BA Advances to Final Round of Sun Youth Tournament

The basketball team traveled to Montreal this past weekend to participate in the Sun Youth Tournament. Upon arrival the team won their initial games to advance to the Championship round against Lee Academy. Bridgton led by 2 points with under one minute in play. They had battled back from trailing most of the game, behind 44-36 at the half. In the end, BA lost then game to Lee Academy 78-73. In advancing to the final round, BA defeated Dawson College, Sun Youth, and Algonquin College. BA heads into break with a 12-5 record. They will be back in action January 9th, 2012.

BA Tops South Kent 68-63

The Wolverines came together Saturday afternoon to defeat the Cardinal of South Kent 68-63 in North Bridgton. BA Trailed for the final ten minutes of the first half, and ended with a score of 31-25 at the half. Bridgton then fell behind by double digits before mounting a stead come from behind effort. It was a big win for Bridgton Academy as they improve to 2-1 in the league and 9-4 overall.

BA Drops Close Game to MCI 84-75

Bridgton failed to protect a lead in their home game against MCI in the late stages in the second half and as a result dropped their first league game of the season. BA took an early lead in the double digits and stayed strong for the better part of the first half. However, MCI was able to fight back and take the lead before BA used a late run to lead 45-42 at the half. Heading into the final minutes of the game, BA still held a 72-64 lead. Both teams put up a good fight, but MCI was able to overtake the Wolverines and secure the 84-75 victory.

BA Steals OT Win From New Hampton

The Wolverines picked up an exciting win on the road defeating New Hampton 88-86 in overtime. At the half, BA lead 37-36 after building and early lead to start the game. In the second half, the plat was tightly contested with BA unable to seal a victory with a missed free throw late in the game. Not to mention some clutch buckets made by the home squad, setting up the dramatic finish. In the league, BA is now 1-0 and 8-3 overall.

The Wolverines will host MCI at home on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M.

Wolverines Split in Hoop Mt. Classic

The basketball team traveled to Connecticut this past weekend to participate in the Hoop Mountain Classic. BA started out with a close 96-95 overtime loss to Mont Clare Academy (PA). After halftime Bridgton was down by 13, but rallied back to tie up them game. With less then a minute left, BA took a five point lead. With a tie at end of regulation time, Bridgton was not able to capitalize in the overtime and dropped the first game.

In the second game, Bridgton took on Marianapolis and won this game with a score of 88-78. Going into the second half, Bridgton had a commanding 10 point lead. By the end, they had increased their lead to 17 points before Marianapolis attempted a last minute comeback. With this win, Bridgton has a winning record of 7-3.

Monday night the team will travel to New Hampton to open the regular AAA season.

BA Defeats St. Johns Military Academy (WI) 74-7

The Wolverines mounted a spirited second half rally to overtake St.
Johns Military in a close game down to the wire on Friday afternoon at
the National Prep School Showcase (CT) on the campus of Albertus
Magnus College. BA trailed at the half 41-30 before pulling things
together midway through the second half and winning the tight game in
the final minutes. Bridgton is now 5-1 on the season and faces
Hargrave Military Academy (vA) on Saturday morning before heading to
Thanksgiving break. Look for online links to this showcase in the
coming days.

BA Wins Home Opener 93-77

Bridgton Academy tightened up its play at both ends of the court in the second half to defeat the visitors for their first home victory of the early season. The first half was back and forth with Lee earning a 44-43 advantage at the half. BA played perhaps its finest twenty minutes of the year taking the lead midway through the second half and extending on the advantage in the final minutes. The victory improves the BA record to 4-1 on the season. The Wolverines travel to New Haven CT this weekend to participate in the annual National Prep School Showcase.

BA Makes it to Final Round in Kiski Prep Classic

Bridgton Academy made the long journey this past weekend to participate in the Kiski Prep Classic. They put up a good performance, making it to the Championship game. Read below to see Coach Lesure's recaps of the games.

BA HOOPS WINS OPENER AT KISKI PREP CLASSIC

Bridgton Academy defeated TCBA Prep 80-41 in the first game of the Kiski Prep Classic to begin the 2011-2012 season. BA jumped out to a big first half lead and never let up to overmatch their first opponent of the new year.

