Greely boys return to winning ways at Yarmouth

Yarmouth senior Jonny Torres and Greely senior Zach Brown go to the floor in an attempt to corral a loose ball during the Rangers’ 45-34 victory Monday night.

Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald photos.

More photos below.

BOX SCORE

Greely 45 Yarmouth 34

G- 9 14 9 13- 45
Y- 7 4 13 10- 34

G- Bagshaw 6-0-15, Brown 3-2-8, Storey 3-1-8, Boddie 2-2-6, Bernheisel 1-1-3, Gabloff 1-0-3, Cimino 1-0-2

Y- Haywood 5-1-11, Torres 3-3-9, Eckersley-Ray 3-0-6, Hickey 1-2-4, Rogers 2-0-4

3-pointers:
G (5) Bagshaw 3, Gabloff, Storey 1
Y (0)

Turnovers:
G- 17
Y- 20

Free throws
G: 6-7
Y: 6-9

YARMOUTH—Greely’s boys’ basketball team is finding winning to be much more difficult this winter, but the Rangers still have enough veteran pieces in place to get the job done.

Monday evening, Greely, the two-time defending Class A state champion, which had lost two of its past three games, got back on track at rival Yarmouth, but as usual, the feisty Clippers didn’t make it easy.

Yarmouth led for all of 84 seconds and the Rangers took the lead for good with 1:36 remaining in the first quarter when junior Logan Bagshaw made a layup for a 9-7 lead.

The second period was where Greely gained some breathing room, as it forced nine Clippers’ turnovers and rode 3-pointers from Bagshaw and sophomore Luke Gabloff to go up by a dozen, 23-11, at the break.

Yarmouth got its offense going in the third quarter, but the Clippers couldn’t make a serious run due in large part to Bagshaw holding them at bay with a pair of 3s.

The Rangers led, 32-24, entering the fourth period and while Yarmouth twice drew within seven, Greely got eight points from senior Zach Brown, who is still rounding into form after returning from a hand injury, and went on to a 45-34 victory.

Bagshaw led all scorers with 15 points, Brown and senior Andrew Storey added eight apiece and Greely improved to 8-3 on the season, dropping the Clippers to 4-7 in the process.

“We’re a different team this year,” said Rangers coach Travis Seaver. “I think we’ve always done a good job taking it one game at a time. We’ve had to rebound (from losses) more than other years and we’ll continue to do so.”

Rebounding

Greely and Yarmouth have faced their share of challenges this winter, but both expect to be serious title contenders next month.

The Clippers started with a 70-39 home loss to York, then let a late lead slip away in a 45-41 home setback to Freeport. After a 49-41 loss at Fryeburg Academy, the Clippers gave first-year coach Jonas Allen his first victory, 50-47, at home over previously undefeated Waynflete. Yarmouth then lost at Gray-New Gloucester (58-52), won at Wells in overtime (52-49), fell at Traip Academy (50-45), edged visiting Cape Elizabeth (46-44), dropped a tough 43-42 home decision to Gray-New Gloucester and Saturday, won at Lake Region, 64-35.

The Rangers opened with a 74-62 home win over Cape Elizabeth, then beat host Wells, the reigning Class B South champion, 61-47, before falling, 62-55, at South Portland. After bouncing back and downing visiting Falmouth (46-29), host Brunswick (62-50), visiting Gray-New Gloucester (73-54) and visiting Gorham (57-51). Greely then last week, sandwiched losses at York (57-51) and at home to Oxford Hills (59-57) around a 75-61 home victory over Freeport.

“Sometimes losing games is a good thing,” Brown said. “If we win a close game, we don’t take away what we need to, but losing really puts into perspective what we need to work on.”

Entering play Monday, Greely had won 25 of 33 meetings since the start of the 2001-02 season (see sidebar, below) and six straight, including last year’s victories in Yarmouth (56-46) and Cumberland (55-25).

The Clippers hoped for their first win in the series since Jan. 16, 2015 (61-42) at home, but the Rangers led most of the way and took care of business.

Greely senior Lars Boddie opened the scoring when he took a pass from Brown and made a layup 59 seconds in, but Yarmouth tied things up when senior Jonny Torres fed classmate Noah Eckersley-Ray for a layup.

Senior Jake Rogers added a jumper and Torres hit a free throw to make it 5-2 Clippers, but that would be the hosts’ highwater mark.

After Brown set up Bagshaw for a layup, Storey canned a 3 to put the Rangers back on top.

A Rogers jumper tied the score, but with 1:36 remaining, Bagshaw got to the rim and made a reverse layup with his left hand to put Greely up, 9-7, a lead the Rangers took the second quarter.

There, Greely frustrated Yarmouth at both ends of the floor.

Bagshaw started the frame with a 3 and after senior Ashanti Haywood made a layup for the Clippers with 7:11 left in the half, the next eight points went to the Rangers.

A jumper from senior Joe Cimino started the run. After a Bagshaw steal, Storey made a layup, after a Brown steal, Bagshaw made a layup. Then, with 4:20 left in the second period, Brown fed junior Jakob Bernheisel for a layup and a 20-9 lead.

