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BLUE HILL – Collin Henry had an uneventful first half for the George Stevens Academy boys basketball team Monday night, partially the result of two early fouls.
But the well-rested junior forward made every shot he took after intermission as the Eagles built an 18-point lead and withstood a furious Washington Academy rally to outlast the Raiders of East Machias 56-48.
Henry scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, 10 in the third quarter as GSA extended a 20-17 halftime edge to as much as 38-21.
“I just came out in the third quarter and knew I had to try and spark us,” said Henry, who made all six of his field-goal tries and all four free throws after the break. “I wasn’t that tired, and I knew one of their guys was in foul trouble, so I took it right at him.”
Henry’s scoring was the primary finishing touch of a third quarter the Eagles accelerated with defensive pressure that forced six WA turnovers.
“I felt we didn’t come out really intense in the first half, not like we usually do,” said GSA coach Dwayne Carter. “We knew this was a big game for us. In the third quarter I told them to come out and be tenacious on defense. I wanted to see tongues hanging after three minutes, and I did.
“I know when we get intense we can create a lot of turnovers, and we capitalized on them. I thought we played really well in the third quarter, and the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.”
Yet the Raiders nearly stole this game at the end, rallying from a 45-27 deficit with 4:34 left to within 50-48 on a 3-point shot by senior forward James Ramsdell with 45 seconds left.
The 21-5 blitz included five three-point possessions. Ramsdell hit a pair of 3-pointers and went inside for a three-point play, while Sam Hostetter converted a three-point play off a Ramsdell inbounds pass and took a crosscourt pass from Ramsdell and buried a 3-pointer.
But George Stevens, which went through a 3-of-7 stretch from the line during WA’s comeback, made six straight in the final 36 seconds – two by point guard Phineas Peake and four by Henry.
“We threw the ball away and they hit some big shots,” said Henry. “But we made some foul shots and pulled it out.”
Peake had 12 points for the Eagles, while Tim Carter scored 11 and Chaz Gray had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Ramsdell led WA with 17 points, 13 in the final six minutes, while Hostetter had 14 points and Jarred Sternbergh contributed 10 points and six rebounds.
This was a matchup of two of the hottest teams in Eastern C. GSA has now won nine straight since an opening-night loss to Class B Mount Desert Island. Washington Academy is 9-2, its only other defeat an overtime decision at Calais last week.
“I just thought our energy level tonight was flat,” said WA coach Chad Fitzsimmons. “Defensively it was OK, but offensively we just seemed to be walking through our set offense.
“We needed to have the energy we had the last five minutes for the whole game.”
This was largely a battle for control of the paint, a battle won by GSA. The Eagles outrebounded WA 29-22, and shot 58 percent (22 of 38) from the field, including 67 percent (12 of 18) in the second half.
“I wanted to go inside against their big guys,” said Carter, “because I felt if we got them in foul trouble we’d have a big advantage.
“It was good to play an intense game, we needed that.”
WA, meanwhile, shot 38 percent (19 of 49), a statistic somewhat inflated by its hot streak at the end.
“We just couldn’t hit a shot,” said Fitzsimmons. “It’s a little deceiving because near the end we hit some shots, but throughout the game we missed some key shots we normally make, and we missed some free throws.”
EAGLES 56, RAIDERS 48
Washington Acad. (8-2) George Stevens (9-1)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Gray 1 5 0 2 2 Ensworth 0 0 0
Albee 0 0 0 0 0 Carter 4 9 11
Ja. Ramsdell 6 14 3 5 17 Owen 1 2 2
Hostetter 5 9 3 3 14 Wessel 1 5 5
Colbeth 2 4 0 0 4 Peake 4 6 12
Wood 0 4 0 0 0 Gray 4 8 0 8
Sternbergh 5 11 0 1 10 Henry 7 8 18
Von Rotz 0 0 1 4 1 Smith 0 0 0
Je. Ramsdell 0 2 0 0 0 Bridges 0 0 0
Totals 19 49 7 15 48 21 38 13 20 56
Washington Acad. 7 17 21 48
George Stevens 12 20 38 56
3-pt. goals – Washington Academy (3-11): Ja. Ramsdell 2-3, Hostetter 1-2, Wood 0-1, Sternbergh 0-1, Je. Ramsdell 0-1, Gray 0-3; George Stevens (1-8): Carter 1-5, Owen 0-1, Wessel 0-2
JV: George Stevens 45-37
Attendance: 275 (est.)
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