Eagles hold off Cheverus’ late rally, 59-55, in initial matchup of Class AA North favorites.
Posted12:29 AM
Michael Hoffer Forecaster/Leader/Sentry
PORTLAND—The Windham Eagles are the team everyone is now measuring themselves against in Class AA boys’ basketball.
And Friday evening at Keegan Gymnasium, the Cheverus Stags learned that they’re close, but not quite there yet.
Box score
Windham 59 Cheverus 55
W- 21 13 12 13- 59
C- 14 11 12 18- 55
W- James 3-8-15, Colin Janvrin 3-5-14, Freese 3-0-8, Moody 3-0-8, Dickson 2-2-6, Conor Janvrin 2-0-4, Blige 1-0-2, Coppi 1-0-2
C- McNabb 10-2-23, Fitzpatrick 5-0-10, Plalum 4-0-9, Rwaganje 4-1-9, Lauture 1-0-2, Nzeyimana 1-0-2
3-pointers
W (8) Colin Janvrin 3, Freese, Moody 2, James
C (2) McNabb, Plalum
Turnovers:
W- 13
C- 14
Free throws
W: 15-19
C: 3-3
As the reigning Class AA state champion Eagles made the big plays at the optimal times to win an early-season showdown.
Cheverus took an early 10-7 lead, but sophomore Colin Janvrin came off the bench and buried three 3-pointers and scored 11 points to help Windham hold a 21-14 advantage after one quarter.
The Stags were unable to rally in the second period and the Eagles were up, 34-25, at the break.
Cheverus scored the first six points of the second half, but Windham erupted for a 12-2 run to reassert control and take a 46-37 lead to the final stanza.
There, the Stags got nine points from senior standout Leo McNabb, including a 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining to cut the deficit to just one, but down the stretch, junior Tyrie James sank four of six free throws to help close out a 59-55 victory.
McNabb’s game-high 23 points weren’t quite enough as James had 15 and Janvrin added 14 for the Eagles, who improved to 5-0 while handing Cheverus its first loss in six outings in the process.
“Our emphasis this week was composure,” said Windham coach Chad Pulkkinen. “We knew the emotions would be high, the gym would be rocking. (Cheverus’) guys are hungry. They have a great team with a lot of guys back and great coaching. We knew they’d fight all the way to the end and they did.”
Hotly anticipated
Windham is coming off the most successful season in program history, one which resulted in a first-ever Gold Ball. The Eagles edged rival Gorham in overtime to capture the title and have picked up where they left off so far this winter.
Windham started by beating Lewiston (85-54). The Eagles then downed Gorham in a state game rematch (75-67) before defeating Edward Little (78-56) and Portland (56-49).
Cheverus, meanwhile, rallied to edge visiting Deering in an overtime thriller in the opener (66-60), then downed host Bonny Eagle (69-35) and Portland (46-38), visiting South Portland (66-44) and visiting Bangor (79-51).
Last year, Windham captured two close meetings, 67-62 in overtime at home and 55-51 at the Stags.
Friday, in front of a full, raucous crowd, the story was more of the same, as Cheverus had its chances, but it would be the Eagles doing just enough to prevail.
Eagles junior AJ Moody opened the scoring with a 3-pointer 31 seconds in.
The Stags’ first points came on a putback from senior Shema Rwaganje, but senior Conor Janvrin drove for a layup to make it 5-2 Windham.
Cheverus then went on top, as sophomore Nicola Plalum fed junior Jameson Fitzpatrick for a layup before McNabb made a layup after a steal.
Two free throws from senior Creighty Dickson put the visitors back in front, but Rwaganje scored on a floater, then McNabb made another layup after a steal for a 10-7 advantage with 4:24 to go in the opening stanza.
That would prove to be the Stags’ highwater mark, however, as Colin Janvrin entered the game and made an immediate impact.
Twenty-eight seconds later, Janvrin made his first 3 of the frame, from the corner.
With 3:15 on the clock, James was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and he sank all three subsequent free throws to put the Eagles in front for good.
After Plalum scored on a putback, Janvrin made another 3 from the corner and after sophomore AJ Lauture pulled the hosts within two on a jumper, Janvrin drained another 3 before hitting two free throws to make it 21-14 after one quarter.
“(Colin) killed us with the three 3s in the first quarter,” lamented Cheverus coach Richie Ashley. “That’s not somebody you typically count on to beat you, but he’s a good, tough player and I tip my cap to him.”
James opened the second period with a 3-ball, after Conor Janvrin’s steal, but Plalum fed Fitzpatrick for a layup, then Rwaganje finished a feed from Plalum with a layup, was fouled on the play, then added the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play, cutting the deficit to 24-19.
James got the three points right back, with a three-point play of his own, and after Plalum made a layup, Colin Janvrin fed senior Joseph Blige for a layup and a 29-21 advantage.
McNabb tried to spark a rally with a layup (from Rwaganje), but senior Bracyen Freese buried a long 3 for the visitors.
After McNabb sank two free throws, Dickson scored on a turnaround jumper with just 6 seconds to go, sending Windham to the break with a 34-25 lead.
Colin Janvrin led all first half scorers with 11 points, while James added nine, negating eight from McNabb and seven from Rwaganje.
Cheverus made its move to start the third period, but the Eagles would absorb the punch and counter.
McNabb opened the third quarter with a jumper and after Fitzpatrick made a layup after a steal, Plalum drove for a layup to make the score 34-31.
The Eagles didn’t panic, as Conor Janvrin drove for a layup, Freese sank a 3 and James hit a long jumper to push the lead back to double digits, 41-31.
