AUGUSTA, ME – FEBRUARY 19: The Hampden Academy bench reacts to a play during a basketball game against Brewer High School on Wednesday February 19, 2020 jn Augusta.Staff photo by Andy Molloy Kennebec Journal photo by Andy Molloy Buy this Photo
AUGUSTA — Two tournament outings, two close calls. Each time, the top-seeded Broncos have narrowly survived.
Sophomore center T.J. Henaghen scored three of his game-high 18 points the old-fashioned way with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, handing Hampden the lead for the final time en route to a 54-52 win over No. 5 Brewer in a Class A North semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center. The Broncos (19-1) will meet No. 2 Cony in Friday’s regional championship.
Hampden was trailing at halftime against No. 8 Mt. Blue in the regional quarterfinals last Saturday before rallying in the second half.
Brewer appeared to have taken the lead with three seconds remaining when Kyle Goodrich hit a 3-pointer from the right side, but the Witches had already called for a timeout to negate the basket. Trevor Pearson (12 points) missed a contested attempt to tie the score just before the final buzzer.
Brewer (13-7) led by as many as nine in the third quarter before Hampden began chipping away at the lead. After Bryce Lausier (13 points) scored four consecutive points to hand the Broncos a 51-50 lead with two minutes remaining, but the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s leading scorer fouled out on a second charging call 50 seconds later.
Henaghen put the game-winning points on the board with 22 seconds remaining, hauling down a miss from teammate Brandon Cole (10 points) and getting fouled on the successful put-back attempt for a 53-52 lead. Henaghen also made the foul shot.
Colby Smith lead Brewer with 15 points.
The Witches led by six at halftime and by three (47-44) through three quarters.
Hampden will play for the regional title for the second time in three years.
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