Congratulations on a great season
Sports Reporter
BANGOR – Thursday’s Eastern Maine Class D boys semifinal came down to two big plays in the final 30 seconds, and both involved Fort Fairfield junior forward Travis Noyes.
With the score knotted at 35, Noyes displayed his defensive skills by getting his hands on a ball shown by Shead’s Carlos Smith and forcing a tie-up, with the possession arrow in the Fort’s favor. At the other end of the court, Noyes got the ball down low and was fouled driving to the basket with 13 seconds left. He sunk both foul shots, and after Shead’s Tyler Mitchell hit just 1 of 2 from the line with less than a second remaining, Fort Fairfield squeaked out a 37-36 victory.
“Travis has arms that go forever and very quick hands,” said Fort Fairfield coach Todd Alley on Noyes’ late heroics. “If anybody shows him the basketball, he’s able to get his hands in there and you would have to chew his arm off for him to let go of it.
“When we got the ball back, he was facing a box-and-one defense and he had his man sealed. He has such great back-to-the-basket moves for someone his size and he made a great move. In order to stop him, they had to foul and I had faith in him at the free throw line.”
Noyes was quiet in the first half. In fact, he did not get a single shot off and also got very few touches. That turned around after intermission. He was much more involved on offense, hitting a three-pointer early in the third to ignite a 7-0 run that turned a four-point halftime lead into a 26-15 advantage. Senior center John McNamee did most of the damage in the first five minutes of the quarter, using his 6-5 frame to total three field goals in the span.
However, Shead scored the final six points of the third quarter to close to within 30-26 and kept the momentum to tie the game at 35 on a drive by Caleb Ricker with 1:50 remaining in the game.
Tightness became a factor for Fort, who committed seven turnovers and went just 2 of 10 from the floor from midway through the third until the end of the game.
“Nerves definitely came into play,” said senior guard Josh Churchill. “You have a chance to go to the Eastern Maine title game, you’re pretty nervous.”
Then it was Noyes’ turn to shine and despite playing on a sore ankle injured during the team’s final regular season game against Washburn Feb. 4, he came through.
“He wants the game in his hands when it comes to crunch time,” Alley said.
Fort Fairfield started slowly, mustering only two points in a methodical first quarter and not reaching double figures until Jahleel Williams banked in a three-pointer to give Fort its first lead (12-11) with three minutes left in the half. McNamee and Williams followed with field goals before Booth drained a three-pointer with 11 seconds left before intermission, making it 19-15 in favor of Fort Fairfield.
McNamee was Fort Fairfield’s only double-digit scorer in the game, finishing with 12 points to go along with nine rebounds. Noyes totaled seven points, all in the second half, while Booth had six and Williams and Churchill five each.
David Medeiros, Shead’s point guard, scored a game-high 20 points – many coming on drives to the basket.
“[Fort Fairfield] is a good team with a great inside-outside game,” Shead coach Dean Preston said. “We just hoped to keep it close and maybe pull it out in the end. The ball didn’t bounce our way. We made a good run to get back into the game, but we just fell short.”
AND THE CROWD GOES WILD — Fort Fairfield fans celebrate the boys semifinal victory over Shead.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
SOARING — Tiger Jaheel Williams, middle, puts up a jumper over the arms of Shead’s Carlos Smith.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
PEP TALK — Tiger coach Todd Alley speaks to his team during Fort Fairfield’s championship game with Schenck.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
DRIVING — Tiger Josh Churchill, right, dribbles past Shead’s Carlos Smith during Fort Fairfield’s semifinal game.
