AUGUSTA – Valley’s streak lives. So does North Yarmouth Academy’s.
Valley won its 23rd consecutive Western Class D tournament game in improbable fashion, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the final 3:14 of regulation to eliminate NYA, 70-68, Wednesday morning at the Augusta Civic Center.
Third-seeded Valley (17-3) will meet Pine Tree Academy of Freeport in the regional final at 8:45 p.m. Saturday. The Cavaliers have won the regional seven years running.
For No. 2 NYA (17-3), it was another heartbreaking defeat at the hands of its blue-and-silver-clad nemesis from Bingham. The Panthers have advanced to the finals or semifinals almost every year of Valley’s streak, only to play a supporting role in the Cavaliers’ historic run.
Travis Hovey, Valley’s 6-foot-5 junior center, scored 13 of his 21 points and grabbed nine of his game-high 17 rebounds in the fourth quarter. He played the entire period with four fouls, attacking the boards and the baseline with abandon.
NYA led 66-57 before Hovey scored eight consecutive points in a 96-second span. Hovey’s put-back of a Mark Hyland 3-point attempt with 1:38 left brought the Cavaliers within one.
Hyland hit the first of two free throws to tie it with 1:14 to go, and Hovey nailed another to give Valley the lead. Cole Pullen swished a pair with 27.6 seconds remaining.
NYA made a late run at sending the game to overtime. Nate Isaacson’s bucket with 11.6 seconds left brought the Panthers within two. Freshman Pak Lul then intercepted an errant pass and drew Hovey’s fifth foul. Lul missed the first free throw in the double bonus situation, however, and NYA was whistled for a lane violation before he could attempt the second.
Hyland led Valley with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. Lucas Melcher added nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Brian Chin nailed six treys and led all scorers with 27 points for NYA. Tim DeLuca supplemented his 25 points with six rebounds, five steals and four assists.
DeLuca, who fouled out in the final minute Wednesday, had 51 points in a regular-season road win over Valley.
NYA took apparent command with a 17-4 run in the third quarter. The Panthers’ biggest lead was 52-40.
Pine Tree 59, Hyde 53
AUGUSTA – Pine Tree Academy is over the hump.
Denied in five previous trips to the Western Class D boys’ semifinals, the top-seeded Breakers survived a furious, fourth-quarter rally to handle No. 4 Hyde, 59-53, and advanced to the finals for the first time in school history.
Pine Tree, a Freeport school affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, will face seven-time defending regional champion Valley in Saturday’s title game at 8:45 p.m.
Senior co-captain Jerod Verrill scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Breakers (18-2). He went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the period.
Verrill’s heroics saved the Breakers, who watched an 18-point lead evaporate in the final five minutes. Hyde (10-6) made a 20-5 run on the strength of hot shooting by Tommy Bragg, Mike Aronski and Austin Redding and pulled within three at 54-51 on Bragg’s short jumper with a minute left.
Evan Schleining’s steal gave the Phoenix a chance to tie. Redding’s 3-point bid rattled in and out, though, with Verrill collecting the rebound. Verrill sank a pair of free throws with 23 seconds to go and two more with 15 ticks left to protect the win.
Ben Goodall, a sophomore, sank four treys and scored 20 points for Pine Tree. Redding and Bragg led Hyde with 21 and 19.
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