Emerging depth helps Bangor to pointworthy victory

The Bangor High School boys basketball team enters a weeklong break in its schedule coming off perhaps its most satisfying victory of the season to date, a 66-64 Class AA North decision at Windham on Monday.
Not only did the win move coach Carl Parker’s club past Windham and into second place in the division behind two-time defending state champion Portland, it marked an example of the gradually emerging depth on the Rams’ senior-less roster.
All-Maine junior forward Matt Fleming was the star of the game, scoring a career-high 45 points overall including 20 of his team’s 24 points in the fourth quarter as Bangor outscored the Eagles 24-20.
But with junior guards Damien Vance and Noah Missbrenner having fouled out, Parker turned to his inexperienced bench and got valuable contributions from junior guard Luke Caruso, junior forwards Carter Khoury and Riley Nason and sophomore guard Nathan Richardson while rallying against a Windham team that led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter.
The victory against a Windham team that entered the game with an 8-2 record — including a 73-63 victory at Bangor on Dec. 16 — leaves the Rams 6-4 this season and winner of 12 of its last 16 games overall dating back to last year’s season-ending six-game winning streak.
Bangor, now 0.9259 Heal points ahead of No. 3 Windham, is idle until a Jan. 23 home game against Class A Nokomis.
Nokomis is 6-5 and ranked seventh in Class A North after a 60-41 win at Brewer on Monday.

Ernie Clark

About Ernie Clark

I'm a veteran sportswriter who has worked with the Bangor Daily News for more than a decade. A four-time Maine Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, my coverage areas range from high school sports to mixed martial arts.