PARIS — Matt Verrier has clouted his share of mammoth home runs during his Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School career. But no bigger basketball shots than the one he dropped Friday night on Mt. Blue.

Verrier’s 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining provided the punctuation to a frantic fourth quarter, steering the Vikings to a 48-47 triumph over the Cougars in a crucial Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys’ clash.

Nate Dubois drew two defenders as he slashed from the right wing toward the lane, leaving a wide-open Verrier in his sneaker tracks.

“He passed it back to me. I was pretty deep (behind the line), but I felt it, so I took it,” said Verrier, who had nailed an earlier trey in a productive first half for the Vikings. “It’s hit-or-miss for me, but Coach (Scott Graffam) said take it if I had it.”

Mt. Blue had a chance to win it after Verrier’s bomb produced the fourth lead change in the final 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Sophomore Eric Berry dribbled the ball toward the hoop, nearly lost the handle, then regained it and launched a 6-footer from the right baseline in traffic as time expired. Berry’s bid rattled off the far side of the rim.

And with that, Oxford Hills (6-6) salvaged a season split with Mt. Blue (8-4), winning for the fourth time in its last five games to stay in Eastern Class A playoff contention.

“We needed to win that game to give ourselves a chance,” Graffam said. “I’m very proud of our kids, because we were ahead the whole game and then we kicked it away. But they came back. Verrier hit a big shot.”

Verrier, a senior bound for the University of Maine on a Division I baseball scholarship, finished with 12 points and four steals. Cody Hadley led the Vikings with 14 points.

Ryan Backus scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for the Cougars, supplementing his 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Berry chalked up his entire 10 points in the second half.

Mt. Blue’s full-court pressure made a game of it after a bizarre first half in which the Cougars went 2-of-18 from the field. Oxford Hills was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line over that stretch and built a 26-14 lead.

“We came out with a goal to hold them to 10 points,” Hadley said. “So we didn’t quite get that.”

The Vikings’ advantage crested at 15 points a minute into the third quarter. Dubois’ steal and outlet pass to Verrier set the table for Hadley’s 3-pointer from the left corner.

But Backus and Cam Sennick’s height and long arms at the point of attack breathed life into Mt. Blue’s pressure. Jordan Hoyt’s 3-point play and a Jake Malone jumper helped the Cougars cut the lead nearly in half during a three-minute Oxford Hills dry spell.

Fouls and frustration mounted as both teams employed a physical style in the second half.

“When it got messy like that, it seemed like we played better,” said Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey.

Even with fewer opportunities at the free-throw line, Oxford Hills kept itself afloat there. Verrier, Hadley and Andrew Keniston sank seven straight during their team’s corresponding 0-for-8 cold snap from the field to start the fourth quarter.

The Vikings were 19-for-23 from the stripe. Mt. Blue struggled to 22-for-41, missing nine in the decisive final period.

“We’ve been practicing those a lot lately,” said Hadley, who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.

Backus’ put-back of a missed free throw gave Mt. Blue a 43-42 lead, its first since the opening minutes, with 2:18 left.

After an exchange of free throws, Hadley’s uncontested drive for a deuce put Oxford Hills back on top.

Two rare Vikings misses from the stripe gave Mt. Blue a chance to reclaim the lead. On a set play following a timeout, Backus squirmed away from a defender to corral Berry’s inbounds pass for an easy lay-up.

“We didn’t really break down defensively until then,” Graffam said. “We just made a lot of turnovers and gave them a chance to get some easy points in transition.”

Berry hit one of two free throws with 30 seconds to go, making it 47-45 and giving the Vikings a choice to play for the tie or gamble on the 3-pointer.

“It was a big game for both teams, and they recognized it better than
we did,” Bessey said. “When they needed to make a shot at the end, they made one.”

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