WINDSOR, Conn. -- Bridgton Academy shook off a sluggish first half and hit on all cylinders in the second half, breezing to a 79-62 victory over the Winchendon School on Sunday night at the NEPSAC Class A Championship.
Fifth-seeded Winchendon, which toppled fourth-seeded Brewster Academy in overtime last Wednesday and top-seeded St. Thomas More in double overtime last Friday, looked poised early on for the upset of second-seeded Bridgton.
Riding the aggressive play of Iowa State signee Lawrence Westbrook, Winchendon opened up a 42-27 lead with 2:06 remaining in the first half. Westbrook scored 11 points in a 19-4 Green Wave surge that broke a 23-23 deadlock and put Bridgton down 42-27.
Trailing 44-33 at the half, the Wolverines responded with machinelike efficiency in the second half. They limited Winchendon to just 18 second half points, using a 35-10 run to flip the game's outcome in their favor.
"I knew that Bridgton would make a run at us in the second half," Winchendon Head Coach Mike Byrnes said. "I think a lot of guys' tanks were on empty in the second half."
Tournament MVP Keaton Grant, St. John's signee Qa'rraan Calhoun and 6-6 wing Tyrone Hanson spearheaded the comeback.
"Qa'rraan did everything in the second half," Bridgton Head Coach Whit Lesure said. "He rebounded and played like a monster."
Calhoun scored six points, Hanson pitched in four points and Grant picked up a steal and an assist as Bridgton strung together an initial 18-4 run to take a 51-48 lead with 12:48 remaining.
The Wolverines followed that up with a 17-6 run (35-10 cumulative), with reserves Shavar Bernier and Tyler Emmons kick-starting the surge with three-pointers. A Calhoun dunk, a three-point play by Bernier, a pair of driving baskets by Grant and a follow inside by lanky forward Will Cooper gave Bridgton an insurmountable 68-54 lead with 6:28 to play.
"We didn't get stops or score in transition in the second half," Byrnes said. "We didn't get any easy baskets, and they had 23 offensive rebounds compared to our three."
While Grant's play has been rock steady for Bridgton all season long, it was Calhoun's inspired play in the second half that swung the momentum in the Wolverines' favor.
"He was very active and always around the ball," Byrnes noted. "It seemed like he contested all of our shots."
-- Mike Sullivan contributed to this report