Bridgton Academy squared off with top seeded South Kent School on Sunday night
in what was sure to be a very exciting NEPSAC Class A Championship game. South
Kent came in the favorites having won 15 games in a row, two of which coming
over the Wolverines during the regular season.
The Cardinal jumped out
to an early 22-7 lead over Bridgton, however the Wolverines fought back with a
19-8 run of their own to make it 30-26 South Kent. The Cardinal however answered
with a 15-6 run before stretching their lead up to 15 at 55-40 heading into
halftime.
Shortly before the midpoint of the second half and trailing by
19 points, the Wolverines put together yet another run, this time outscoring
South Kent 19-6 to bring the lead to within 4 at 68-72. Bridgton still wasn't
done yet as they took their first lead of the game 78-77, on a Malik Stith (Long
Island, NY) layup with 5:01 to play capping a 10-0 run.
With the
momentum clearly favoring Bridgton, the Wolverines combined some key stops and
scores pulling away from a tie game at 82-82 to capture their 4th NEPSAC
Championship in the last 5 years winning 89-85.
Carl Blair (Katy, TX) led
the charge with 25 points, Malik Stith followed with 18 points, and Jack Houpt
(Chesterton, IN) added 10 points.
When asked for his thoughts after the
game Wolverines Head Coach Whit Lesure said, "I Couldn't be happier for our
guys, and those whose support for our program has meant a great deal"
The
feat of 4 NEPSAC titles in 5 years hasn't been done in almost 30 years. "The
history certainly isn't lost on me, but those guys are more into Gucci, Zoro,
and Taylor Swift then history, and frankly me too" he added.
When asked
how this championship compares to the first three Lesure replied, "It was
certainly the most thrilling and probably most dramatic of our Championship
runs. I don't want to single out individual players because I think this one is
owed more to collective heart. It's good stuff, that's for sure."
Article and photos: Kyle Benner, Bridgton Academy
