Wolverines fend off revenge-minded Lynx

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EAST MILLINOCKET – After losing its first match-up of the season, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln could almost taste the revenge.

The Lynx tracked their prey through the first half against Schenck of East Millinocket, hunting for the lead, and the top spot in the Eastern Maine Class C standings.

But the scent vanished in the last 16 minutes and the Wolverines went home with the kill, a 64-47 schoolboy basketball win Monday night at Margaret H. Gillis Gymnasium.

After a ferocious first half of man-to-man defense by both teams, Schenck coach Steve LeVasseur and his 15-2 team made some defensive adjustments, including pulling his 1-2-1-1 full-court press back and going to a 2-3 defense, forcing the Lynx to try the outside shot.

“In the second half, we made a few adjustments to the 1-2-1-1 full-court. Instead of making it all full-court, we brought it back to three-quarter court, and that caused them some problems,” LeVasseur said. “We got some steals and got going that way, and we shot better in the second half and played a lot more composed.”

The Lynx’s shooting touch cooled against the same 2-3 defense which had tortured them in a loss at Penquis Valley of Milo Saturday, as they shot 7-for-27 from the field in the second half.

Leading only 29-26 at the half, the Wolverines raced to a 44-26 lead before Erin Libby stopped the 15-0 landslide by putting back a rebound with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter.

“We figured we’d sit in the 2-3 because we know Lincoln doesn’t like to shoot from the outside,” LeVasseur said. “If we had the lead, we knew they had to throw it up sometime. We just thought we’d try it out – we hadn’t played it all year – and it worked out all right.”

The Wolverines’ 15-0 sprint began 46 seconds into the quarter when Tom Jamo drove through the lane for the fifth of his six drive-through shots, before hitting a 6-foot jumper with 6:41 remaining.

The senior 6-footer finished the game with 24 points, including a 6-for-7 performance from the line.

Younger brother Nate Jamo also hit a pair of baskets in similar style during the run before Mike Kimball hit the first of two free throws to end the quarter with a 47-32 lead.

Mattanawcook attempted a comeback as Libby hit one of his two free throws 33 seconds into the final quarter and Ben Greenlaw hit a 3-pointer from the left side less than a minute later.

But the Lynx couldn’t keep the run going and Schenck started another streak when Kimball hit a pair of free throws with 3:39 remaining to kick off a 14-2 avalanche.

Kimball scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, going 3-for-4 from the line and netting a nifty no-look, cross-key pass from Erik Giberson, who finished with 10 points.

“We didn’t seem to get back in transition, like we did in the first half,” Mattanawcook coach Ron Weatherbee said. “In the first half, yes, they did have some transition baskets, but we did limit them somewhat, where in the third quarter, we stopped thinking they were going to run on us.”

“Offensively, we still seemed to attack somewhat, but we were still hesitant,” Weatherbee said.

Kimball led the Wolverine rebounders with 12, while Mattanawcook’s Danny Welch hauled down 11 rebounds and put up 10 points.

Erin Smith kept the Lynx on the track in the first half, netting five of his nine first-half attempts and going 4-for-5 from the line before finishing the game with a team-high 17 points.

Wolverines 64, Lynx 47

Mattanawcook (14-3) Schenck (15-2)

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

Cox 1 1 0 0 3 McDunnah 2 4 0 0 4

E. Smith 6 17 4 5 17 T. Jamo 9 21 6 7 24

Be.Greenlaw 1 4 0 0 3 Wyman 1 4 1 2 3

Br. Greenlaw 1 4 0 2 2 N. Jamo 2 6 0 0 4

Weatherbee 0 0 0 0 0 Stanley 3 3 0 0 6

Libby 1 1 2 4 4 Hamlin 0 0 0 0 0

Arthers 0 0 0 0 0 Giberson 3 4 3 6 10

Rosenbeck 2 9 0 0 4 Osborne 1 2 0 1 2

K. Smith 0 3 0 0 0 Moore 0 1 0 0 0

Aldrete 1 2 2 2 4 Kimball 3 14 5 8 11

Welch 4 10 2 2 10

Willette 0 1 0 0 0

Theriault 0 0 0 0 0

Libbey 0 1 0 0 0

House 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 17 53 10 15 47 Totals 24 59 15 24 64

Mattanawcook Academy 10 26 32 47

Schenck 12 29 47 64

3-pt. goals: MA (3-10): Cox 1-1, Be. Greenlaw 1-2, E. Smith 1-3, Rosenbeck 0-3, Aldrete 0-1; Schenck (1-6): T. Jamo 0-2, Wyman 0-1, N. Jamo 0-1, Giberson 1-2

Preliminary: Schenck JVs 62, Mattanawcook JVs 57