BANGOR — It was billed as a matchup of two high-octane teams, ones that were likely to treat fans to a scintillating show in the final game of the 2024-25 Maine high school basketball season.
One of those teams was going to win the first state championship in program history — and from the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Mt. Abram Roadrunners made it clear it was going to be them.
Mt. Abram captured the Class C title with a 74-48 win over Mattanawcook Academy on Saturday at Cross Insurance Center. The Roadrunners never trailed, and led by 20-plus points most of the way in a dominant victory over the previously unbeaten Lynx.
“It’s so surreal; I can’t believe it’s happened,” said Mt. Abram’s Brennan Mitchell, who had game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (10). “The community is all here, and they love it. Everyone’s hugging.”
Bryce Wilcox added 15 points and six rebounds, and Reagan Lockaby had 15 points and five rebounds.
Kooper McCarthy had team-highs in points (13) and rebounds (eight) for Mattanawcook.
For two high-scoring teams with plenty of shooting and athleticism, this game didn’t get off to the start some might have expected. After Chase Ross hit a 3-pointer for Mt. Abram (21-1) in the opening minute, the only points over the next three minutes came on a Weatherbee layup.
Then, the Roadrunners got hot.
Mt. Abram went on a 9-0 run to end the first quarter before Mattanawcook (21-1) hit a pair of technical free throws. The Roadrunners picked up right where they left off in the second quarter, with a 10-0 run highlighted by two Wilcox 3-pointers resulting in a 24-4 lead.
“Once we get going, you can’t stop us,” Lockaby said. “That’s the amazing thing about Mt. Abram boys basketball. … We just worked so hard to get here, and we wanted to make sure we played our best.”
Mt. Abram continued to do so the second half, leading by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter. Even as Mattanwcook’s offense found a rhythm, the Roadrunners always seemed to have an answer at the other end.
Much of that was the result of Mt. Abram’s play inside. Between the 6-foot-5 Lockaby and 6-4 Mitchell, the Roadrunners overwhelmed Mattanawcook in the paint — and when the Lynx tried to key on the front-court duo, Mt. Abram kicked it out for 3-pointers from Wilcox and Ross.
“It’s all about matchups, and I felt those two were tough matchups (for Mattanawcook),” said Mt. Abram coach Jeff Pillsbury. “They’ve also got to honor Killian (Pillsbury) and Chase, and they can’t guard everyone. We got the ball to them in tough spots, and they got some nice putbacks.”
Mattanawcook, which entered Saturday averaging 77.1 points per game, finished with its lowest scoring output of the season (previous low was 51 vs. Mount View in the North quarterfinals). The Lynx went 1 of 19 to start the game and ultimately finished 15 of 54 from the field.
Mattanawcook coach Adam Mahaney noted that, while his team had been dominant all season, the Lynx were still a young team without much experience on this stage. He hopes this loss can be a driving force for a team that’s expected to return four of five starters next season.
“I think the feeling after this game is that (our players are) going to grow, they’re going to learn from it, and they’re going to be hungry to get back at it,” Mahaney said. “We just didn’t have our A-game today, but we’re young, and hopefully, we’re back here again next year.”
For Mt. Abram, the Gold Ball was a coveted one. After the school was consolidated in 1969, it took 56 years for the Roadrunners to reach this stage. After tough losses in the regional semifinals two years ago and in the regional final last year, they finally got to a state final — and won emphatically.
“It’s a lot of relief because I’ve been waiting for one of these for a long time,” Jeff Pillsbury said. “I played for Mt. Abram, and I have two older boys that played for Mt. Abram, so it’s been a long time coming, and I’m just so happy for our kids and our community. It’s hard to describe, but it’s pretty sweet.”
With Mt. Abram’s victory, all four state champs crowned in Bangor on Saturday were first-time winners. The Valley girls and St. Dom’s boys won their first titles in Class D in the afternoon, and the Penobscot Valley girls won their first in Class C.
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