With 1:30 on the clock, Torres made two free throws to end a 5-minute-41 second drought, but inside the final minute, Gabloff’s 3 put Greely up, 23-11, at the break.

“We gave up 11 points in the first half,” Bagshaw said. “When you give up 11 points in any half, you’ll win most games.”

In the first half, Bagshaw had nine points and three steals and Storey had five points and four rebounds, while Yarmouth was hindered by a dozen turnovers.

The Clippers came out energetic in the third quarter and got a Haywood layup and a Haywood old-fashioned three-point play (layup, foul, free throw) to pull within seven, but Bagshaw countered with a 3.

After Eckersley-Ray made a jump shot, Bagshaw canned another long 3 and the Rangers had a 29-18 advantage.

“Those shots felt good,” Bagshaw said. “My teammates got me open, setting screens and getting me good passes. I have to give credit to them.”

After Haywood scored on a floater, Storey converted a three-point play to make the lead a dozen, but a three-point play from junior Aidan Hickey and a free throw from Hickey pulled Yarmouth within eight, 32-24, after 24 minutes.

Any Clippers’ comeback hopes were quickly dashed in the final stanza, as Brown scored his first points with two free throws, then added a layup with 4:39 to go for a 36-24 advantage.

Eckersley-Ray answered with a leaner and Torres drove for a layup to cut the deficit to eight, but Bernheisel made a free throw and after keeping possession alive with an offensive rebound, Boddie set up Brown for a layup and a 39-28 lead with 3:02 to play.

Torres made a jump shot, then drove for a layup to pull Yarmouth within seven with 2:13 on the clock, but Brown fed Boddie for a layup at the other end.

After Haywood made a layup to again cut the deficit to seven with 1:02 remaining, Boddie sank two free throws and Brown made a layup after a steal to close the door on the Rangers’ 45-34 victory.

“We take losses as a positive and learn from our mistakes and get better from it,” Bagshaw said. “(Yarmouth) tried to speed us up, but we stayed composed.”

“I thought defensively, it was probably our hardest-working game,” Seaver said. “Some of that is how Yarmouth plays, because they’re aggressive, but we’ve talked about that and we turned the corner. We’re still learning. We have guys who have experience, but not the experience we’ve had in the past. We’re made up so different guys can do it. We’re trying to put four quarters together and we have to tools to do that.”

Bagshaw led the way with 15 points, four steals and four rebounds.

Brown added eight points and six assists.

“I’m at 80 percent, almost back,” Brown said. “The thought of not getting hit is still here, but other than that, it’s nice to be back out there. Whatever I can do to help the team is better than nothing. Even if I’m not scoring, I’m trying to be more of a facilitator.”

Having Zach back helps,” Bagshaw said. “We look to him to knock down shots and find us.”

“Zach missed a lot of basketball and basketball’s a game where you have to use your hands,” Seaver added. “He’s not 100 percent, but he’s still a very good player.”

Storey finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Boddie had six points and six rebounds, Bernheisel and Gabloff finished with three apiece and Cimino added two.

Greely committed 17 turnovers, but made 6 of 7 free throws.

Yarmouth was paced by Haywood’s 11 points. Torres added nine points (as well as five rebounds and four assists), Eckersley-Ray had six points (to go with seven rebounds and three steals), Hickey four (and four rebounds) and Rogers four.

The Clippers had a 25-21 rebounding advantage, but didn’t make a single 3-point shot, committed 20 turnovers and made 6 of 9 free throws.

“We played hard,” said Allen. “Our defense is keeping us in games. To hold Greely to 45 points, there’s no shame in that, but we were 0-for-15 from the 3-point line. Combine that with too many turnovers and we also gave up some offensive rebounds. You’re never going to beat Greely scoring 34 points.

“The fact is, we’re much further ahead defensively than offensively. The guys have bought into what we’re doing defensively and they’re playing hard. We’re clearly struggling offensively and luckily, we still have time to go to work on it. We show flashes of selfless basketball, then we get back into our old habits and when we go ‘iso,’ everything just falls apart for us.”

Pack your bags

Each team will spend the next week on the road.

Yarmouth is in the midst of a very challenging stretch, which could result in some important Heal Points if all goes well (the Clippers are currently ranked seventh in Class B South). After going to Waynflete Wednesday, Yarmouth visits Freeport Friday and goes to Cape Elizabeth Monday of next week.

“It’s a big stretch and we’ve got to get it done,” Allen said. “We have to figure out our execution and keep defending the way we did tonight.”

Greely, meanwhile, is ranked first in Class A South and is hoping to go on a run, as it plays at Fryeburg Academy Friday, visits Westbrook Tuesday of next week, then has a key game at Gray-New Gloucester Jan. 25.

“We have a good enough caliber team this year to do it again,” Brown said. “I think we just need to work on playing together more.”

“There’s no game we go into where we feel we shouldn’t win,” Bagshaw said. “We’re not being cocky, just confident. We have to keep our composure and win the close games.”

“We have to play together and get healthy,” Seaver added. “On the offensive end, we have to get more fluid and defensively, we have to be strong. That’s what wins tournament games.”