WOLVERINES GAIN 2^ND WIN

BA simply had too much fire-power for the Kiski “B” team in game two of the pre-season tournament and advanced in the tournament with a convincing 75-29 victory setting up a semi-final round game vs. NIA Prep on Saturday night.

BRIDGTON ACADEMY DEFEATS NIA 82-44 TO ADVANCE TO FINAL

In a game that figured to be much closer, BA played two good halves and simply overwhelmed rival NIA Prep (NJ) on Saturday evening. The Wolverines led by twenty at the break and extended on their lead throughout the second half.

KISKI OVERTAKES BA IN OVERTIME OF PRE-SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP 106-93

BA received an early season lesson in humble road pie as the host Cougars roared back from a twenty point deficit in the first half to defeat the Wolverines in what can only be described as a wild affair. Bridgton Academy seemed to have the game well in hand in both halves but the tough minded hosts proved no easy mark and seized the momentum of a valiant comeback to force overtime late in the contest and outlast the visiting Wolverines who suffered their first loss of the season in a disappointing and dramatic fashion.

2011-2012 Season Preview

Are you getting excited for the upcoming season?? So are we! Here is a quick pre-season write up by New England Basketball Recruiting Report for what to expect from the 2011-2012 season, make sure to check it out. Schedules, rosters, player profiles, photos, and much more to come!

BA Enters Final Weeks

With the season over Bridgton Academy has entered the final quarter of the year. With the team focusing on academics, everyone is making big decisions for next year.

BRIDGTON BLITZED IN NEPSAC PLAYOFF

Bridgton Academy traveled down to Endicott College MA on Wednesday afternoon and was defeated by New Hampton 106-78 in a NEPSAC AAA Quarter-Final playoff game. Both teams started the game a bit slowly but New Hampton gained energy, built a comfortable double digit lead, and things got only worse for the Wolverines as the bottom fell out in a first half that couldn’t end soon enough facing a huge deficit 50-20.

BA mounted an intriguing comeback effort in the first ten minutes of the second half, cutting the lead to 18 with more than fourteen minutes to play in the contest. With a couple chances to pull closer, missed shots and clutch 3’s by New Hampton ended the desperate hopes and ultimately the season for Bridgton Academy. The team’s final twenty minutes was certainly a small bit of consolation but larger dose of personal pride for the young men who scrapped through a roller coaster season.

Coach Lesure was disappointed in the overall performance but offered praise for his team. “It doesn’t always go the way you hope, and while I wouldn’t anticipate the start to this game, it happens, and our guys re-grouped at halftime and showed commendable intelligence and courage in the second half. We approached it like a special situation, a crisis, and we tried to manage it the best we could”.

In the NEPSAC AAA Semi-finals on Friday night, New Hampton will face St. Thomas More, while MCI will take on Brewster.

BRIDGTON DEFEATS WINCHENDON 91-75

Bridgton Academy completed its regular season by playing one of its best games of the year in defeating Winchendon 91-75 on Saturday afternoon. BA took advantage of a fast start and led throughout the first twenty minutes enjoying a double digit advantage at the half 44-32. Winchendon rallied several times in the second half but the Wolverines responded each time and used a 25-28 performance at the free throw line to seal the victory. Donnie Hale’s season high 35 points paced the offense, with Ryan Martin (24 points) and Nebby Exantus (17 points) adding balance to the attack.

Coach Lesure was complimentary of both teams afterwards in the locker room. “We have a ton of respect for how those guys have competed all year, and we certainly did not want to drop our last home game. Our guys played hard and executed pretty well for most of the game", said Lesure.

One Wendesday the team will travel to Endicott College for the first round of their league tournament to play at 5:00 P.M.

Wolverines Fall to Lee Academy 80-61

Bridgton Academy traveled up to in-state prep rival Lee Academy on Saturday afternoon and lost 80-61. The Wolverines started the game falling behind by ten mid-way through the half but kept within striking distance at the break trailing 39-31. BA trimmed the deficit to four immediately to begin the second half but was never able to gain the lead in the game. The Wolverines made several efforts in the second half to tighten the game but were thwarted by missed opportunities, and timely shooting by the home squad.

