After scoring 27 points in a win over Hall-Dale, Spruce Mountain freshman point guard Jace Bessey turned around and scored 35 points and made a school record eight 3-pointers to hold off Winthrop in the regular season finale the next day.

Bessey’s sharp shooting helped the Phoenix to an undefeated regular season (18-0) that was capped off by a father-son moment at home following the Winthrop game. 

“After the Winthrop game and we finished off the regular season and he had 35 points, he was completely exhausted,” Spruce Mountain coach Scott Bessey said. “Two road games in a row, played every minute of both, and didn’t get back until 10:30 p.m. He came and walked in, raided the fridge and went down to his room.

“Then it was about 11, and he was sprawled out on the bed, and so I just laid there next to him as a dad, and eventually he said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘Tonight was pretty cool.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Tonight was the best night of my life.’ We just both started laughing hysterically, just laughing about how everything’s worked out and it was a cool moment to have.”

Jace Bessey has made a school record 62 3-pointers over the course of the season and has blown past his father’s expectations of him heading into his first season of high school basketball. 

“Me and my wife were just talking about this the other day,” Bessey said. “’Did you think he would be this productive?’ The answer is no. He’s surpassed my expectations. He’s a good player, a good kid and works really, really hard. From a production standpoint, there’s no fear in him. He’s passed expectations.”

The Phoenix added another win Saturday, beating Lisbon in the Mountain Valley Championship game.

As the top seed in Class B South, Spruce Mountain will have a bye before opening the tournament Friday against the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 8 Lake Region and No. 9 Maranacook.

Jace Bessey’s shooting played an important role in the Phoenix’s season, including a few late-season victories.

“Winthrop at home (Feb. 1), they caught us and tied us up, and he goes on a five-to-nothing run and that gives us a lead in 13 seconds and we end up winning,” Bessey said. “Dirigo away, their place is always difficult to play, we had a 13-point lead and they came back. He hit two 3-pointers back-to-back to give us the lead and we win.”

Part of Spruce Mountain’s success has been its ability to focus on the games on its schedule and not look too far into the future.

“With teams moving to Class B, we knew winning a state championship would be difficult and we thought making that a goal wouldn’t be smart,” Bessey said. “This summer, as we started summer basketball, it’s about winning the conference. It was such a focus, ‘Next game, next game.’ We wanted to win the MVC. That was the goal. That tunnel vision I think was huge in us going undefeated because it wasn’t looking ahead or looking at the tournament.”

Bessey added that achieving their main goal should help the Phoenix in the Class B tournament.

“I think (winning the MVC) takes some pressure off,” he said. “We’ve accomplished our goal and we are taking on the feeling of playing with house money. It’s bonus basketball. We are going to play to win, hopefully we shoot the ball well, but it’s not life or death. Teams that I’ve coached before have tightened up in the playoffs and we haven’t shot well in the Expo because of our own expectations.

“This year we are going to go down there much more relaxed, to have more fun and there’s no real pressure to advance.”

YOUNGER VIKINGS STILL STRONG

Oxford Hills won back-to-back Class AA girls basketball titles in 2019 and 2020 thanks to an upperclassman-laden squad headlined by Julia Colby. 

“It was kind of, coach a little bit and get out of their way,” Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier said. 

The Vikings (16-2) are again the top seed in the AA North playoffs this season, but they are younger and less experienced than the recent state title squads.

“This year we have a mix, we play two freshmen and a couple sophomores, and it’s getting them on the same page,” Pelletier said. “It’s been a long year trying to get them on the same page at the end of games.”

While the end of games has been a point of emphasis, Oxford Hills ran into issues in the first quarter last Wednesday against Bangor.

Led by Emmie Stream’s four 3-pointers in the period, the Rams jumped out to a 23-10 first-quarter lead and were up by 20 at one point. The big Bangor squad was a handful for the smaller Vikings, and, Pelletier said, proved that there are many teams that can win the Class AA this season. 

“It’s one of those things that we knew going in Bangor is a really good team,” Pelletier said. “We had a battle with them up there and got a victory, but at home we got down early. They’re pretty big, and Emmie Streams is really fast, so it’s tough to take away 3-point shots and post play all at the same time. We just weren’t able to do it at the start of the game.

“We got down I think by 20 but battled back to cut it to six. I liked the fight in the girls, they never are going to give up. They gave us a chance to win, but we just weren’t able to hit baskets down the stretch. It’s going to be a war when you get on the Civic Center floor and anyone can come out on top.”

Top-seeded Oxford Hills opens the AA North tournament at home against eight-seeded Deering (4-15) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Junior Sierra Carson has the Vikings’ big scorer recently, like Tuesday when she out-scored Windham 33-30 in a 48-30 victory.

“Everyone has had a game where they’ve stepped up and been a key contributor. That’s been cool, but the unfortunate part of it is we don’t want to have to hope someone steps up,” Pelletier said. “Sierra has been playing very consistently for us, but it’s finding the one or two other kids to step up. At the end of the game Sierra will probably have the ball in her hands but we have other kids that can make shots.”

Pelletier said that junior guard Molly Corbett’ stats don’t always stand out, but she has been integral to Oxford Hills’ success.

“She’s been a huge leader, shoots well, but defensively she gets after it,” Pelletier said. “She is not afraid to get in your face and play hard-nosed defense.”

FOOTBALL STARS LEADING WINTHROP

The Winthrop boys basketball team finished the season 14-4, including two close losses to Spruce Mountain that bookended a six-games-in-1o-days stretch.

 Coach Todd MacArthur said the Ramblers had a challenging schedule, but he was proud of they handled it. 

“I thought we were battle-tested in terms of we had one of the tougher schedules in the league,” MacArthur said. “It was a nice thing to see us play the better teams and have a 14-4 record. With COVID situations and rescheduling, we had to go through the gauntlet, six games in 10 days. That’s a lot to ask of kids.

“You find out a lot about your team and the character of your team playing a lot of games in a short period of time. … I am very proud of our kids in a weird regular season.”

Top-seeded Winthrop, which has won the two most recent Class C state championships in 2019 and 2020, opens the C South tournament against 16th-seeded Buckfield (3-15) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

MacArthur said the Ramblers rely their seniors every year. However, after the COVID-19-shortened season last winter, he wasn’t sure who would step up in 2021-22 because not a lot of the Winthrop players have played important tournament minutes. 

Fresh off a Class D football state championship appearance, Andrew Foster and Logan Baird took over leadership roles for the Ramblers. 

“I kind of thought they would (step up), but you always have those question marks, and I was really impressed with their senior leadership, maturity and their willingness to put us on their backs when we needed them,” MacArthur said.

MacArthur said he can’t overstate how much the football stars have meant to the basketball team this winter. 

“Tremendously, a ton, any words that could help elaborate because they understand what it takes to be counted on,” MacArthur said. “Going through that process is tough because when you’re being counted on that many times, there are going to be times where you’re going to fail. You need to put those moments to the side and step up again. They understand it’s a process and now that they understand it they are successful more times than not when they need to make a play.”

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Photos and video: Setup underway at Augusta Civic Center for Maine high school basketball tournament