HAMPDEN – Tim Prescott doesn’t profess to put an aesthetically pleasing basketball team on the floor.
Presque Isle’s fast-paced, somewhat erratic style may not be pretty to watch, but it seems to produce results. Such was the case here Friday night.
Ben Humphrey scored seven points to spark a 15-5 fourth-quarter surge that helped the Wildcats post an 80-65 Big East Conference basketball victory over Hampden Academy.
Presque Isle’s spurt took the wind out of the sails of the Broncos. Hampden had put together a 13-5 burst while battling back to within two points (54-52) in the final minute of the third quarter.
But, the Wildcats owned the first five minutes of the final quarter while sewing up their fourth victory in six games.
“You can watch us for the rest of your life, but we’re never going to look good,” Prescott said. “If high school kids play that style, they’re never going to look like college kids playing that style. The kids like to play that way.”
Humphrey, a 6-foot-1 junior, combined with senior David McLellan to spearhead Presque Isle, including during the decisive run.
With the Wildcats leading 58-52, McLellan canned a foul-line jumper to kick off the spurt. HA’s Darren Dyer made the front end of a bonus, but McLellan answered with two foul shots to make it 60-53 with 5:26 left.
Jim DiFrederico’s Broncos, now 0-4, cut it to five on two Josh Smith free throws, but a 17-footer by McLellan, Humphrey’s 16-foot jumper, two Humphrey foul shots and a conventional three-point play by Humphrey pushed the lead to 69-55 with 3:21 remaining.
“The kid comes off the bench and gives you 17 points and four or five assists,” Prescott said of Humphrey. “Ben just takes the ball and shovels it up there, and defenders don’t get off the ground in time to do anything to him. That’s a big game (for him).”
Humphrey’s effort helped make up for the absence of starter and catalyst Todd Gammon, who missed the game because of a family commitment. The sturdy center made 6 of 8 from the floor and hit all five free throws en route to a game-high 17 points. Humphrey also provided 9 rebounds
Hampden made a final rally, putting together a 9-2 spree that covered less than a minute. However, Presque Isle converted on 9 of 10 from the foul line in the final 1:24 to make sure the lead held up.
“We’ll play in spurts like that, but we can never sustain it,” DiFrederico said. “We just made too many mistakes.”
McLellan also tossed in 17 points for the Wildcats, connecting on 9 of 10 from the foul line. He also snatched a game-high 11 rebounds.
Point guard Scott Young chipped in with 15 points, while Heath Savage added 10 points. Chris Jackson contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Presque Isle shot 46 percent from the floor (27-for-59) and made good on 24 of 27 from the line while outscoring Hampden 24-6 from the stripe. The ‘Cats outrebounded HA 43-27.
Darren Dyer and Dan Berrien paced the Broncos with 13 points each, while Smith provided 11 points and 8 rebounds. Reid Harris dished out 6 assists.
HA shot 39 percent (27-for-70) from the field.
Wildcats 80, Broncos 65
Presque Isle boys Hampden Academy
Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP
Savage 5 3 4 4 10 Higgins 2 1 0 0 2
Young 10 5 6 4 15 Sharpe 3 1 2 0 2
Saucier 5 3 0 0 6 Lawrence 6 2 0 0 5
McLellan 9 4 10 9 17 Berrien 12 5 3 2 13
MacFarline 11 3 0 0 7 McBean 7 4 0 0 9
Jackson 11 3 2 2 8 Richards 1 1 0 0 2
Humphrey 8 6 5 5 17 Dyer 14 5 2 1 13
King 9 1 0 0 2
Stillman 3 1 0 0 2
Harris 5 2 0 0 4
Smith 8 4 4 3 11
Totals 59 27 27 24 80 Totals 70 27 11 6 65
Presque Isle 21 41 56 80
Hampden Acad. 13 30 52 65
Preliminary:
3-pt. goals: Presque Isle (2-13): Savage 0-2, Young 1-2, Saucier 0-1, McLellan 0-1, MacFarline 1-7; Hampden (5-17): Higgins 0-1, Lawrence 1-4, Berrien 1-1, McBean 1-2, Dyer 2-8, King 0-1
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