AUBURN – You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.

Chris Rainville of St. Dom’s obviously has taken this message to heart. The senior shot his way out of a three-game cold streak Friday night, going 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc to lead the Saints to a 49-46 Western Maine Conference boys’ basketball win over Poland at Callahan Family Gym.

“I’ve had a cold streak the last few games. It was great to come out here tonight had hit those threes in the third quarter when the team needed me to,” Rainville said.

The Class B Knights crept within one point early in the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws by Max Levine, but they never pulled even.

With 48 seconds remaining, Poland again reduced the deficit to 48-44. They held the Saints scoreless on the next trip down the floor, regaining the ball and an opportunity to make it a one-possession game. Suffocating defense forced the Knights to sacrifice twenty seconds off the clock before Jon Lecznar connected with only 13 seconds left on the clock.

Rainville missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Poland one more chance to tie the game. The Knights inbounded with 5.1 seconds left but turned the ball over on a traveling violation.

St. Dom’s Jeremy Richardson was fouled and hit the last point of the game on a free throw.

“We had no doubts whatsoever,” said Rainville, whose team is in contention for a first-round bye in the upcoming Western Class C tournament. “When you believe in your teammates, you know you’re going to come up with the important plays and the big wins.”

“Our program has come a long way. We wanted to come here tonight and win, and we did not do that. Although I am pleased with my kids’ effort, we are not satisfied. I think that says a lot about the team,” Poland coach J. P. Yorkey said.

Poland is seventh in the current Western Class B Heal Points and hopes for its first-ever regional quarterfinal berth.

St. Dom’s outscored the Knights 11-6 in the first quarter, led by a six-point effort from point-guard Ian Pullen. Although outsized in the paint, the Saints consistently boxed out well, pulling down critical rebounds that prevented Poland from getting second-chance shots. “We knew we would have to work hard in the post tonight,and play tough defense in all four quarters. We set a goal before the game to hold them to 20 points in the first half, and we did just that,” said St. Dom’s co-coach Mike Gray.

The Knights bounced back in the second quarter, as Alex Smith connected on four field goals and Lecznar chipped in four points and pulled down four rebounds, sending the teams into halftime tied at 20.

Poland battled for the lead early in the third quarter before the skies opened up and Rainville dropped his deluge of 3-pointers.

After a quick bucket from Levine, Rainville connected on his third trifecta of the night, putting his team up 31-30, a lead the Saints would never relinquish.