WINSLOW — The Winslow High School boys basketball team used a hot start and a strong finish to take a 66-58 win over Nokomis on Friday night, giving new head coach Jared Browne a victory in his first game on the Black Raiders’ bench.
“We came out on fire. This was a big pride win for them. A lot of people are talking about Nokomis, and the new 6-8 guys they brought in (Andrew and WIlliam Cartwright). Our guys took it a little personally, that they’re just as good as (Nokomis), and they showed it,” Browne said.
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The Black Raiders hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 21-9 lead and led by 20, 31-11, three minutes into the second quarter.
“All week in practice, it was intense. We knew we had to come out hot. Luckily, Trevor (Lovely) knocked down those first few shots,” said Winslow senior guard Justin Murray, who led the Black Raiders with 18 points.
Lovely (16 points) hit three 3-pointers in the first half, while Murray sank a pair.
“We didn’t want to get any more than a foot away from Lovely, didn’t want to get a foot or so away from Murray,” Nokomis coach Carl Parker said.
“There were two or three times when they hit threes, where the guy guarding them was all the way over to the lane line. A kid who can shoot the ball, give him enough space, and he’s confident and he shoots it.”
Nokomis played without starter Spencer Hartsgrove, who was ruled ineligible on Thursday but should be back for next Friday’s game at Maine Central Institute, Parker said. Winslow’s man-to-man defense forced the Warriors to settle for tough shots early.
“Simple man-to-man defense. We worked so hard in the first quarter, I think we maybe got a little overtired going into the second half,” Browne said. “Once Nokomis got hot, they got rolling a little bit, and we had to slow it down.”
The Warriors rallied, using a 9-1 run to pull within five points late in the fourth quarter, but Winslow went 14 for 20 from the free throw line in the fourth to seal the win.
“Nokomis is a good team. I wasn’t expecting to get out to a start like that, but it was outstanding, and I was proud of the way our kids handled it down the stretch,” Browne said.
Added Parker: “We’ve always played hard. We don’t always play smart. Sometimes we play like we’re the dumbest coached team in America.”
Ethan Pearl led Nokomis with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Nason Lanphier came off the bench to score nine points and grab eight rebounds for Winslow.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
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