Ponies’ playoff run ends against No. 1 Medomak
Staff Writer
BANGOR — As the 13th seed and final team in the Class B East tournament, the Foxcroft Academy boys had already knocked off No. 4 Oceanside High School of Rockland in a prelim contest and fifth-seeded Caribou High School in quarterfinal play before the team faced the bracket’s top squad in Medomak Valley High School of Waldoboro during a Feb. 20 semifinal at the Bangor Auditorium.
Through the third quarter Foxcroft stayed with the No. 1 Panthers, the game was tied at 21 points apiece at the 6:19-mark, but from there Medomak limited the Ponies to no shots from the floor as part of an 11-2 run which put the team ahead by eight at the end of the quarter — 34-26. The Panthers (who improved to 18-2 with the team’s 11th consecutive victory and earned a trip to the regional final) would nearly triple the team’s advantage with a 19-4 fourth quarter to win by a final score of 53-30.
After the opening eight minutes of play, the two teams were tied 10-10 as the Ponies (who ended 2012-13 at 10-11) used a slow down, ball-control offense and a zone defense with all five players inside the 3-point line to limit the scoring chances for the Panthers — who started one player listed as 6-foot-8 and another at 6-foot-5.
A basket by Medomak senior John Murray, who scored 13 and with his fellow post player senior Ryan Ripley’s game-high 21 accounted for 34 and over 64 percent of the team’s 53 points, put the Panthers ahead by two to open the second quarter.
Foxcroft senior Ryan Rebar, who led the Ponies with 15 points, then tied the game with a shot and, after a stop at the other end of the court, two from Foxcroft freshmen Hunter Smith gave the Ponies the lead for the first time in the game at 14-12 1:24 into the second quarter as Medomak head coach Nicholas DePatsy immediately called a 30-second timeout.
The break in play worked as the Panthers hoped with the team edging Foxcroft 7-2 in scoring over the remainder of the second quarter to be up 19-16 as the two teams went into the locker rooms.
A trade of baskets began the second half, and then two by Pony junior Hunter Law made the score 21-20. A few possessions later Rebar went to the foul line and sank a shot to tie the contest at 21 apiece.
Medomak senior Brandon Soper responded by connecting on a shot from behind the 3-point arc, but Foxcroft followed with two free throws by senior Kaleb Smith on two trips to the line to cut the deficit to one at 24-23. From there the Panthers had eight unanswered points before a Rebar three and two foul shots ended the third quarter with the score 34-26. Medomak opened the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run to help close out the game.
The defeat snapped a six-game winning streak for Foxcroft, who started the year at 1-6 and were 4-10 before winning the last four contests of the regular season and then the prelim and quarterfinal. The program was in the semifinal round for the first time since reaching the Class C East semifinals in 2010, and appeared in the Class B East semifinals for the first time since 2005 when the Ponies played for the regional crown — falling to eventual state champion Camden Hills High School.
Foxcroft seniors are Jeremiah McLeod, Ryan Rebar, Caleb Richard and Kaleb Smith.