jumper, but senior Erik Bowen scored on a putback, then McPherson made a layup after a steal for the Eagles’ first advantage.
After St. Onge set up sophomore Jameson Fitzpatrick for a layup to tie it, James fed sophomore Adrian Moody for a 3-pointer, then Moody scored on a putback to make it 9-4 Windham.
McNabb scored his first points with 4:37 remaining in the opening stanza, converting an old-fashioned three-point play by driving, banking home a shot while being fouled, then adding the free throw.
Senior Quinton Lindsay then backed his way in for a layup and James hit a runner for a six-point Eagles’ advantage.
After junior Rocco DePatsy hit a leaner for the hosts, James scooped a shot off the glass to make it 15-9.
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The Stags then ran off seven quick points, as DePatsy made a free throw, then McNabb hit a jumper, drove for a layup, then scored on a floater for a one-point lead.
With 3.8 seconds left, James hit a free throw to forge a 16-16 deadlock.
Windham then opened up a lead in the second period.
Fourteen seconds in, a jumper from Searway put the visitors on top for good.
After Janvrin drove for a layup, he tipped home a missed shot to make it 22-16.
Fitzpatrick got two points back with a layup, off a nice pass from sophomore Shema Rwaganje, but Janvrin buried a 3 from the corner.
After Rwaganje again fed Fitzpatrick for a layup, Moody hit a free throw, Lindsay drove and laid home a shot with his left hand, Janvrin banked home a runner and with 2:41 to go, Searway banked home a finger roll and just like that, the Eagles were in front by a dozen points, 32-20.
McNabb answered with a layup and after James found Searway for a layup, a putback from Fitzpatrick made the score Windham 34 Cheverus 24 at halftime.
McNabb paced the Stags with 11 first half points, but the Janvrin-Searway 15-point second quarter combination had turned the tide.
“I love our bench,” said Windham coach Chad Pulkkinen. “Those players don’t get talked about enough. They’re hungry and ready to help contribute and they know what to do when they get on the floor. They’re good players. We have good starters, so sometimes it’s hard for them to get on the floor and get in a rhythm. They knew they had the opportunity tonight.”
Cheverus hoped to make a run when the second half commenced, but instead, the Eagles retained a comfortable lead.
Windham senior Erik Bowen hits a clutch 3-pointer.
The third quarter began with Bowen taking a pass from Lindsay and draining a 3-pointer from the corner and James finishing a driving layup while falling to the floor to extend the lead to 15 points.
Cheverus rallied, as McNabb drove for a layup, then set up Rwaganje for a layup, but Janvrin found McPherson for a layup to make it 41-28.
After DePatsy made a foul shot, McNabb was essentially the Stags’ offense the rest of the game, scoring 20 of their final 22 points.
First McNabb hit a jumper, then he made two free throws to cut the deficit to 41-33 with 2:33 left in the frame.
McPherson then countered with a clutch 3 and Moody drove and finished with a finger roll to push the lead back to 13.
McNabb then hit a jumper and added a free throw to send the game to the fourth quarter with the Eagles in front, 46-36.
McNabb started the final stanza with a driving layup, then he got a floater to rattle home to cut the deficit to six.
Bowen countered with a driving layup, but McNabb sank two free throws to make the score 48-42 with 4:46 to go.
After Moody drove for a layup, McNabb did the same and after making a free throw with 3:42 left, McNabb made a layup after a steal with 2:44 on the clock and suddenly, Cheverus was within three points, 50-47, and seemingly had the momentum.
But Windham refused to buckle, as Janvrin took a pass from Lindsay and made the biggest 3-pointer of his season to date with 2:16 remaining.
“I was just trying to help my teammates because we’re tight-knit,” said Janvrin. “I was feeling it.”
“Conor is a great scorer,” Pulkkinen said. “He makes us deep. He had an incredible night tonight.”
After Rwaganje missed a 3, the Stags got the ball back after a turnoer and McNabb had three looks at a 3-pointer, but the first two were off the mark and the third was blocked by McPherson.
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McNabb did score on an up-and-under move with 36.8 seconds to go to cut the deficit to four, but with 29.6 seconds showing, James got two free throws to bounce in to essentially end it.
After McNabb had a 3 go in-and-out, St. Onge scored on a putback with 6.7 seconds remaining, but the Eagles were able to run out the clock and celebrate their 55-51 victory.
“This is what we’ve worked for all year,” said Janvrin. “Cheverus is a good team.”
“It was a good bounce-back win for our guys,” said Pulkkinen. “I’m proud of what we accomplished with guys down. All the adversity that happened. No one was talking about Windham at the beginning of the season. We’re just trying to prove every day that we’re getting better. We have that mindset. ”
Janvrin led Windham in scoring with 12 points. He also had three rebounds and three assists. Moody added 10 points, James had nine (to go with seven rebounds and two assists), Bowen and McPherson (six rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots) seven apiece, Searway six and Lindsay four (to go with four rebounds, three assists and two blocks).
The Eagles hit 4-of-7 free throws and overcame 18 turnovers, with a dozen coming in the second half.
One-man show
For Cheverus, McNabb dazzled with 33 points and four reounds.
“If we didn’t have (Leo) it would have been a blowout,” Ashley said. “He played a whale of a game. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He played so hard on both ends of the floor. We ran some stuff for him and he brought us back in the game. We just didn’t have enough other pieces to help him out.”
Fitzpatrick finished with eight points and five rebounds, but he sat out the second half with injury. DePatsy (five rebounds) and St. Onge (seven rebounds, four steals, two assists) both had four points, while Rwaganje tallied two (to go with four rebounds and two assists).
The Stags had a 35-27 advantage on the glass and only turned the ball over seven times, but they didn’t make a single 3-pointer and hit just 9-of-17 foul shots.
“We missed some opportunities,” Ashley said. “We didn’t shoot well. We missed easy baskets, couldn’t make 3s and didn’t shoot well from the free throw line. (Janvrin) made some nice baskets for them. They hit a couple 3s when they needed to.”
Down the stretch we come
Windham, ranked first in the Class AA North Heal Points standings, hosts Oxford Hills Friday, then wraps up the regular season Tuesday of next week, at home versus Edward Little.
“This will make us go harder and stick together,” said Janvrin. “We’ll put the work in. We just have to play through adversity.”
“Oxford Hills and Edward Little are good teams,” Pulkkinen said. “No one can be slept on and our guys know that. They’re fighting every day to not be complacent. The number one seed is super-important. It’s going to be tough regardless. Every game will be tough down there (at the Cross Insurance Arena). Games like this help us be more composed in those (end-game) situations. Last year, we were a young team and we got down on ourselves. Now, the guys have been in so many battles and we’ve gotten better. We’ve worked hard on situations in practice just to get used to those moments.”
Cheverus, currently in the second spot in Class AA North, welcomes Bangor Friday, then finishes its regular season with a pivotal home game against Portland next Thursday.
“I told the guys that no Gold Balls were given out tonight,” Ashley said. “(Windham) won, but it’s not the end of the season. There will come a point in time when there’s no tomorrow. There is a tomorrow now and we’ll use that to get ready for Bangor. They’re a scrappy team. Then there’s Portland. We have to get healthy and we have to play the best we can the next two games and go in (to the tournament) with confidence.
“There’s not a whole lot separating anybody. EL and Lewiston have great coaches. They have tough kids and have nothing to lose. They’ll come over here for a quarterfinal game and play you hard. Oxford Hills has (coach) Scottie (Graffam). It’s anybody’s tournament. It’ll be who’s going to make shots and do what they need to do.”
