AUGUSTA — Zach Blodgett made two baskets in the final minute as Bangor survived a tough challenge from Edward Little to take a 41-38 victory in the Eastern Class A boys’ basketball final Tuesday night at the Augusta Civic Center.
No. 1 Bangor (20-1) will play Cheverus in the state final on Saturday. No. 3 Edward Little finishes at 19-2.
The largest lead for either team in the second half was five points — and that was by Edward Little at 25-20 in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
The teams traded baskets, and Bangor surged ahead to lead 37-33 on a baseline drive by Tristan Thomas with about three minutes left.
Edward Little’s Timmy Mains responded with a 3-pointer and a long jumper to give EL a 38-37 lead with 2:20 to go. The Red Eddies forced a turnover, but Thomas came up with a steal for Bangor, and Blodgett scored the go-ahead basket inside with 58 seconds remaining.
EL lost the ball on its next possession, and Blodgett got behind the defense for a layup with 15 seconds left for a 41-38 Bangor lead. EL called timeout to set up a play, but a 3-point attempt by Mains was well short and Bangor ran out the clock.
Josiah Hartley led Bangor with 13 points and Blodgett added 11. Bo Leary scored 11 for EL, but only four of those were after the first quarter.
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