AUGUSTA — Of all the scenarios in a matchup between the Skowhegan and Cony boys basketball teams, a blowout was least likely.

That’s what happened at the Cony gym Friday night, though. The Rams shot well, controlled the boards and led from start to finish in posting a 72-36 victory.

“We’re just starting to click as a team, turning the corner,” said Cony senior Walker Cooper, who scored a game-high 19 points. “We’re starting to play well at the same time and we put it all together tonight.”

Cony (4-6) was coming off a big road win against Lawrence on Tuesday night that put the team right back into the Eastern Maine Class A tournament picture.

“I think this is a carryover because I think the kids are starting to believe in themselves,” Cony coach Tim Bonsant said. “Their roles have been defined well enough now.”

The Rams led 20-5 at the end of the first quarter as Cooper scored seven points, Chandler Shostak six and Zack Lachance five. The Indians had several good shots at the hoop in the quarter but couldn’t connect. Over the course of the game, poor shooting by Skowhegan helped give the Rams a 52-20 edge on the boards.

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“I didn’t have too many problems with the offense because we were getting good looks,” Skowhegan coach Dave Simpson said. “The ball just wasn’t falling. Defensively, we didn’t play very well. We made fundamental errors and we didn’t rebound like we should.”

The Rams led 34-14 at the half. Skowhegan (3-7) played better in the third period as Levi Barnes (12 points) and Ethan Johnson (12) began to find their shooting range but they couldn’t gain any ground. Cooper scored seven points in the quarter while Ben Lucas (12 rebounds) added six and Lachance five.

“The beginning of the year was kind of different,” Cooper said. “I felt like I needed to carry the team because no one else was producing but now everyone else is playing like they can.”

Lachance finished with 14 points while Shostak scored 10 and Lucas had eight. Ten players scored for the Rams. Josiah Hayward, who had a huge game in the Lawrence win, finished with just two points but added seven rebounds while Lachance had six assists.

Simpson cleared his bench early in the fourth quarter as reserves from both teams finished out the game.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com


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