AUGUSTA — The Hampden Academy boys basketball team may have started slow, but it finished strong on Wednesday night to secure a place in the Class A North final.
The No. 1 Broncos outscored No. 5 Camden Hills by a 20-9 margin in the fourth quarter to win 64-48 in an A North semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
Liam Henaghen led Hampden (18-2) with 19 points, while JJ Wolfington scored 18 points and Zach McLaughlin added 15. Wolfington also had eight rebounds. The Broncos will meet No. 3 Messalonskee in the regional final at 7:45 on Friday night in Augusta.
“It always feels great to get a win and move on (in the tournament),” McLaughlin said. “The boys played great. Liam Henaghen, a sophomore, was our leading scorer. Everybody put the pieces together tonight and got the job done. It feels good.”
Hampden Academy’s JJ Wolfington (33) goes for a layup against Camden Hills during a Class A North boys basketball semifinal game Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel
Camden Hills (11-9) was led by Will Duke, who scored 18 points, while Nolan Ames added 10 points.
Though Hampden had the lead throughout much of the game, action on the floor was back-and-forth between both teams for the first three quarters. Camden Hills even managed to tie the game 35-35 in the third quarter, off a 3-pointer by Duke.
“I wasn’t really happy with the way we played, but we found a way to win,” Hampden head coach Russ Bartlett said. “(Camden Hills) sped us up some, that’s what their pressure (defense) is supposed to do. When we started looking down the floor, we saw a lot of layups. Unfortunately, we didn’t start looking down the floor until the fourth quarter. I thought their guards made some nice shots and kept them in the game. We really didn’t separate until late in the game.”
But the Broncos found their groove in the fourth quarter. Henaghen, Wolfington and Aiden Kochendoerfer each scored six points to seal the game.
“We have two really good senior leaders (in the starting five),” Bartlett said. “The other three has been able to carry that little extra load, like Liam did tonight. The other night, Sawyer (Worcester) did. It’s not always the same guy, but they’ve found opportunities. Liam did a great job finishing tonight, he was in the right spot at the right time, we looked down the court, and he did a great job putting the ball in the basket.”
With the win, Hampden makes a clean sweep of Camden Hills for the season. The Broncos beat the Windjammers 74-51 on Dec. 28 and 59-47 on Feb. 3.
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