Having coached the Hampden Academy boys basketball team to nine state finals appearances and four gold balls, 21-year head coach Russ Bartlett knows a thing or two about postseason poise.
He says this year’s Bronco team has a lot of it.
Led by four-year starters Zach McLaughlin and JJ Wolfington, Hampden has worked its way back to the Class A state finals despite having no tournament experience since February 2020, when Mr. Basketball Bryce Lausier and company won it all.
“Bryce had already played in a lot of big tournament games by his senior year, whereas Zach and JJ had not,” Bartlett said. “I was very impressed with our poise in all three games — we played like we had a lot of tournament experience when we did not. We never looked rattled, and you could never tell the score from the way we were playing.”
In 2021 and 2022, the Broncos were busy rebuilding, and in 2023 they finished 11-9, good enough to qualify for the first round of the Class AA North playoffs. But their regional quarterfinal loss was played at Cheverus rather than a bigger stage, like a packed Augusta Civic Center or Portland Expo.
Last summer, Hampden moved back down to Class A due to enrollment size, and was the preseason favorite to win A North over Messalonskee, which is exactly what played out last Friday night in Augusta.
Down 30-20 in the third quarter and having trailed Messalonskee the entire game, McLaughlin and the Broncos clutched up in crunch time, taking a 44-43 lead with 17 seconds to play and holding on for the victory.
It was Hampden’s eleventh regional title in school history, and ninth since 2005.
“Down 30-20 it was an opportunity for the kids to hang their heads and be beaten, but they never changed their effort or their attitude,” Bartlett said. “Credit to the kids, they stayed very even keeled — never got high or too low — and that’s one reason why we’re still playing.”
Another reason why Hampden will be playing in the state finals versus Gray-New Gloucester at the Portland Cross Arena on Saturday afternoon is the maturity of their role players this year, especially considering the nagging heel injury McLaughlin has been dealing with.
McLaughlin’s bone bruise from early January kept him out of Hampden’s final four regular season games, and he has been limited in practice for the last month, including exemption from 5-on-5 scrimmages.
“Zach’s health was a big concern coming into the tournament. But we’ve managed through it, keeping his conditioning up, and talking with the trainer on a daily basis,” Bartlett said. “I was curious how roles would change, and Aiden, Liam and Sawyer all became a little bit better offensively — more aggressive and more assertive — which has definitely helped us. Since Zach’s return, they’ve given us that third extra punch that we need.”
On the year, McLaughlin and Wolfington have combined for 39 points, 7.6 assists and 13.7 rebounds per game, but junior Aiden Kochendoerfer has chipped in an additional 7.7 ppg, sophomore Liam Henaghen is Hampden’s leading shot blocker (7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 blocks per game), and sophomore guard Sawyer Worcester is Hampden’s leading assist man and 3-point shooter (5.6 points, 4.7 assists per game).
Against Camden Hills in the regional semifinals, Henaghen posted a game-high 19 points, plus four assists, three offensive rebounds and a block; Kochendoerfer added nine points, four assists and four rebounds.
Against Skowhegan in the regional quarterfinals, McLaughlin was the headliner with 40 points, but starting Worcester hit some key threes down the stretch to keep the Broncos ahead in the 64-58 win.
“It’s been a grind to get through the tournament. Every game was highly competitive, and we’ll see if we can get one more W,” Bartlett said. “Every season’s a little bit different, but I feel like these guys grew up watching a lot of high quality basketball games, and now it’s their turn to see what they can do. I’m really excited for them.”