BANGOR — Orono waited 42 years between boys’ basketball state championships. The wait for another was just 12 months.

Orono repeated as Class B state champion Friday night at the Cross Insurance Center, taking a 56-48 win over Oceanside in a rematch of last season’s title game.

“We’ll be remembered, that’s for sure. It’s been 62 years since the repeat’s been done in Orono,” said Orono senior Pierce Walston, who led the Red Riots with 16 points.

Orono closes the season at 19-3. It was the first loss of the season for Oceanside, which ends at 21-1.

Orono never trailed, leading almost all the way after scoring the first seven points, but the Red Riots never got comfortable, either. Oceanside tied the game, 41-41, on Trevin Ripley’s layup with 5:55 to play, but Orono regained the lead for good 19 seconds later when Ben Francis made a pair of free throws after he was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer.

Oceanside had trouble getting its top scorers, twin brothers Carter and Cohen Galley, open shots throughout the game. The brothers entered the game averaging 52 points per game, but Orono held them to a combined 19 points, with Cohen scoring 10 and Carter nine.

It was the result of strong team defense, Orono Coach Ed Kohtala said.

“I don’t think it’s ever once person when you’re playing such an offensive force. Our emphasis all week was to provide lots of help, and try to stay in position on them. Their range and their strength off the drive makes that difficult,” Kohtala said.

Orono celebrates after winning the Class B state title. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

The few frustrations Kohtala had with his team’s defense came when the Riots were slow to rotate and step in front of a driving Mariner.

“It’s easy for me on the sideline to say ‘hey, take that charge.’ When Cohen or Carter are coming down the lane, it’s a little bit tougher,” Kohtala said.

Oceanside averaged just over 90 points per game in the regular season, and 69 points per game in the South regional. Friday’s game was just the second time all season the Mariners were held under 50 points. Will Francis said the key was picking up Oceanside’s shooters at the 3-point line and making sure to guard the paint, limiting Oceanside’s drives to the basket.

“We know with defense we can win any game with any opponent, and we showed that tonight. We shut down probably the strongest offense in the state of Maine,” Walston said.

Oceanside Coach Larry Reed said his team could have done a better job running off screens or getting into offensive sets to create open shots.

“If we had done a better job of that, we might’ve had opportunities in the half-court set. But give credit to the Orono defense,” Reed said.

Offensively, Orono was patient, working the ball around until an open layup or 3-pointer presented itself. Holding a small lead late in the game, the Riots became even more patient, content with controlling the ball and the clock. They’ve been able to avoid turnovers in those situations all season, Kohtala said.

 

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When the Red Riots didn’t score, they were still in position to play strong transition defense and prevent the Mariners from running. Orono was probably more at ease in a close game in the fourth quarter than Oceanside, Kohtala said.

“We kind of matured this year. Last year, we didn’t have the patience to hold the ball, and we would turn the ball over,” Will Francis said. “We had a lot more composure this year. We could control the pace.”

Will Francis had 15 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Ben Francis scored seven points, all in the second half, and his layup as time expired was the exclamation point on Orono’s repeat victory.

Orono led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and 29-25 at the half. The Red Riots did a good job penetrating Oceanside’s defense for easy layups throughout the first half. When the layup wasn’t there, Orono found an open look from the perimeter, making four 3-pointers.

Zeb Foster led Oceanside with 16 points, while Ripley added 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks off the bench.

“They were relentless all night. We were forcing at times rather than being a little more patient,” Reed said. “But we’re a quick uptempo team. (Orono) is a really smart team, and they have the athletes to back up what they’re trying to do.”

UPDATE: This story was corrected at 11:03 a.m. on March 2 to show that the Orono boys’ basketball team went 42 years between its state championships in 1981 and 2023.

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