AUGUSTA — The Cony boys basketball team didn’t exactly hit the ground running Tuesday night. But considering the scoreboard showed a 79-44 victory over rival Gardiner, coach T.J. Maines accentuated the positive.
“What I’m happy with is that you’re able to win when you don’t play well,” Maines said. “The first half we did not play very well, the second half we were decent. But it was not a great effort. … We got away with it. We were much more focused and did a better job finishing and defending in the second half.”
Simon McCormick scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and Dakota Dearborn had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead Cony, which held a 32-21 lead at the half despite going only 9-for-41 from the field and 3-for-21 from 3-point range. But the Rams came out strong in the second half, particularly after a Kalvin Catchings (16 points) putback brought Gardiner within seven points at 32-25 in the first minute of the third.
Kyle Douin scored on a cut to the hoop, Luke Briggs added a basket and Dearborn hit a three to make it 39-25 with 6:03 left. A Catchings basket made it a 12-point game, but Briggs, Dearborn (another three), McCormick and Douin (three) had consecutive baskets to finish a 17-2 run and blow the game open.
“We turned them over a little more early in the second half, so that gets you a few easier baskets,” Maines said. “We did a better job of finishing at the rim. If you’re not shooting it well, you’d better get your butt going towards the basket.”
Gardiner coach Aaron Toman credited the Cony defense with taking the Tigers out of their rhythm, and said that while his players knew what was coming, the adjustment is difficult to make in real time.
“It’s extremely hard to prepare for,” he said. “We try to prepare our guys for it as best we can, but until they see it live, it’s a different animal.”
That was evident in the first quarter, when Cony was vulnerable but Gardiner hurt itself with nine turnovers. The Tigers turned the ball over seven more times in the second quarter.
“They take you out of almost everything you want to do offensively, so you really have to be composed and fight for a good shot, and we didn’t do that enough tonight,” Toman said. “In the second half they started hitting some shots, and they went on that run. … When you’re not making shots and they make shots, that’s hard.”
Catchings added seven rebounds for Gardiner, while Ryan Moore had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Braden Dorogi added nine boards.
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