HERMON – As he sent his Hermon Hawks back onto the floor with 2.8 seconds left in Thursday night’s schoolboy basketball game, Alan Tweedie sighed, shook his head, and shared a question that coaches everywhere will understand.

“It always comes down to this, doesn’t it?” Tweedie asked.

The “It” was this: His team had led Mount Desert Island by as many as 16 points in the second half.

They’d watched the Trojans come roaring back.

And MDI was coming out of its own timeout down by two, with the ball, and a shot at a win.

They didn’t get it … but man, was it close.

Robbie McLaughlin got open and launched a rim-rattling in-and-outer from 22 feet. When the Hawks tipped the rebound away, they’d earned a 66-64 win, and improved to 3-0.

MDI drops to 1-2.

Hermon junior point guard Joey Schacht, who scored 18 points in the game, said he thought McLaughlin’s shot looked good.

“Oh my God,” Schacht said. “I almost passed out. I couldn’t believe he could get that open.”

McLaughlin, who helped fuel the comeback by scoring 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, was supposed to receive a pass at the top of the key.

He changed his plan when the Hermon defense denied that cut. He faded out to the left wing instead, and caught a perfect cross-court pass from Brandon Colbeth.

“I thought it looked good,” McLaughlin said. “But I guess not.”

MDI coach Wilton Jones said his team has trailed by large margins in each of its three games.

“We’ve been able to rally, which I guess is a good thing, but we’ve got to start playing a little bit better for 32 minutes,” Jones said.

Hermon led 38-27 at halftime and appeared poised to blow the game open early in the third quarter.

When Schacht nailed a 3-pointer at the 6:11 mark, his Hawks led 45-29 and the Trojans were reeling.

Not for long.

MDI juggled its personnel to put quicker players on the floor against the speedy Hawks and steadily worked their way back into the game.

They reeled off a 9-0 spurt that spanned the third and fourth periods to pull within two at 52-49, then evened it up at 58-all when McLaughlin nailed a 3-pointer with 2:56 to play.

Jason Ouellette (15 points) scored five of Hermon’s final nine points to help hold the Trojans at bay. Wayne Shaw finished with 18.

Ouellette said the experience the Hawks have gained in three straight tournament trips may have paid off down the stretch.

“We know what it’s like to be in close games, and I think it showed tonight,” Ouellette said. “We let the lead get away from us, but we were still able to come away with the win.”

MDI got 15 points from senior forward Greg Fellis and 13 each from McLaughlin and Blay Carr. Colbeth added 10.

Tweedie said MDI’s decision to go for the win instead of a tie was a good one.

“It was interesting that they went for it,” Tweedie said. “It’s kind of what I like to do. When you’re on the other [team’s] court, you get a crack at it, you go for it.”

And Tweedie admitted he was concerned when he saw the ball leave McLaughlin’s hand.

“It looked good to me. All the way to the rim,” Tweedie said.

HAWKS 66, TROJANS 64

Mount Desert Island (1-2) Hermon (3-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Jones 2 9 4 4 8 Schacht 5 9 18

Staples 0 5 3 4 3 Frye 1 1 2

B. Colbeth 3 12 4 4 10 Robinson 1 2

Carr 4 6 4 5 13 McLeod 1 3 1 3

Fellis 5 9 5 6 15 Ouellette 5 15

R. Colbeth 1 2 0 0 2 Shaw 7 14 18

McLaughlin 5 9 0 0 13 Porter 3 6 6

King 1 2 0 2

Totals 20 52 20 23 64 Totals 24 46 12 17 66

MDI 13 27 43 52

Hermon 17 38 52 66

3-pt. goals: MDI (4-14): Jones 0-3, Staples 0-1, B. Colbeth 0-2, Carr 1-1, McLaughlin 3-7; Hermon (6-14): Schacht 4-6, McLeod 0-1, Ouellette 0-3, Shaw 2-4

Attendance: 300 (est.)

Preliminary: Hermon JVs 66-64