Coach Lesure was disappointed with the way the second half played out in the contest. “I can manage the losing, I just don’t like the way we lost, especially after working hard enough to make it a game…But give Lee and Andrew (Coach P.) a lot of the credit….They have improved themselves, and I don’t see too many teams beating them in their gym...I know we haven’t a lot”.

The Wolverines have two games remaining in the regular season with a road game at Brewster Academy on Wednesday and a final home contest with Winchendon on Saturday afternoon.

Bridgton Academy 84 - Harvard University J.V. 82

The Wolverine Basketball Team traveled to Harvard University Wednesday to play their J.V. squad. Coach Lesure went with a different approach to the game playing all 14 players and leaving it up to Tommy McDonnell (Durham, NH) and Kareem Canty (New York, NY) to lead the team.

Bridgton took a three point lead at halftime, as Donnie Hale (New Albany, IN), Ryan Rogers (Falmouth, ME), and Nebru Exantus (Apopka, FL) played extremely well. The Wolverines came out to start the second half in a full court press. BA fell behind and later came back to tie the game to go to overtime.

In OT, baskets were exchanged as the score remained tied. The Wolverine's had the ball for the last possession of overtime. Rogers took two dribbles into the lane, hopped, and threw up a floater to fall through the cylinder to win the game at the buzzer. Rogers finished the game with a season high 12 points.

After the game, Coach Lesure was happy with the way the team came together. "We had guys step up and take a more leadership role," Lesure states, "I'm happy for Rogers (Ryan). He hasn't had a lot of opportunities, but our guys know what he can do, and he knows how to win."

Bridgton Starts The Weekend Off Strong

Bridgton Academy started the weekend off at South Kent in a NEPSAC conference game. Bridgton had a slow start as they were down 5-0 and battled back to have a 3 point lead at halftime. Donnie Hale (New Albany, IN) had his best performance of the year so far shooting better than 80% from the field.

The game came down to the final minute where Bridgton had the lead and struggled from the free throw line to keep South Kent in the game. Kareem Canty (New York, NY) hit the final two free throws of the game to give the Wolverines a three point lead and the win. Hale and Canty combined for 54 points for the Wolverine's 81-78 win.

Coach Whit Lesure states, "I am proud of the way we competed. Our execution was much better. We brought good energy and communication on the road."

Bridgton then headed to Winchendon to play their final contest of the weekend. After a great win just a day before, the Wolverine's jumped out to a great start, taking a 25-8 lead over the Green Wave. Bridgton then got a little too comfortable allowing Winchendon to take a one point lead at halftime.

The team was upset that they allowed the Green Wave back into the game and came out cold to start the second half. Poor decision making and effort cost the Wolverine's at the end which lead to a Bridgton Academy loss 73-66. Hale had the team high 22 points followed by Canty's 16.

"We were beat by a more determined team. Our start was terrific but we became complacent, missed shots, and played tired. Missing shots is okay but the rest is not," commented Coach Lesure.

Up next the team will travel to Massachusetts to take on Harvard University’s J.V. squad on Wednesday the 16^th at 8:15 P.M.

Bridgton Academy 81 - South Kent 78

The basketball team started off their weekend road trip with a nice 81-78 win over South Kent. Check back later for the full story.

MCI 92 BRIDGTON 61

Bridgton traveled to MCI on Wednesday night and got beaten 92-61. A slow start to the first half and poor finish to the half contributed to the whole on the road. It was a thirteen point game with a few minutes left in the first half but an MCI run extended their lead to more than twenty at the break. Bridgton was unable to mount a significant comeback in the second half. Coach Lesure saw his team face another NEPSAC rival playing very good basketball. “They are a good club. The pieces fit together well. And everyone knows that the coaches do an excellent job with them every year”.

Up next the basketball team will travel to South Kent on Saturday to play at 4:00 PM and continue their travels to the Winchendon School to play at 2:00 PM on Sunday.