HERMON – With less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game against Hermon, the Mount Desert Island girls found themselves trailing 37-36 against a Hawk team that seemed it could do no wrong and had the support of a boisterous, upset-hungry crowd behind it.

But the Trojans, who had defeated the Hawks 68-41 back on Dec. 14 and brought a 14-1 record into the game, used clutch free- throw shooting and poised ballhandling to pull out a 49-43 win.

MDI nailed 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter, led by senior forward Tayna Kane’s 4-for-4 effort.

“I just had to focus because the crowd was going crazy,” said Kane, whose second pair of free throws gave the Trojans a 46-41 lead with 29.4 seconds remaining.

MDI ran its mark to 15-1 while Hermon, which was coming off a loss to Caribou the night before, dropped to 6-10.

Hermon shot 17-of-36 from the floor and committed just seven turnovers against MDI’s fullcourt pressure to keep the game close.

Meanwhile, the Hawks’ pesky halfcourt man-to-man limited the Trojans to 17-for-47 shooting.

Hermon’s Jodi Reynolds gave her team its final lead of the game when she scored in traffic in the paint to make it 37-36 with 4:48 left.

Shelley Gott answered a minute later to swing the score back in the Trojans’ favor, 38-37. Kane added a pair of free throws 50 seconds later, and Abby Willson lofted a shot in the paint over several Hermon defenders to run the lead to five with 1:30 to go.

That meant the Hawks had to put MDI on the line – and Jenna Gordius and Kane both went 2-for-2 in the last minute to keep Hermon at bay.

MDI coach Burt Barker said his team was poised when it counted most.

“We made the right decisions in the fourth quarter on a night when we were not shooting great. We took care of the ball when we had to,” Barker said.

Bracey Barker led the Trojan offense with 13 points, 11 in the first half. The 6-foot-1 guard was hassled for most of the game by freshman Shannon Wiggin.

Hermon coach Don Erb said he was pleased with Wiggin’s defensive effort – which was even more impressive because the 5-10 forward has had the flu all week.

“Bracey had a few good looks [at the basket] in the first half, but she didn’t get that many in the second. Shannon’s tall and has long arms, so she matched up well. Bracey saw a carbon copy of herself,” Erb said.

Offensively, the Hawks were patient against MDI’s fullcourt zone presses and its halfcourt 2-3. Although navigating the paint with the towering Barker in wait (five blocks) proved treacherous, Hermon’s shot selection was meticulous.

“That’s the smartest game we’ve played all year. It seemed every shot we took was a good shot,” Erb said.

Kane finished with 10 points for the Trojans while Gott chipped in with nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Junior Jessie Wiggin (Shannon Wiggin’s cousin) sparked the Hermon offense with 13 points, including a 3-for-4 effort from behind the 3-point arc. The 5-5 point guard guided the Hawks effectively through the pressure and handed out a game-high eight assists.

Reynolds added 10 points, Ashley Hichborn tossed in nine, and Rachel Jenkins contributed eight points and seven rebounds.

Shannon Wiggin said that despite the loss, Hermon was pleased with its performance.

“We’ve come a long way since the first time we played them,” Shannon Wiggin said.

TROJANS 49, HAWKS 43

Mount Desert Island (15-1) Hermon (6-10)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Boisvert 0 1 0 0 0 J. Wiggin 4 13

Gordius 0 2 2 2 2 Hichborn 3 9

Joy 2 5 2 3 6 Garland 0 0 0 0

Horton 2 2 0 0 4 Dobbins 0 0 1

Joseph 0 0 0 1 0 Petrello 0 0

Willson 1 2 0 2 2 Reynolds 5 10

Gott 4 11 1 4 9 S. Wiggin 1 2 2

Barker 5 15 2 4 13 Jenkins 4 10 8

Kane 2 8 6 6 10

Norwood 1 1 0 0 3

Totals 17 47 13 22 49 17 36 43

Mount Desert Island 13 26 33 49

Hermon 14 21 33 43

3-pt. goals ? MDI (2-10): Gordius 0-1, Joy 0-1, Gott 0-3, Barker 1-4, Norwood 1-1; Hermon (4-9): J. Wiggin 3-4, Hichborn 1-5

Attendance: 177 (est.)