PORTLAND - Bangor unbeatable? To everyone but the Cheverus Stags, apparently.

Cheverus played suffocating full-court defense, and Mick Distasio scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit and pull off a 49-41 upset at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

"The thing about Bangor is they're so far up (state) that we didn't know they were supposed to be unbeatable," Cheverus coach Bob Brown said. "We felt we were great at the first part of the season. We thought we had fallen apart (with three straight losses to end the regular season). But after the tournament, we thought we were a pretty good team."

Doug Alston added 12 points and four steals for the Stags (19-3), who took home their eighth gold ball in school history and first since 1997. Lee Suvlu paced the Rams (21-1) with 13 points and Jon McAllian added 12, but just one point in the second half after going off for 11 in the second quarter.

Bangor managed just 17 points on 5-for-16 shooting in the second half and turned the ball over 16 times for the game. Cheverus finished with just five turnovers and shot 58 percent in the second half, including 5-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

"We were disciplined in the second half," said Distasio, who knocked down three 3s in the second half. "We got into our offense, we set better screens, and that was really the difference."

After closing out the first half on the wrong end of an 11-2 run, Ian Barwise put momentum back in Cheverus' favor with the first five points of the third quarter. Distasio scored the final two baskets of the period, including a putback of his own miss just before the buzzer, to pull the Stags within 30-29.

Alston gave the Stags the lead for good with a 3-pointer that made it 37-34 with 5:26 to go. After Suvlu made it a one-point game with a pair of free throws, Distasio added another trey, and Bangor, looking flustered at times against the Stags' pressure, managed just one field goal the rest of the way.

"We got outplayed down the stretch tonight," said Bangor senior center Ryan Weston (nine points, seven rebounds). "They're a great team. They executed. They made their shots when they had to."

Cheverus' quickness and penetration presented an early challenge to Bangor. The Rams took a quick 6-2 lead on Alston's dribble drive midway through the first quarter. The Rams got a putback from Weston to take a 10-8 lead into the second quarter. More penetration by Distasio two minutes into the second tied the contest two minutes into the second period before McAllian responded with his first 3-pointer to put Bangor on top. Alston slashed to the bucket for another score to make it 13-12, but the Rams closed the quarter with an 11-2 run, sparked by a McAllian jumper and two more 3-pointers for a 24-14 halftime cushion.

"We started to press with more intensity and we got a little better help on the big kid," Brown said. "At the end of the first half, they had two open looks. Our rule is hand above the ball. We didn't have it, and they drilled it."