BANGOR – It was an uphill climb for much of the tournament for the Gorham High School boys’ basketball team.

After rallying from behind to beat Mountain Valley and Lake Region to win the Western Class B title, the Rams had to muster another comeback against Erskine Friday night in the state final.

The Eagles wouldn’t allow it. Erskine built the early lead and shrugged off numerous charges by the Rams and rolled to a 59-42 win at Bangor Auditorium.

It is the first Class B state title for Erskine.

Matt Donar led Erskine (19-3) with 20 points. Darrell Haskell had 19, including five 3’s. Gorham (19-3) got 12 points from Justin Brown and 10 from Kurt Randall.

The Eagles had build an 11-point lead in the first half, but Gorham kept plugging away. The Rams crept within three points early in the third quarter thanks to a free throw from Ben Thayer and a basket by Randall.

Haskell answered with back-to-back 3’s to bounce the Eagles back to a 35-26 lead.

Gorham got within four late in the third with three points from Randall and a fast break basket by Matt Trask. Erskine surged ahead again with a Donar drive and a Josh Jones rebound.

Gorham wouldn’t get any closer than six points. Erskine had the lead up to double digits early in the fourth, and a trey from Haskell and drive by Donar started a 12-2 run that finished the game.

Erskine soared ahead in the opening quarter with 3’s three from Haskell as the Eagles built a 20-9 lead.

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