3 min read

AUGUSTA — The last time the Camden Hills boys basketball team won a regional championship, Joel Gabriele was leading the team on the floor.

On Friday night, the Windjammers won the Class A North title, with Gabriele still leading, this time on the sidelines as the team’s head coach.

Camden Hills, the No. 1 seed, beat No. 3 Brunswick 60-48 at the Augusta Civic Center. Nolan Ames, a Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist, nearly achieved a triple-double, leading the Windjammers with 21 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. Tucker Whitley scored 13 points, while Kiefer Healey added 12.

“It feels fantastic,” Whitley said. “It’s a dream come true, honestly. Moving on (to states) is an even bigger dream of ours. It’s a fantastic feeling to go out and perform and show our fans that we’ve been dedicated to go out and prevail and go for a win and actually have it.”

The Windjammers (20-1) will meet the Class A South champion — Cheverus or Portland —in the state final next Saturday at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. The last time Camden Hills won a Gold Ball was the 2010-11 season, when a team coached by Jeff Hart (now the school’s athletic director) beat Cape Elizabeth for the Class B championship.

“The emotions are high, because we achieved something that we’ve been working toward for a long time,” Gabriele said. “The boys are hyped. This is going to be a fun ride home. But my message is, ‘One more.’ We’ve got one more (to win).”

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Owen McGrath scored 19 points for Brunswick, which finished 16-5. Brendan Shaw added nine points, while Logan Gray and Owen Quinn each added seven.

Camden Hills ended the first quarter with a 15-13 lead. But Brunswick ran into foul trouble in the second quarter. Camden Hills outscored the Dragons 17-10 and went to halftime with a 32-23 edge.

Ames did most of his scoring at the foul line, where he was 14 for 19. Ames and Whitley (seven rebounds) led Camden Hills on the boards. And Ames consistently found open teammates in the post with no-look passes throughout the second half.

“My teammates know it’s coming, so I might as well do it,” Ames said. “It’s the chemistry on the team (that’s key).”

Ames was far from alone, however, with both Whitley and Thomas Leadbetter (10 points) doing work in the post. Healey was 6 for 6 from the foul line.

“(Leadbetter) is getting rebounds, Whitley is playing amazing defense, (Healey) is drawing fouls and getting to the rim, and Hollis (Schwalm) was a freaking animal,” Ames said. “We just played as a team.”

The Dragons battled throughout, with tough play in the paint from Quinn (seven rebounds) and McGrath. But Brunswick was hurt by fouls and turnovers.

“What’s been so nice about this group is they always compete and we never had to coach effort, and we didn’t have to coach effort tonight,” Brunswick coach Ben Clark said. “It’s a testament to their character and how good they are. They’re a proud group and they do it together. I think they genuinely love each other. They’re a special group. I just wish it ended differently tonight.”

Dave Dyer is in his second stint with the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. Dave was previously with the company from 2012-2015 and returned in late 2016. He spent most of 2016 doing freelance sports...

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