The first game of this year’s 2018 Class C South Boys basketball tournament was a real bracket buster. No. 6 Boothbay upset one of the pre-tournament favorites, No. 3 Waynflete, in the quarterfinals, 65-64.

It seemed Boothbay had a bad draw for the tournament opener. Waynflete (15-4) plays in the Western Maine Athletic Conference whose pre-tournament losses came to the top three Class B South teams. In the first quarter, Waynflete had no trouble with Boothbay’s 2-3 zone defense and led 20-12. Waynflete continued its first half dominance in the second quarter. The Flyers had a 13-point halftime lead by hitting four 3-pointers, scoring easy baskets inside and in transition off 16 Boothbay turnovers.

Waynflete doubled the score, 32-16, against Boothbay midway through the second quarter. If the Seahawks weren’t in enough trouble, things soon got worse. Senior point guard Kyle Ames committed his third personal foul and didn’t play for the final five minutes and four seconds of the half. In Ames’ absence, junior guard Steve Reny picked up the slack. He scored 12 of his game-high 21 in the first half. Boothbay closed out the first half with four Reny free throws and a Hunter Crocker 3-pointer closing the gap to 42-29.

During intermission, Boothbay coach I.J. Pinkham reminded his players this wasn’t the first time they’d faced a big deficit. He challenged them to reduce Waynflete’s lead in the third quarter and try to win it in the fourth.

“We started out a little jittery and some guys out there were pretty shaky. We didn’t change much, but we settled down and played much better. I told them let’s get half of it back in the third,” Pinkham said after the game. “It worked and the kids played much better in the second half because they played like they knew what they were doing.”

Boothbay started strong in the third quarter. Ames hit two 3-pointers and Boothbay had a 6-2 mini-run to start the third quarter. But with Waynflete leading 47-37 with four minutes and 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Boothbay’s chances at a monumental comeback were nearly dashed. Ames committed his fourth personal foul. But Pinkham kept his point guard in the game.

“There really wasn’t much of a choice. When Kyle isn’t in there, we struggle,” Pinkham said.

Boothbay outscored Waynflete 19-12 in the third quarter which achieved Pinkham’s halftime objective. But Waynflete responded in the fourth quarter. The Flyers scored the period’s first five points. Boothbay called timeout with six minutes four seconds remaining, which set up one of the greatest comeback victories in Seahawk history.

Two Reny jumpers and an Ames 3-pointer cut the Flyer lead to 59-55 with three minutes and 35 seconds remaining. Crocker trimmed the lead further knocking down a baseline 3-pointer. He was fouled on the shot, but missed the subsequent free throw.

On Boothbay’s next possession, the Seahawks tied it when senior Eli Gudroe made one of two free throws. Waynflete regained the lead on forward Christian Brooks’ basket. The Seahawks regained the lead when Ames hit what may be called someday “The shot heard around Boothbay.”

Ames drilled a 21-foot 3-pointer giving Boothbay a 62-61 lead with one minute 14 seconds left.  Ames had 18 points and five 3-pointers. “I don’t know how I made it. Muscle memory, I guess. I’m just so glad and blessed to have teammates and coaches who believe in me,” he said.

Reny extended the Seahawk lead to two with a free throw.

Waynflete guard Diraige Dahia tied it by drilling a 17-footer. But Boothbay regained the lead with 16.5 seconds remaining on a Hunter Crocker layup. Waynflete forward Dominick Campbell was fouled on a short jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining. Campbell made the first free throw, but missed the second. Boothbay knocked the rebound out of bounds with 3.3 seconds left.

But an errant inbound pass eluded Flyer forward Campbell. Ames picked it up and dribbled out the clock.

The Seahawk senior said the quarterfinal epic comeback against Waynflete was “The greatest comeback I’ve been a part of.”

“Even if we lost, how we came back was great,” he said. “I can’t remember having more fun playing one game. Even when I was on the bench watching my teammates, it was satisfying. I saw them battle their nerves,  watched Stevie (Reny) banging those free throws in, and our players making those key defensive stops.”

Reny, whose 21 points led all scorers, thought Boothbay may have been too hyped to play Waynflete, which resulted in the nervous start. “A lot of people here (Boothbay) thought Waynflete was the team to beat in C South,” he said. “Maybe we were too hyped up, but in the end we did what we had to. We stopped turning the ball over, hit our shots, and made some stops.”

This may have been sophomore Hunter Crocker’s first tournament game, but he has witnessed other great comebacks. “This was really something off (NBA) 2K (video game),” he said. But the real game required Crocker and his teammates to play their best when it mattered most. “This is real emotional. It’s something I’ve never experienced,” he said.

Crocker scored 17 with three 3-pointers. Two other Seahawks scored: Eli Gudroe had seven and Nick Simpson had two.

Boothbay advances to play No. 2 Winthrop at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday.