Valley’s Levi Short shoots over Temple defender Peyton Reckards during a Class D South quarterfinal Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA – Reiley Hedden spun off his defender, turned to the basket and saw an opening.
“So I just shot it,” the Telstar/Gould senior guard said. “I knew it was going in, too.”
And it did. The 3-pointer – his sixth of the game – put the Rebels up 69-67 with about a minute left in overtime of a Class D South boys basketball quarterfinal game Saturday against Wiscasset.
No. 3 Telstar/Gould (14-5) prevailed, 74-67, to reach the regional semifinals. No. 6 Wiscasset, which led by three with under 40 seconds to play in regulation, finished 11-8.
Brody Morgan, also a senior, scored 29 points for the Rebels.
It was the most entertaining game of the Class D South session at the Augusta Civic Center, and by a long shot. In boys action, No. 2 St. Dominic sank No. 7 Forest Hills 75-53. Top-seeded Valley had no problem dispatching No. 8 Temple Academy, 71-27.
The top-seeded Valley girls also advanced to the semifinals with a 68-12 win over Waynflete.
One of a kind
Hedden, who finished with 26 points, is the lone Gould Academy student on the Telstar/Gould co-op team.
“It’s different,” he acknowledged, “but I grew up with a lot of these guys. … It’s been tough at times, because my schedule didn’t really line up. We made it work, though.”
Hedden buried three 3-pointers in the first quarter and sank a big one to put the Rebels up 56-55 with about three minutes left in regulation. His fast-break layup off a turnover made it a 58-55 game. This 3-pointer in overtime started an 8-0 run to close the game.
“It was getting dire for us,” Telstar/Gould coach Ryan Kimbell said. “But our mental fortitude has improved all year. Reiley, he’s not afraid of the pressure or the moment. As they say, shooters are going to shoot. And he shot it.”
The Rebels will play St. Dominic in a semifinal game at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Collision course?
No. 1 Valley and No. 2 St. Dom’s are barreling toward another showdown in the Class D South boys final.
The Cavaliers defeated the Saints 45-36 in the regional final last season.
“(Valley) is getting a lot of attention, as they should,” St. Dom’s coach Josh LaPrell said. “After last year, we want to get another shot. It’s interesting, too, because our schools are far enough away from each other so we don’t hear about them much.”
Valley is in Bingham, almost a two-hour drive from St. Dominic, in Auburn.
Valley’s Kamdyn Conrad, left, plays defense as Temple Academy’s Gabe Young passes during a Class D South boys basketball quarterfinal game Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
The Saints used their size and athleticism to dominate Forest Hills. Taylor Varney scored 16 points and John Brocke added 15.
“We just did what we do,” Varney said.
The Saints and Cavs, of course, have to get through the regional semifinals before they’d meet again. The teams did not play each other in the regular season.
“It’s also interesting because we don’t play Class D teams,” LaPrell said. “We played 13 Class C teams and five Class B teams. Our first Class D games are in the tournament. We used to play Buckfield and Pine Tree Academy, but when they moved to the East-West Conference, it sort of closed it out.”
The Saints compete in the Western Maine Conference.
“We have what it takes,” Varney said.
On the road
Valley girls coach Gordon Hartwell said his team was well-prepared to face Waynflete on Saturday, thanks to a little advanced scouting.
The Cavaliers (19-0) didn’t play the Flyers in the regular season.
Valley’s Delia Hill celebrates after time ran out in her team’s win over Temple Academy during a Class D South girls basketball quarterfinal game Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“We went on the road to scout them,” Hartwell said. “We saw them at Monmouth and at St. Dom’s. We had to. You have to do this stuff. We go on the road all the time for games anyway.”
What did the Cavs learn?
“We saw they like to run this little trap,” Hartwell said. “We scouted it and then practiced it. We thought they might try it on us, which they did. We were ready for it.”
Gordon’s granddaughter, freshman guard Liana Hartwell, led all scorers with 17 points.
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