Foley’s 3-point binge helps Greenville continue strong basketball season

By Ernie Clark
Staff Writer

GREENVILLE — Nick Foley arrived at the Katahdin High School gymnasium in Stacyville last Friday night already armed with an accurate shooting touch.

Observer file photo/Stuart Hedstrom

BIG NIGHT FROM BEYOND THE ARC — Greenville High School sophomore Nick Foley, pictured during a game at PCHS in December, sank 10 3-point shots during the Lakers’ 54-35 victory at Katahdin High School of Stacyville on Jan. 29. Foley would finish the game with a career-high 34 points.

The sophomore guard led the Greenville boys basketball team in scoring as a freshman, and he has been doing the same thing this winter.

So when Katahdin began its game against the Lakers in a zone defense Foley sought to shoot from beyond its reach — and when they started going in he didn’t stop.

Foley finished with 10 3-pointers in 17 attempts from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 34 points to help Greenville secure a 54-35 victory.

“He was hot right from the start and they were in a zone defense so I told him to keep shooting and they never changed the defense,” said Foley’s father, Greenville head coach Bill Foley.

Foley scored 18 points on six 3-pointers by intermission, then added two more 3-pointers in each of the final two periods to help Greenville pull away.

He also had two free throws in the third quarter and a two-point basket in the final period and now is averaging 16 points per game while shooting 46 percent from 3-point land for the season.

Foley’s offense has helped a Greenville team with just one senior compile a 12-4 record entering the final week of the regular season good for third place in Class D South.

“I thought it was going to be the opposite,” said coach Foley. “We had a completely new schedule, a new coach, new everything. I had no idea what to expect. Our goal to start the year was to make the tournament.”

Greenville, which returned to the Penobscot Valley Conference this season after a lengthy stay in the East-West Conference, already has secured its trip to the tournament at the Augusta Civic Center during February vacation week.

But with wins Monday at Highview Christian of Charleston and Thursday at Penobscot Valley of Howland — teams the Lakers already have defeated — it could finish as high as second in the division.

Greenville is in search of its first tournament victory since a 68-67 quarterfinal win over Valley in 2011, and while Nick Foley’s marksmanship from beyond the arc has generated the most recent headlines the foundation of the team’s success has been found elsewhere on the court.

“They’ve really bought in on defense,” said coach Foley. “We spend probably 75 percent of our practice time on defense.”

Greenville has allowed just 42 points per game this season, and just 37 points per game since its 2-2 start.

The Lakers have yielded 60 points or more just twice, both to undefeated Class D South top seed Valley of Bingham, which has defeated Greenville 64-44 and 60-41 in their regular-season meetings.

That stinginess has been triggered by the team’s lone senior, Tim White, a transfer from Rangeley whose quickness has been a pivot point for Greenville’s defensive consistency.

“He’s really set the tone defensively and the rest of the kids have been feeding off him,” said Foley.

Joining White and Nick Foley as starters have been sophomores Conner DiAngelo and Noah Pratt and junior Michael Degnan, who has transitioned from the perimeter to an inside role.

The Lakers’ roster consists of one senior, four juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen.

“We thought we were a year away from being competitive,” said Foley.