Penquis notches 11th win with 63-55 victory over Penobscot Valley
Staff Writer
MILO — Penquis boys basketball coach Tony Hamlin was ‘howling mad’ at his team on Jan. 19 after recording a 63-55 victory over Penobscot Valley at Oakes Gymnasium. The coach was seemingly upset with his team’s effort against a team it defeated 60-15 a week earlier.
HOWLER DEFENDER — Penobscot Valley guard Grant Doane tries to block Penquis George Cowing’s shot on Jan. 19 during a game played at Oakes Gymnasium. Penquis defeated Penobscot Valley 63-55 to earn their second victory this season over their Class D foe.
With Penquis leading by 12 points with a 1:29 remaining, Hamlin called time-out to let his team know their day wasn’t finished when the game ended. Hamlin conducted a post-game practice following the game.
While the final quarter may not have worked out the way the Penquis planned, in the first quarter it seemed the Patriots were well on their way to another lopsided win over Penobscot Valley. The Patriots jumped out to an early 11-2 lead by pressuring the Howlers into several turnovers with its half court man-to-man defense which led to several easy fast-break baskets.
The Patriots ended the first quarter leading 19-8. They continued to disrupt the Howler attack with their defensive pressure which resulted in a 36-22 halftime lead. The Patriot lead reached 26 points midway in the third quarter before Penobscot Valley reduced it to eight with only a few minutes remaining in the game.
PRESSURE DEFENSE — Penquis guard Trevor Lyford defends Penobscot Valley guard Wade Thurlow during the Patriots’ 63-55 win on Jan. 19. Penquis used a pressure half-court defense to jump out to a 19-8 first quarter against the visiting Howlers. Lyford led all scorers with 19 points including five 3-point field goals.
Penobscot Valley, who scored only 15 points against Penquis earlier this season, scored 26 in the fourth quarter alone in the rematch. The second time around proved to be a better performance for Howler coach Jeremy Durost’s team than the Jan. 11 encounter. The Howlers had a difficult time handling the Penquis defensive pressure in Milo, but they did a better job than on their home court. In the Patriots 45-point win on Jan. 11, they completely overwhelmed the Howlers on both ends of the court, but on Jan. 19 Durost believed his team was better prepared to play one of the best teams in the region.
“We’ve had a week to stew about what happened the first time,” Penobscot Valley coach Jeremy Durost said. “We knew we were a better team than what we showed them last time. We played hard the whole game and I think we had a good showing today against one of the best teams in the region.”
Penobscot Valley has struggled for most of the season with a 2-8 record which has them in 17th place in the Eastern Maine Class D standings. The Howlers’ early strategy of employing a box-and-one defense on Patriots’ guard Isaiah Bess seemed to work in the first half. The Howlers limited Bess to only five points.
But the defensive strategy didn’t make much of an impact on the Patriots’ team as a whole. Five different Patriots scored in the first quarter to take an 11-point lead. The Patriots were sparked by two Lyford 3-pointers and one by Colby Larabee, Penquis also got four points each from forwards Jason Durant and Cody Herbest and two from Derrick Johnson.
Lyford finished the game as the leading scorer with 19 points which included five 3-point field goals. Bess emerged as scorer in the second half. He scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half.
Penquis continued to build their lead in the second quarter. The Patriots ended the first half with a 36-22 lead. The Penquis lead eventually reached 26 points late in the third quarter.
The Howlers began to reduce the deficit by causing some turnovers of their own. Penobscot closed the gap by outscoring Penquis 36-22 in the second half. The Howlers were able to reduce the lead to eight points late in the fourth quarter, But Durost knows there is a big difference between playing a close game and actually beating Penquis..
“They are so deep which makes it difficult to keep up with them during the game,” Durost said. “We tried to limit Bess’ touches, but he still scored 12 points in the second half and even when he’s not scoring they seemed to find other people who do.”
The Patriots will play three Eastern Maine Class C opponents this week. Penquis hosted No. 3 Lee Academy on Tuesday. The Patriots beat the Pandas 57-35 on Dec. 29.
Penquis will travel to Guilford to play No. 12 Guilford on Jan. 24 and will return home on Jan. 26 with a game against Central.
UP FOR TWO — Penquis guard Isaiah Bess looks to score two of his 17 points during his team’s 63-55 victory over Penobscot Valley. The Howlers used a box-and-one defense against Bess which limited him to five first-half points. But in the second half, Bess found his scoring touch with 12 points including making three of his four 3-pointers