PORTLAND—Going up against a team with two behemoths, South Portland’s boys basketball squad could have been excused if it settled for outside shots in Saturday evening’s Class AA South Final against upstart Bonny Eagle at the Cross Insurance Arena.

Instead, the second-ranked Red Riots didn’t hesitate to attack the paint and take it in among the trees.

And the end result was an impressive victory.

Once which returns South Portland to the state game for the third time in four season.

The Red Riots took a 10-8 lead after one quarter, surprisingly getting multiple easy looks at the rim.

Fourth-seeded Bonny Eagle then held leads of 13-10 and 16-13 in the second period, but South Portland scored the final six points of the half, capped by a putback at the horn from senior Tom Maloji.

The Red Riots then poured it on when the second half began, scoring the first nine points of the third period and leading by as much as 19 before taking a 38-23 advantage a to the fourth.

There, the Scots never got closer than a dozen and South Portland put the finishing touches on a 49-34 victory.

The Red Riots improved to 16-5, ended Bonny Eagle’s campaign at 9-12 and in the process, advanced to the Class AA state final for the third time in four years where it will battle reigning champion Windham (17-4) next Saturday at 7:45 p.m., at the Cross Insurance Arena.

“I was as surprised as you were that we got to the rim,” said South Portland coach Kevin Millington. “We wanted to be aggressive because we knew we were quicker. When we got past the first guy, we had a shot.”

Return to form

The Red Riots, after winning Class AA state titles in 2022 and 2023, were upset by Thornton Academy in last year’s quarterfinals and this winter, while South Portland stumbled a few times along the way, it was another successful campaign.

The Red Riots started with a 67-59 home loss to highly-touted Noble, then dispatched visiting Lewiston (62-46) and host Scarborough (67-49) before falling at Cheverus (66-44). South Portland got back on track with victories at Sanford (63-46), and at home over Bonny Eagle (44-34), then rallied for a win at Deering (69-60) before rolling at home over Scarborough (78-47) and Portland (70-48). After shocking host Windham, which was undefeated at the time, 55-54, the Red Riots edged host Oxford Hills (55-52), then lost at Thornton Academy (38-33). South Portland bounced back by downing visiting Deering (66-60), host Gorham (63-45) and visiting Massabesic, 79-36. After losing at home to Cheverus (54-37), the Red Riots fell at Portland (46-38), then closed with a 74-61 home win over Gorham, giving Millington his 300th career victory.

After beating No. 7 Gorham in the quarterfinals, 60-42, South Portland made quick work of No. 3 Scarborough in Thursday’s semifinals, 63-45.

While a deep playoff run by the Red Riots wasn’t a surprise, Bonny Eagle taking part in the regional final Saturday shocked just about everyone.

The Scots lost their first four games, got back to 5-6, then lost five more games in succession.

Bonny Eagle then hit its stride, closing the regular season with victories over visiting Lewiston and Noble and just like that, the Scots earned a home quarterfinal, where they outlasted No. 5 Sanford, 64-59, in overtime. In Thursday’s semifinal, Bonny Eagle never trailed and went on to shock top-seeded Thornton Academy, 47-41.

South Portland beat visiting Bonny Eagle, 44-34, two days after Christmas, thanks in part to Hidalgo’s team-high 13 points.

The Red Riots were just 2-3 against the Scots in the tournament dating to 2007, with a 50-32 win in the 2022 Class AA South semifinals the most recent.

Saturday, South Portland was the aggressor from the get-go and while the Red Riots went stagnant at times, they wouldn’t be denied.

South Portland came out confident and took its game right to Bonny Eagle’s strength, its twin towers, senior Brody Taylor and junior Max Bouchard.

Just 11 seconds in, Johnson drove into the lane and made a layup to break the ice.

The Scots drew even when junior Colin Moran made a bank shot after a steal from sophomore Benedito Noe, but Hidalgo drove among the trees and made a reverse layup for his first points, then Hidaldo set up Johnson for another reverse layup and a 6-2 lead with 6:39 to go in the first period.

“I thought I had a good chance (to score),” Hidalgo said. “I’m kind of a natural at playing basketball, but I’m glad my teammates opened up the lane and I could kick it out to the guys I trust. We have some offensive threats at the 3-point line and that helped.”

