AUGUSTA — Knowing it would take a nearly perfect game to end Calais’ 63-game win streak, the Winthrop boys basketball team came up with one Wednesday night in the Class C state championship game.

Backed by the all-around play of senior point guard Sam Leclerc, the Ramblers led at every checkpoint in posting a 72-62 win for their first Gold Ball since 1993. They finish the season at 21-1 while the two-time defending Class C state champion Blue Devils finish at 19-1.

Leclerc finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He scored at the end of each quarter — he capped the first period with a 3-pointer at the buzzer — to help the Ramblers extend their lead.

“(Coach) told me I was going to have to take a lot of shots tonight,” Leclerc said. “I came out and I was playing well, and thank God I hit some.”

Leclerc had plenty of support. He needed it considering the absence of defensive stopper Tim Gingras, who didn’t play because of violating the school’s conduct code.

“We weren’t happy with it,” Winthrop coach Dennis Dacus said. “But once we got over it, we said ‘you know what, we’ve been a team of step-ups all year . . . I know the kids were going to step up and that’s exactly what happened.”

Dacus rotated juniors Andrew Smithgall and Skyler Whaley through Gingras’ position and they produced at both ends of the floor.

“My role was to go in and shut down (Rod) Tirrell,” Smithgall said. “If I didn’t do it, then Skyler came in and played good defense. We didn’t allow him to shoot the 3.”

Tirrell, who made five 3-pointers in the Eastern Maine championship game, finished with 16 points and didn’t make a 3-pointer. Smithgall finished with 10 points, many of those off penetration assists from Leclerc, while Whaley added three points and three rebounds.

The Ramblers got off to a quick start as Zach Farrington and Leclerc each hit a pair of 3s to stake them to a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Leclerc hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play in the second period and also got Calais guard Sam Bell into foul trouble.

“We didn’t have an answer for him tonight,” Calais coach Ed Leeman said. “He’s a great player and he just was not going to be denied. I think that was his mindset tonight.”

Calais beat Winthrop in the state final two years ago, in part because Leclerc fouled out late in the game after the Ramblers had taken the lead. He finished with four fouls, as did Bell, but didn’t come off the floor. The Blue Devils made a run at the lead midway through the third quarter and tied the score at 38 on a basket from Nathan O’Neill and two from Tirrell.

But senior Ezra Damm, who finished with 15 points, converted a three-point play on a tough drive in traffic and the Ramblers led from that point on. Leclerc, who was held scoreless for most of the quarter, closed with a 3-pointer from the right side and a foul-line jumper to give the Ramblers a 52-47 lead at the break.

Smithgall scored a pair of layups in the fourth quarter off assists from David Ketchen and Leclerc while Larry Foster also scored four points, finishing with seven for the game along with 12 rebounds.

“These guys are big and they’re strong, but our quickness just hurt them,” Foster said.

Poor free throw shooting also hurt the Blue Devils who went 5 of 13 from the line while the Ramblers made 13 of 19.

“If the foul shooting was a little bit better, that game gets a little tighter,” Leeman said. “Instead of being eight or 10 (points), it might have been four or six. Then who knows, maybe those uncontested shots they have, they think about them a little bit, but maybe not. “They were ready to play. I think they outplayed us in every aspect.”

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com