Marshwood falls in Class A South championship; Here are 4 takeaways from the game

PORTLAND, Maine - For the second consecutive year, the Marshwood High School boys basketball team saw its season end to Falmouth in the Class A South championship game.

On Friday night, in front of a packed Portland Expo, the third-seeded Hawks fell to No. 1 Falmouth, 40-31 in the regional title game. Marshwood ended its season with a record of 15-6, while the Navigators advance to next Friday's Class A state championship game.

Falmouth beat Marshwood in last year's title game, 48-32. And this year, the teams split the regular-season series with each team winning on the road.

"I'm super proud of the team and the seniors," Marshwood head coach Bobby Pratt said. "I thought they played hard, they competed. Just ultimately couldn't put the ball in the bucket."

"We both played and fought pretty hard," Marshwood senior Andrew Perry said after the game. "Falmouth came out and their defense was strong while our shots weren't falling."

Marshwood plays to the very end

Marshwood entered the fourth quarter trailing by eight points, 27-19 and were staring at its final 8 minutes with the hopes of putting together a late rally.

The fourth quarter began with a Jared Herrin layup, assisted by Lane to cut the lead to 27-21, but the six-point deficit is the closest the Hawks got in the closing quarter.

"Just leave it all out there," Pratt said of the pre-quarter conversations. "Eight minutes later, especially where we were at, we played all the seniors. Love how they responded and didn't quit. It kind of shows that Marshwood basketball keeps playing until the last second. I'm really proud of how they competed the entire game, especially that fourth quarter."

"Our goal was to just come out for the guys and just try to make some easy buckets and get stops," Perry said.

Quick run in second quarter for Hawks

Down 13-8 with 4:54 left in the first half, and fresh out of a Marshwood timeout, the Hawks went on a quick 5-0 run to tie the game at 13-13.

First, it was Perry who missed a layup, but as he often does, grabbed the offensive rebound and put the shot back up for the layup to cut the lead to 13-10 with 4:05 left in the half.

Forty-two seconds later, as the Hawks were pushing the ball off a Falmouth miss, Cooper Aiguier found David Lane ahead of the pack, and Lane put up a 3-pointer from the right wing and was fouled on the jump shot. Lane missed the 3-point shot, but nailed all three free throws, tying the game at 13-13.

"It was huge, we knew it was going to be a challenge to score," Pratt said. "So that was a good momentum swing, and it certainly gave us some good energy."

Following the trend

Both teams scored at least 50 points in 11 of their 18 games in the regular season, but neither team cracked the 50-point mark in the two matchups against each other.

Friday's game started the same way as only 31 total points were scored in the first half, with Falmouth leading 18-13 at halftime.

Additionally, the Hawks knew it would have to sit in defensive stances for long periods of time as Falmouth likes to patiently get into its offense.

"I think both teams are defensive-minded," Pratt said. "(Falmouth) contested every shot. I can't really remember any easy looks we had, and we knew that coming in. They're physical, really well-coached and talented, so we knew it was going to be a defensive battle, and just the way we knew the game was going to be played."

Perry added, "honestly, it's whichever team's defense plays the hardest is who wins the game," he said. "And they just came out really strong today."

Another trip under its belt

It wasn't the result the Hawks wanted with a loss in the regional finals, but Marshwood should be proud of the season it put together.

"Just a great season from beginning to end," Pratt said. "Great seniors, and leadership. Obviously, we're going to sit back and reflect on the season. We're hurting now, it's tough in (the locker room), but I can't be more proud of that group for what they did all year. Some great memories, some great games and a lot of good wins."

Marshwood will return eight players next season.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Marshwood boys basketball falls to Falmouth in regional championship