Bonny Eagle answered, as Moran drove for another layup, then sophomore Logan Sturgis did the same to tie the score.

With 1:41 left in the quarter, Hidalgo pulled up and hit a jumper, the game’s first basket that had any range to it, and the Red Riots snapped a 4 minute, 58 second scoring drought to go in front.

After Hidalgo made a jumper in the lane, Bouchard’s bank shot pulled the Scots within two, 10-8.

Bonny Eagle then slammed the door defensively in the second period and went on top.

After Taylor got a left-handed leaner to find the mark, Bouchard set up senior CJ Cooper for a 3 and with 3:58 on the clock, the Scots had the lead for the first time.

Hidalgo answered with a 3 with 2:31 to go, snapping a 6 minute, 20 second drought, but at the other end, Noe set up Cooper for another 3.

That would be as good as it got for Bonny Eagle, however.

South Portland answered, as Hidalgo drove for a layup with 1:53 remaining in the half, then Hidalgo drove through traffic and made another layup 34 seconds later putting his team in the lead for good.

As time wound down, after Johnson had a shot blocked, Maloji put home the miss and at the half, the Red Riots clung to a 19-16 advantage.

“I knew Darius was going to get smothered in the paint and I just tried to make myself available and it was right there,” said Maloji.

Hidalgo led the way with 13 first half points.

South Portland then asserted its will in the third period and opened up a double-digit lead.

Just 14 seconds in, Maloji stole the ball and made a layup.

After junior Gabe Jackson sank a free throw, Maloji hit a jumper.

Then, with 5:59 to go, Hidalgo fed Johnson for a fastbreak layup to make it 26-16, forcing Bonny Eagle coach John Trull to call timeout.

It didn’t help, as Hidalgo set up Johnson for a layup to cap the 15-0 surge.

“At halftime, we went over what was going on and we came out and played defense and executed on offense,” said Johnson.

“We wanted to put more pressure on their guards and turn them over because we felt like five-on-five, it would be hard against their bigs,” Millington said. “We needed to get three-on-two, four-on-one and the only way we could do that was to turn them over. We were a little bit passive in the first half pressuring the ball. Second half, we clamped down and generated turnovers. The number one thing was pressuring the ball to make the entry (pass) tough, then use our athletic ability inside to make the catch hard. We couldn’t just sit behind them and body them. We had to be physical and take advantage of our athletic ability.”

Finally, with 4:25 left in the third period, junior Caleb Racicot sank two free throws to end Bonny Eagle’s 5:50 drought.

The Red Riots kept their foot on the gas pedal, as Hidalgo drove into the lane and banked home a difficult look over Bouchard.

After Moran made a free throw, Hidalgo again got into the lane and made a layup. He then knocked down a jumper in the lane and after a steal from junior Tadhg O’Donnell, senior Addison Blais got in on the fun, making a layup. Johnson then knocked down a jumper to stretch the lead to a commanding 38-19, ending an extended 25-3 run.

“We wanted to keep that spark alive and make them lose hope,” Maloji said.

Late in the frame, Bouchard made a layup, then Neo stole the ball and banked it in just before the horn, but South Portland took a comfortable 38-23 advantage to the final stanza.

There, Cooper scored on a putback for the Scots, but Johnson countered with an old-fashioned three-point play (putback, foul, free throw).

After Taylor put home a miss, he did it again to cut the deficit to 41-29 with 5:33 on the clock.

South Portland then put it away, as Johnson set up Maloji for a layup, Hidalgo added a free throw, then Hidalgo sank two more foul shots to make it 46-29 with 2:33 remaining.

Neo drove for a layup for the Scots, but Johnson hit a free throw.

After Cooper sank a 3, Jackson made one free throw, then Maloji did the same and the Red Riots ran out the clock and celebrated their 49-34 victory.

“It feels amazing,” said Maloji. “I’ve grown up with all these guys. We turned it up on defense and that helped us gain momentum. We were kind of familiar with their players. Our assignments were just to funnel them to their weak points and that drove us. We pressed them and kept the ball away from their big men.”

“It feels amazing, especially doing it with these guys,” Hidalgo said. “I love all these guys. We knew we had to be aggressive and play hard and bother their guards.”

“It feels great,” said Johnson. “We knew Bonny Eagle had something no one else had, two 6-foot-9 bigs, and we practiced cutting and the offense executed. Last time we played them, they had 37 turnovers. We knew if we pressured their guards, we would turn them over again and that’s what happened.”

