HERMON – Long trips at this time of year usually involve either shopping or getting to Grandma’s house in time for Christmas dinner.

For the Presque Isle boys basketball team, Friday’s long trek down Interstate 95 involved neither of the above, but there was a present to be had: A 54-37 Big East Conference Class B victory over Hermon.

Defensive might mitigated a sluggish offensive performance by the unbeaten Wildcats, who cruised to their fifth win after outscoring Hermon 17-0 over a 9-minute, 43-second stretch of the first half.

For the game, the Wildcats limited Hermon to 30 percent (14 of 47) shooting from the field while forcing 20 turnovers to offset 18 turnovers of their own.

“I have zero complaints defensively,” said Presque Isle coach Tim Prescott. “On the other end, it’s a travel by one guy and a fumble by another guy and a bad shot by another guy and then we don’t get anything for three trips. We just can’t execute that way, and we won’t. We’ll be better.”

Chris Coffin, Presque Isle’s 6-foot-5 senior center, was the game’s dominant inside force with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Senior guard Matt McGlinn had 12 points and four assists for the Wildcats, while 6-5 senior forward Greg Whitaker shook off the flu to add eight points and some ballhandling relief against Hermon’s defensive pressure.

“They’ve got 6-5 kids who can bring the ball up the court and shoot the 3s, and they can play inside-out with those guys,” said Hermon coach Dave Pepin. “That’s pretty tough.”

Hermon had difficulty scoring near the basket against the taller Wildcats, but did find success on the perimeter. The Hawks made half of their 14 field goals from beyond the 3-point arc.

Ryan Tarr paced Hermon with 15 points, 12 on four 3-pointers, while Mike Pellerin added 10 points.

“I thought our kids played with a lot of energy,” said Pepin, whose Hawks are 0-3 after losses to Ellsworth, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln and Presque Isle – teams that began the day with a combined 11-1 record. “I’m putting in a new system and it’s only our third game, but we’re getting it down.”

Hermon made four of its first five shots to build an early 9-2 lead, but after Tarr hit a free throw with 2:55 left in the first period, to make it 10-7, the Hawks’ offense went dry.

Presque Isle went to a smaller lineup after some early foul trouble, and a unit including guards Travis Brooker, Derrek Belanger and Logan York extended Presque Isle’s half-court zone and denied Hermon any more uncontested jumpers.

“That wasn’t by design,” said Prescott. “Greg and Matt both picked up two fouls so we did go with quicker, smaller guys and they did a nice job.”

Coffin, meanwhile, worked inside for nine points in the second quarter as Presque Isle built a 24-14 halftime lead.

“We started off a little rough, but we pulled together and played more as a team,” Coffin said.

Tarr opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Presque Isle then scored 12 unanswered points as McGlinn converted a steal into a three-point play and hit a 3-point shot to help the Wildcats gain a 36-17 lead with 4:40 left in the third quarter.

Tarr and Pellerin each hit two 3-pointers to pull the Hawks within 41-32 at the end of the period, but two inside hoops by Adam Kingsbury restored Presque Isle to a 45-32 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.

WILDCATS 54, HAWKS 37

Presque Isle (5-0) Hermon (0-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

York 1 3 0 0 2 Doherty 0 0 0 0

Belanger 0 2 0 0 0 Deabay 0 3 1

Brooker 1 5 1 1 3 K. Tarr 2 5 5

Lamoreax 2 2 0 0 5 Helms 0 0 0

Cheney 1 2 0 0 2 R. Tarr 5 18 15

McGlinn 4 8 2 4 12 Hills 0 1 0

Kingsbury 3 5 0 5 6 Pellerin 4 10 0 0 10

Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 Johnson 0 3 0

Coffin 6 10 4 8 16 Hinton 3 5 6

Whitaker 4 8 0 0 8 Hurd 0 2 0

Robinson 0 0 0

Estes 0 0 0 0

Totals 22 45 7 18 54 Totals 14 47 37

Presque Isle 11 24 41 54

Hermon 10 14 32 37

3-pt. goals – Presque Isle (3-10): McGlinn 2-4, Lamoureaux 1-1, York 0-1, Belanger 0-1, Brooker 0-1, Kingsbury 0-1, Whitaker 0-1; Hermon (7-22): R. Tarr 4-10, Pellerin 2-4, K. Tarr 1-4, Deabay 0-1, Hurd 0-1, Johnson 0-2

JV: Presque Isle 54-47

Attendance: 275 (est.)