After McNabb drove for a layup, Moody drained a 3, then with 2:30 on the clock, a Dickson putback gave Windham its biggest lead, 46-33.
The Stags stayed within hailing distance, as senior Sammy Nzeyimana set up Rwaganje for a layup, then McNabb scored on a putback, pulling Cheverus back within nine, 46-37, heading to the fourth quarter.
Where things would get very interesting.
The Stags made a move in the first minute, as McNabb fed Fitzpatrick for a layup, then McNabb’s jumper made the score 46-41.
Dickson then found senior Grant Coppi for a layup, but Nzeyimana made a jumper to make it a five-point contest again.
The Eagles continued to answer, as with 6:07 to go, Colin Janvrin sank a pair of free throws.
After McNabb hit an elbow jumper, a putback from Moody made the score 52-45 with 4:37 remaining.
Cheverus then crept within two, as Rwaganje set up Plalum for a long 3, then after a steal from Nzeyimana, Fitzpatrick’s layup made it 52-50 with 2:51 left.
The Stags then got a chance to draw even, but Nzeyimana missed a contested layup and Windham got the ball back.
With 1:19 remaining, Freese drove for a layup to make it a two-possession contest again.
McNabb then made his biggest shot of the night, a 3 with 1:04 to go and Cheverus was only down one, 54-53.
But the Stags couldn’t complete the comeback.
After milking 25 seconds off the clock, Windham got a chance to add to its lead when James went to the free throw line. He made the first shot, but missed the second.
Plalum got the rebound and Cheverus had its opportunity to tie or go ahead, but it turned the ball over.
Dickson went for the kill and attempted a dunk, but he missed it.
Conor Janvrin saved the day by grabbing the rebound and he got the ball to James, who was fouled again.
This time, with 17 seconds to go, James sank both attempts to make it 57-53.
“I was confident,” James said. “It’s basically repetition. I feel like there’s no one else there.”
“(Tyrie’s) pretty good in those situations,” Pulkkinen said. “He’s probably got the most composure in the state and he’s only a junior. We’re proud he’s an Eagle. He helps lead by example and the guys follow him.”
With 11.5 seconds on the clock, a floater from McNabb kept the Stags’ hopes alive, but out of a timeout, the Eagles got the ball to James, who was again fouled. James made one of two free throws, but on the miss, the rebound went out and was awarded to Windham to essentially end it.
Colin Janvrin was fouled with 1.6 seconds showing and while he missed his first attempt, he drained the second to bring the curtain down on the 59-55 victory.
“We had to get through some tough moments and our young guys learned from their mistakes,” Pulkkinen said. “Every gym we’ve been in we’ve brought a lot of people and our first home game was full. The guys thrive on that. The community has our back and they want to win for them. We know the target is on us. We just want to play our best basketball each night until we reach our potential.”
James had a team-high 15 points, to go with three rebounds and two assists.
Colin Janvrin added 14 critical points off the bench and added four rebounds.
Freese and Moody (eight rebounds, four steals, three assists) both had eight points, Dickson (six rebounds) finished with six, Conor Janvrin (who battled foul trouble most of the night) had four (to go with four rebounds and three assists) and Blige and Coppi added two apiece off the bench.
The Eagles made eight 3-pointers to just two for Cheverus, enjoyed a 32-24 rebounding advantage, overcame 13 turnovers and drained 15-of-19 free throws.
The Stags got a game-high 23 points from McNabb, who also had three steals, but nothing came easily.
“I think (Windham) did a pretty good being physical with him,” Ashley said. “They’ve got a lot of good athletes. He stepped up when he had to and got us back into the game and almost won it.”
“(Leo’s) a tough assignment,” said Pulkkinen. “He’s the reigning Player of the Year. He’s extremely aggressive and extremely talented. It was a group effort. We had three guys rotating on him and we needed fresh bodies on him. He didn’t stop until the end. It was a great team effort keeping him out of the paint.
Fitzpatrick added 10 points and four rebounds, Plalum (four rebounds, three assists) and Rwaganje (five rebounds, two assists) both tallied nine points and Lauture and Nzeyimana (four assists) finished with two apiece.
The Stags only attempted three free throws and made them all and turned the ball over 14 times, but only three of those came after halftime.
“These are games you want to play,” said Ashley. “It was a good high school atmosphere. It was fun. It’s not fun to lose, but I told the guys it’s December 27th. In a perfect world, hopefully we’ll see them twice more. We saw what they have and what they don’t and what we can possibly do and what we can’t do.
“We had them teetering, but we couldn’t deliver the knockout punch. Credit to them, they’re a good team.”
Next time
The teams meet again Jan. 24 in Windham, but there’s a lot of games ahead for both squads.
The Eagles finish up the 2024 portion of their schedule Monday at home versus Oxford Hills, then welcome Gorham next Thursday.
“We’re just worried about the next game,” said James. “We don’t worry about our record. We just need to keep trusting each other and working hard. We don’t worry about the outside noise. It’s just us and we did it before, so that helps.”
“We have to continue to tighten up on defense and continue to look for good shots on offense,” said Pulkkinen. “We’re excited because we know we can get better. A lot of guys have been there. We have to stay together and get better and try to reach our potential. Last year’s team was incredible and this year’s team is trying to write it’s own legacy.”
Cheverus is home versus Massabesic Monday and visits Edward Little next Thursday.
“It stings right now, but these guys will bounce back and be fine,” said Ashley. “It’s a good learning experience. We have to learn how to play our way and not how they want to play. We have to do the little things like talking on defense, blocking out, things anyone can do.”
