BANGOR, Maine- The Winthrop Ramblers outscored the Houlton Shiretowners 41-25 in the second half Saturday night, en route to a 61-49 win in a Maine Principals’ Association Class C boys state championship game at the Cross Insurance Center. For Winthrop, it is their first appearance in the state final since a heartbreaking 47-44 loss in Bangor in 2017 to George Stevens Academy, and their first win in a final game since 2008.
In the first quarter the two teams would swap leads twice, with Winthrop holding the biggest at three points. After falling behind 8-7, Ramblers guard Cameron Hachey nailed one from just inside half court as the buzzer sounded to make it 10-8 Winthrop after the first eight minutes. Houlton went on a run to start the second, highlighted by three pointers from Nolan Porter and Nick Brewer, part of a 8-2 spurt to make it 16-12 Shires. Winthrop responded right back however on a bucket underneath by Cameron Wood, and a 2-2 effort from the line by Wood to tie it back up 16-16. A three pointer from one of the Shires key bench players Caleb Solomon put Houlton back in front and they would hold the lead into the half 24-20.
Winthrop came out fired up in the third quarter and started a quick 6-0 run, keyed by two baskets from Wood wedged around one by Sam Figueroa, to push the Ramblers back into a lead that they would never relinquish. Houlton did come back to tie the game late in the quarter on baskets from Solomon and Keegan Gentle, but the Ramblers Jevin Smith scored one under the hoop with just seconds remaining to give Winthrop a 38-36 edge headed to the fourth quarter. Down four, Houlton got a basket in the fourth by Brewer to cut it to just two at 43-41 three minutes in. The next two scores were pivotal ones and both came from Winthrop. Nate Leblanc knocked down a three pointer with 4:40 to play, followed up 1:25 later by a three point basket from Hachey to make it a 49-41 advantage. The Shires never got closer than eight points the rest of the way, and the Ramblers made 8-10 foul shots down the stretch to eventually pull ahead for the games largest lead of 12 which was the final margin of victory.
Wood finished with a double double for the 21-1 Ramblers, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Hachey scored all 12 of his points from the three point arc (4 three pointers). Figueroa also chipped in with nine points. Gentle finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Shiretowners, including 14 in the second half. Brewer had 14 points and six rebounds, and Solomon chipped in 10 points including a pair of three pointers off the bench. Houlton, the fourth seeded North regional champs, finished with a record of 18-5.
Members of the Winthrop boys basketball team take a moment with the gold basketball after defeating Houlton to win the Class C state title in Bangor on Saturday, March 2. Photo by Chris Lessner (click to enlarge)
WIN 10 10 18 23- 61
HOU 8 16 12 13- 49
Rebounds- Winthrop 28 Houlton 21
Free throws- Winthrop 10-17 Houlton 9-17
Turnovers- Winthrop 12 Houlton 9
