By Nathaniel Ford
FARMINGTON – One year ago, the Profile Patriots were in the same place they were today: Farmington High School playing in the championship of The Bash. Last year, they fell to Belmont in a 10-point loss.
This year was not a repeat of last. Profile blew out the Sanborn Indians 79-54 to claim their first-ever Bash championship.
This was Sanborn’s fifth appearance in the Bash championship game, and their first since 1985. Their only Bash trophy was the first ever tournament, all the way back in 1979.
Profile jumped on them early to start the game, with two big plays from their two studs. Alex Leslie had an and-one bucket to open it, and Josh Robie hit a deep three pointer, giving them a quick 6-0 lead.
They extended their lead in the quarter, but Sanborn did not roll over. They answered with a 6-0 of their own late in the quarter, which kept the game competitive. Profile’s Cayden Wakeham got a bucket at the buzzer, which gave them an 18-11 lead entering the second quarter.
There were fireworks early in the quarter, as both teams were hot from beyond the arc. Josh Robie knocked down two three-pointers from way out, but Sanborn’s Evan Butler made two of his own.
Sanborn then switched from their man-to-man defense to a zone for the last four minutes of the quarter. “We don’t see too much zone, but we are ready for it when we do,” said Profile coach Mitchell Roy. And ready for it they were, as this opened up a barrage of threes from the Patriots.
Profile is a high volume shooting team, and when you have Josh and Karsen Robie, you’re going to make a lot of them. In the last four minutes of the quarter, Josh Robie connected on two more triples, which brought him to four on the quarter.
Despite a huge 14 point quarter from him, Sanborn did not let the Patriots extend their lead by a lot. Profile won the quarter by just four points, and the game remained in reach, with the score being 37-26 going into the second half.
The third quarter is when the game got blown open. Everything that could go well for Profile did. The Indians stayed in a zone defense, but they threw a different look at them. “They went diamond and one on Josh, and Karsen stepped up and hit some shots,” said Roy.
Karsen Robie did in fact hit some shots, connecting on three triples in a row. This led a 9-2 Profile run, and forced a Sanborn timeout and defensive switch. Shortly after the timeout, Alex Leslie threw down a massive dunk on a baseline drive, and the Profile supporters were loving it.
Profile stayed hot on the offensive end, with Josh Robie and Leslie connecting on some baskets inside. The Patriots recorded 20 points in the quarter, and their lead was extended to 57-39 going into the fourth.
While they had a big lead, the game was not over going into the fourth. “Once we got a lead, we slowed it down and played at that tempo,” said Roy. They were committed to keeping this lead, and they were able to limit Sanborn’s possessions by the tempo they played at.
Profile brought their momentum into the fourth quarter, and they continued to dominate. They started to run away with the game, never letting Sanborn string together any sort of run. When the final buzzer sounded, it was a resounding 25 point victory for the Division IV squad.
The Patriots capped off their impressive run at the Bash with this win. They did not face another Division IV team in their route to the championship. The small school in Bethlehem took down D-I Windham, two D-II schools in Sanborn and Coe-Brown, and D-III Raymond.
Profile was led by an impressive 30 points from Josh Robie, who took home the Tournament MVP award. He also broke the individual scoring record for the tournament, pouring in 131 points this year.
“Josh set the record last year, and he’s reaching new levels. He puts in a lot of work, and it’s awesome to see it paying off,” said Roy.
Alex Leslie scored 26 points in the title game for the Patriots. Following the game, he received an All-Tournament selection, which was voted on by the coaches.
Sanborn was led by 23 points from Chase Frizzel, and Dylan Rego added 10 as well. Both players were recognized with All-Tournament selections.
As well as All-Tournament selections, sportsmanship awards were also awarded following the trophy presentation. The Raymond Rams won the team award, while Derryfield’s Jack Krasnof received the Bill and Betty Vachon Award for individual sportsmanship.
The players recognized with All-Tournament selections were Derryfield’s Jack Krasnof, Windham’s Jack Begley, Noble’s Jamier Rose, Raymond’s Drezell Duffaut, Portsmouth Christian’s Cai Summers, and Farmington’s Shawn Murphy, as well as the players mentioned on Sanborn and Profile.
Check out the photo gallery by Jill Stevens…