Bench lifts Old Town by Presque Isle

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OLD TOWN – The Old Town Indians had been picked as one of the preseason favorites in Eastern Maine Class A basketball based on the talent and size of their veteran nucleus.

If that wasn’t enough, Coach Marty Clark’s ballclub showed here Saturday night that it will get plenty of help from its bench this winter.

Reserve forward Scott Springer scored eight second-half points to help give Old Town a much-needed lift on its way to a 60-45 opening-game victory over Presque Isle at MacKenzie Gym.

Springer, sophomore guard Matt Arsenault, junior guard Nick Chaisson and sophomore center Steve Pooler all provided valuable minutes to supplement the efforts of the starting unit. In fact, only one starter was on the floor during the game’s critical time.

Leading 36-26 at halftime, the Indians went scoreless for almost 5 1/2 minutes. Presque Isle cut the deficit to five on Todd Gammon’s eight-footer and a three-pointer by Craig MacFarline.

Four minutes later, a 1 1/2-minute surge put the hosts squarely in control. Sophomore center John L’Heureux, the lone starter on the court at the time, broke the scoreless string with a six-footer from the baseline off a Springer feed at the 2:34 mark.

Springer canned an 18-foot set shot 36 seconds later and Chaisson then took his only shot of the contest, swishing a three-pointer that gave Old Town a 43-31 lead with 1:01 left in the third.

“That’s the thing we’re better at this year than last year is our bench,” Clark said. “I’m trying to give the kids a little bit of rest so we’ll get some quality minutes instead of the quantity.”

Despite their offensive sluggishness, the Indians played strong defense. Old Town limited the Wildcats to 2-for-12 shooting from the field in the third quarter, 7-for-32 in the second half.

The Indians’ superior frontcourt size, paced by 6-foot-6 senior Casey Costigan and the 6-7 L’Heureux, was able to shut off the interior and control the rebounding action.

“Our defense and our rebounding is what kept them from getting back in it and taking the lead, in spite of our poor shooting,” Clark said.

Presque Isle pressed hard and mixed up its half-court defenses, forcing 22 Old Town turnovers. But, the Wildcats had trouble matching up inside and were unable to generate a consistent perimeter game.

The ‘Cats continued to battle in the fourth quarter, but an 8-2 spurt midway through the period put it away for the Indians. Pooler scored on a fast-break layup, Springer hit an 18-footer and scored from down low, and David Theriault made two free throws during the run.

Presque Isle managed only Harold Saucier’s long jumper and trailed by 15 with less than three minutes left.

Costigan keyed Old Town with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while L’Heureux had 10 points and 9 rebounds. Springer contributed 8 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Backup point guard Arsenault chipped in with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Scott Young led the Wildcats with 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. MacFarline netted 9 points and Todd Gammon added 7 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals.

Old Town outrebounded PI 47-29.

Indians 60, Wildcats 45

Old Town boys Presque Isle

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Theriault 11 1 2 2 5 Savage 8 2 2 0 4

Blake 7 3 2 1 8 Young 19 3 5 3 10

Arsenault 7 2 2 0 4 Saucier 2 1 0 0 2

Randall 4 3 1 0 6 McLellan 9 2 2 2 6

Springer 8 4 3 0 8 Kinney 2 1 0 0 3

Pooler 1 1 0 0 2 MacFarline 12 3 2 2 9

Chaisson 1 1 0 0 3 Gammon 7 3 2 1 7

Costigan 11 4 7 6 14 Jackson 2 1 5 2 4

L’Heureux 4 2 8 6 10 Hersey 1 0 0 0 0

Humphrey 0 0 1 0 0

Totals 54 21 25 15 60 Totals 62 16 19 10 45

Old Town 19 36 45 60

Presque Isle 12 26 32 45

Preliminary: Presque Isle JVs 51, Old Town JVs 43

3-pt. goals: Old Town (3-15): Theriault 1-11, Blake 1-4, Arsenault 0-1, Chaisson 1-1; Presque Isle (3-19): Savage 0-3, Young 1-6, McLellan 0-1, Kinney 1-1, MacFarline 1-7, Gammon 0-1