BANGOR, Maine — The Class B defending champion Orono Red Riots will continue their push for a third straight title after holding off the Hermon Hawks 60-43 Friday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
Junior guard Brady Hews led the way for Orono with 22 points in the game. Hermon junior guard Carter Wiggin matched him to lead the Hawks with 22 of his own.
Will Francis and Bergen Soderberg both added 13 for Orono on their way to victory Friday night.
The game was closer than the final score.
Orono led 28-21 at the half, and Hermon kept it tight to start the third quarter by whittling the Red Riot lead to two points at 28-26 with 5:53 left to play in the third.
That’s when Hews took over, scoring five straight points for the Red Riots. Along with a big and-1 from Soderberg, senior forward Francis added to the momentum with a block that he followed up with a drive and finish for two more points.
Orono stretched the lead to 12 to start the fourth quarter up 46-34, but the Hawks would not go away. Three straight buckets by Hermon cut the lead to six points with less than five minutes to play.
Soderberg then stepped up to put the game beyond reach. The junior guard calmly knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, bumping Orono’s lead back up to 12 and setting up a comfortable ending for the returning champs.
Orono will play next at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Cross Center in Bangor. Hermon ends the season with a 9-10 record after Friday night’s game.
