BANGOR – It occurs so often, it seems like the Bangor boys are following a script.
They start off a bit lethargic, assert themselves in the second quarter, and either hold their own or run away with the game in the second half.
There were no major rewrites or ad-libs in Friday night’s script as the Rams used a big second quarter to give them an insurmountable lead en route to a 73-58 victory over Morse of Bath at Red Barry Gym.
Bangor improved to 12-1 and Morse slipped to 8-5.
As opposed to their last two games, the Rams showed no noticeable letdown intensity-wise out of the gate. Peter Pitula hit a 3-pointer from the right wing 11 seconds in and the Rams led the entire game.
The closest Morse came to snagging the lead was when the Shipbuilders trailed 9-8 with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
As usual, the Rams got a big effort from their different game-different hero lineup.
This time around, it was Hampton Clarkson who stepped up to lead the Rams, scoring seven of his game-high 19 points in the second quarter, when the Rams went on 8-2 and 11-2 runs to take a comfortable 40-25 halftime lead.
The junior forward also grabbed eight rebounds and Peter Pitula was right behind him with 15 points, six boards, and four assists.
“I’m starting to feel a lot better than I did at the start of the season,” said Pitula, who has been limited athletically by his asthma.
Mike Arsenault, a walking matchup problem for Bangor opponents as an athletic 6-foot-2 guard, exploded on the boards – grabbing 15 rebounds and scoring 11 points. He also had a block, a steal, and four assists.
Backcourt mate Tommy Waterman chipped in with 10 points, five assists, and three steals.
“I knew their backcourt was the strongest in the state with Waterman and Arsenault,” said Morse coach Brian Hatch. “I also knew they were not exactly tall, but they’ve been in the weight room. We’re not tall and we haven’t been in the weight room. We’re not a physical team.”
Morse was unable to get its trademark transition game cranked up thanks to Bangor’s effort on the boards.
“Our tallest guy is probably like 6-4 and they had a guy who was 6-7,” Arsenault said. “It’s kind of hard to stop a 6-7 guy from getting a rebound.”
But stop him they did as the smaller but more physical Rams outrebounded the Shipbuilders 39-27 and Arsenault helped limit 6-7 Kevin Crossman to six rebounds.
Crossman did lead Morse with 18 points, Joey Hodgkins added 16, and mercurial point guard Malik Nicholson gave Waterman all he could handle while dishing out seven assists and stealing the ball twice, but their effort couldn’t overcome the Rams’ defense and balanced scoring attack, which featured five players in double figures.
“We had a pretty good team effort, I thought,” said Rams coach Roger Reed. “I thought overall it wasn’t our best defensive effort, but it was good enough.”
Rams 73, Shipbuilders 58
Morse (8-5) Bangor (12-1)
Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP
Nicholson 2 10 4 4 8 Waterman 4 13 2 3 10
Hodgkins 5 14 3 7 16 Peoples 4 8 3 4 11
Norris 0 1 0 0 0 Blackstone 2 3 1 2 5
Walker 0 1 0 0 0 Crane 0 0 0 0 0
C. York 0 0 0 0 0 Arsenault 4 12 2 3 11
J. York 1 2 0 0 2 Pitula 6 11 2 3 15
Hobson 0 0 0 0 0 Clarkson 8 12 3 4 19
Crossman 9 16 0 0 18 Merrill 0 1 2 2 2
Plummer 1 4 3 4 5 Turner 0 0 0 0 0
James 0 0 0 0 0
Lagueux 0 0 0 0 0
Conley 3 6 1 1 9
Totals 21 54 11 16 58 Totals 28 60 15 21 73
Morse 15 25 39 58
Bangor 21 40 52 73
3-pt. goals: Morse (5-16): Hodgkins 3-7, Conley 2-4, J. York 0-1, Walker 0-1, Nicholson 0-3; Bangor (2-8): Pitula 1-3, Arsenault 1-4, Waterman 0-1
Attendance: 246
Preliminary: Bangor JV 75, Morse 52
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