BANGOR, Maine- The Forest Hills Tigers used a balanced scoring effort and built a 15 point third quarter lead, but then had to hold on for 70-65 win over the Schenck Wolverines in a Maine Principals’ Association Class D boys state championship game at the Cross Insurance Center Saturday afternoon. The win caps off a perfect undefeated season for the Tigers of Jackman.
Schenck jumped out early to a 6-0 lead in a back and forth tight first quarter. Freshman Kaden Hannan and Tyrone Davis started the game off with back to back three pointers, before Forest Hills settled in. The Tigers scored eight of the next 10 points to tie it 8-8, but a late three by Hannan put the Wolverines back ahead 16-14 at the end of the opening quarter. Hannan had 11 of those points for Schenck, while Brandon Gilboe had 10 of the 14 for Forest Hills. The game would remain tight in the second quarter, before Forest Hills made a run before halftime to widen the margin a bit. With the score 21-18 Tigers, the South champs went on a 12-2 spurt led by a three pointer by Parker Desjardins and six points from Dalton Gregoire to make it 33-20. Travis Thompson scored a pair of buckets for Schenck before the break to make it 33-24.
The Wolverines only could get within seven in the third quarter, and when Jakob Rivas hit a three pointer and Gregoire hit 1-2 from the line the Tigers built their biggest lead of the contest at 46-31. Forest Hills led 54-39 after three quarters of play. Schenck put together their best quarter in the fourth scoring 26 points, led by seven from Thompson, and six a piece from Isaac Adams and Hannan to cut into the lead. But for the Wolverines there simply wasn’t enough time. They cut the lead down to seven, before the Tigers hit 5-6 from the line to push it back to a 10 point lead. A basket by Thompson and a three pointer from Davis late made the final deficit of five as the last few seconds ticked away. Forest Hills wins their third Class D state title, with the last one coming in 2015. The Tigers have won three of the four state finals they have been in.
Forest Hills (22-0) put four of their five starters in double figures. Gregoire and Desjardins both had 18 points, while Gilboe and Rivas both had 15. Gilboe added six rebounds, while Rivas added five before fouling out in the fourth quarter. The Tigers hit 10-13 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to help ice the win. Hannan led Schenck with a game high 22 points and five rebounds. Hannan connected on 6 three pointers in the game, before also fouling out in the fourth quarter. Thompson finished his Wolverines career with 14 second half points to finish with 20 points. The senior forward also added eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Davis also chipped in 11 points and five rebounds. Schenck was making their second ever appearance in a Class D state final, winning it back in 2010. The Wolverines won the gold ball five times in Class C previously, with the last one in 1995. The fourth seed coming into the Northern Maine Tournament had wins over Northern top seeds Woodland and Jonesport-Beals to reach the state title game, finishing their season at 14-8.
The Forest Hills boys basketball team takes an opportunity to take a photo with the gold basketball, moments after defeating Schenck in the Class D state title game in Bangor on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Photo by Chris Lessner (click to enlarge)
FHL 14 19 21 16- 70
SCH 16 8 15 26- 65
Rebounds- Forest Hills 25 Schenck 23
Free throws- Forest Hills 18-24 Schenck 4-8
Turnovers- Forest Hills 21 Schenck 22