Hidalgo, who was named the regional tournament’s outstanding player/sportsman, had a game-high 22 points. Hidalgo also had three assists and three rebounds.

“Manny’s a great player,” Johnson said. “He does things no one on the team understands, shooting crazy layups, taking outrageous shots, but that’s what Manny does.”

“Manny’s impossible one-on-one and he’s even impossible in zone (defense),” Trull said. “He’s just a great player. There’s nothing you can do to stop him.”

Johnson continued his stellar postseason with 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

“I had more pride than they did and I wanted it more,’ Johnson said.

“Manny’s an incredible shot-maker and Darius made some plays,” said Millington.

Maloji added nine points and four rebounds.

“Tom’s our heart-and-soul,” said Millington. “He always guard the other team’s best player. He works really hard.”

Blais and Jackson each had two points.

Despite being short-sized, South Portland enjoyed a slim 28-25 edge on the glass. The Red Riots made 8-of-13 free throws and overcame 13 turnovers.

Midnight

For Bonny Eagle, Cooper had a team-high 11 points. Taylor added six points and six rebounds, Moran had five points, Bouchard four (to go with six rebounds and three blocked shots), Neo four (as well as three steals and two assists) and Racicot and Sturgis two apiece.

The Scots made just 3-of-8 free throws and committed 15 turnovers.

“I think their pressure got to us,” Trull said. “I didn’t do a great job getting us into different things to break it. I definitely got out-coached in that aspect. We couldn’t get anything going on offense because their pressure was bothering us. We did a decent job on their shooters, but they attacked us in the paint. They reversed what we try to do as a team.”

The Scots had a Cinderella run and surprised many, but that was no consolation in the immediate aftermath of defeat Saturday.

“I think maybe in a couple weeks it will feel better than it does right now,” Trull said. “We expected to win the game and we didn’t. No one will be happy for us.”

More gold?

After three decades in the championship wilderness, South Portland won back-to-back Class AA crowns in 2022 and 2023 and now, the Red Riots are 32 minutes away from another.

South Portland beat host Windham back on Jan. 7, 55-54, on Hidalgo’s late hoop.

Fans can only hope for a game half as exciting next weekend.

“We just need to stay in the gym, focus and I feel like that will help us get where we need to be,” said Maloji. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“A lot of us haven’t been to the Civic Center, so this is meaningful for all of us,” Johnson said. “It’s a SoPo thing, winning championships. It should be a really good matchup.”

“Windham’s an awesome team and they play really well together,” Hidalgo said. “I know Windham has some dogs. I think we’ll match up well against them. It will be a fight.”

The teams have no playoff history and there is an extra element of drama in regards to the matchup, as Millington was the longtime Eagles coach and remains a teacher at Windham High School.

“It’s going to be really fun next week,” Millington said. “It’s going to be an interesting week for me. I never take this for granted. I’ve coached (at Windham) for a long time and didn’t get to coach that many games down here. I’ve been blessed at South Portland to get here.

“We thought we were the best team in the South all year. Thornton had a better year, tip your cap to them, but I thought we had a chance to get (to states). I thought Windham was the best team since the beginning. They had a little hiccup there (at the end of the regular season), but they’re back to normal. This is what I thought might happen.

“(Windham’s) really, really hard to guard. We’ve been very adaptable at how hard we guard. I’m proud of these guys because we had to guard Gorham a certain way. We had to guard Scarborough a different way and we had to guard Bonny Eagle a different way and we’ll have to guard Windham a certain way. They have five guys who can really score.”

BOX SCORE

South Portland 49 Bonny Eagle 34

BE- 8 8 7 11- 34
SP- 10 9 19 11- 49

BE- Cooper 4-0-11, Taylor 3-0-6, Moran 2-1-5, Bouchard 2-0-4, Neo 2-0-4, Racicot 0-2-2, Sturgis 1-0-2

SP- Hidalgo 9-3-22, Johnson 6-2-14, Maloji 4-1-9, Blais 1-0-2, Jackson 0-2-2

3-pointers:
BE (3) Cooper 3
SP (1) Hidalgo

Turnovers:
BE- 15
SP- 13

Free throws
BE: 3-8
SP: 8-13