Top-seeded Camden Hills got another solid scoring night from senior guard Nolan Ames, who worked hard for 21 points, and saw three other players reach double figures on the way to a 60-48 win over third-seeded Brunswick in the Class A North regional final at the August Civic Center Friday night.
Camden Hills (20-1) will be seeking its sixth gold ball in school history on Feb. 28 when it takes on the winner of Saturday’s Class A South final between No. 5 Cheverus and No. 6 Portland at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
Ames grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 11 assists to spearhead the Windjammers attack against a physical Brunswick team. His 3-point play on a driving layup and free throw capped a 9-5 run at the start of the third quarter that pushed Camden Hills’ lead to 41-28.
Junior guard Keifer Healey sparked that crucial third-quarter run by hitting a lane jumpshot, a driving layup, and a pretty reverse layup off a pass from Ames. Healey finished with 12 points.
Clockwise, from left: Camden Hills head coach Joel Gabriele signals to the Camden faithful in the stands to give it up for his boys team after winning the Class A North Championship game against Brunswick High School at the Augusta Civic Center on Friday evening.Camden HIlls faithful fans turned out in force to cheer on their boys basketball team in the Class A North Championship game Friday evening against Brunswick High School at the Augusta Civic Center.; Keifer Healey of Camden works to get by Gabriel Purnell-Amaea in the second half of the Class A North Championship game against Brunswick High School. Credit: Josh O’Donnell / BDN
Camden’s Tucker Whitley contributed 13 points and 9 rebounds and Thomas Leadbetter added 10 points and 7 rebounds to give the Windjammers a chance to make some more school history.
“Camden Hills basketball has a rich history in terms of getting here but I told the guys first thing this morning in shootaround we’ve never done this in Class A,” said Windjammers coach Joel Gabriele. “So we wanted to be trailblazers in that way and we went out and did it. “
The Windjammers took a 32-23 lead into halftime, thanks to 13 points from Ames and a defensive effort that helped force 12 turnovers.
Brunswick (16-5) closed within 54-45 with 2:10 to play in the game on a Logan Gray basket. But the Dragons had to start fouling and hoping the Windjammers would miss. Ames hit four of seven free throws down the stretch to hold off a comeback.
“It was definitely a battle but we were prepared,” Ames said after the win. “We took it head on and that’s what we wanted to do.”
Owen McGrath led Brunswick with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
