MILO – In an early season Class C boys basketball game marked by turnovers and fouls, Alex Zwicker knew the secret to remaining composed.

“You just have to block all that stuff out,” said Zwicker, “and concentrate on what the guy on the sideline wants you to do.”

Penquis coach Tony Hamlin certainly had no complaints about his senior guard Thursday night, because Zwicker was the difference as the host Patriots topped Orono 66-44.

Zwicker scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Penquis bounced back from a 28-point loss to Schenck of East Millinocket earlier in the week and improved its record to 2-1.

“That was an embarrassing loss,” said Zwicker. “I think tonight, even with the turnovers we had, we were able to get the offense going. This was a confidence booster for us.”

Zwicker shot 8 of 13 from the field, including 4 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc, and scored 16 points in the first half as Penquis built a 39-25 lead.

“Alex is an example of a kid that worked hard all summer and worked hard all fall,” said Hamlin. “He’s put his time in, and he’s a good shooter.”

Neither team was able to develop any offensive rhythm, as defensive aggression on both sides helped result in a combined 57 fouls and 51 turnovers.

Penquis took best advantage of the foul fest, amassing 28 points on 47 free-throw attempts to outscore Orono by 21 points from the line. The Red Riots made 7 of 13 free-throw tries, as Orono committed 36 fouls to 21 for Penquis.

The Penquis defense also limited the Red Riots to 34 percent (18 of 53) shooting from the field.

“I thought we played hard, but we didn’t play that smart,” said Hamlin. “We played our halfcourt defense pretty well, we just didn’t take care of the basketball and missed too many free throws.”

Junior guard Nathan Allen added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for Penquis, while Russell Berry and Ian Carey each scored eight points.

Senior guard Mardy Simon led 1-1 Orono with 12 points, while Nyasha Millard, Travis Dunton, Lloyd Bryant and Seth Dwyer scored six points apiece.

Penquis came out in a defensive state of mind, holding Orono without a field goal for the game’s first 4:38 in building a 12-1 lead. Zwicker started that run with an elbow jumper and a 3-point goal, and Allen added a runner from the lane while the Patriots went 5 for 10 from the line as Orono built up some early foul trouble.

The Red Riots, which had opened their first season in Class C with a win against Sumner of East Sullivan, crept within 12-5 as J. Spencerand Simon hit back-to-back baskets, but Zwicker added another 3-pointer and Penquis hit 7 of its next 8 free throws en route to a 24-9 lead by the end of the period.

A three-point play by Dwyer and a 3-point shot by Dunton pulled Orono as close as it would get the rest of the way at 24-15 a minute into the second quarter.

Two straight baskets by Simon to open the second half narrowed Orono’s deficit to 39-29 before Zwicker sparked an 8-2 Penquis run with a follow-up basket and another 3-pointer. That gave the Patriots a 47-31 cushion, and the difference was 53-35 entering the fourth quarter.

Patriots 66, Red Riots 44

Orono (1-1) Penquis (2-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Simon 6 12 0 0 12 Carey 3 5 8

Patel 0 0 0 0 0 Morrill 0 2 10 7

Milllard 3 6 0 0 6 A.Zwicker 8 13 3 6 23

Dunton 2 8 1 1 6 Hamlin 0 0 0

McGowan 0 0 0 0 0 Berry 3 6 8

Henigan 1 1 0 0 2 Stevens 1 4 7

Bryant 1 3 4 8 6 Allen 2 5 13 13

Tomer 1 1 0 0 2 Knapp 0 0 0

Spencer 2 10 0 0 4 London 0 0 0

Bates 0 1 0 0 0 B.Zwicker 0 0

Dwyer 2 11 2 4 6 Andrews 0 0 0

Brown 0 1 0 0

Dolley 0 0 0 0

Totals 18 53 7 13 44 Totals 17 36 28 47 66

Orono 9 25 35 44

Penquis 24 39 53 66

3-pt. goals – Orono (1-15): Dunton 1-6, Bryant 0-1, Spencer 0-1, Dwyer 0-7; Penquis (4-9): A. Zwicker 4-7, Morrill 0-1, Allen 0-1

JV: Orono 64-37

Attendance: 275 (est.)