AUGUSTA — For three quarters, the Skowhegan boys basketball team fended off Cony’s tries to catch up.
And in the fourth quarter, when the Rams not only did catch up but took the lead, the River Hawks were ready for that too.
Levi Obert scored 27 points, Kyle LePage added 13 and Skowhegan outlasted Cony 74-62 for a big road win against a fellow A North competitor. Luke Briggs had 17 points and Kam Douin scored 15 to lead the Rams.
“It’s a good win for us, a lot of Heal points,” LePage said. “It was tough. We got in foul trouble, and they’re a pretty good pressing team so we had to settle down a little bit. It’s a big win on the road in their gym.”
Skowhegan (7-3) led for every minute of the first three quarters, but Cony (7-3) kept nipping at its heels until finally Briggs hit a 3-pointer with 7:24 to go in the game to put Cony ahead 51-50. The Rams gave up the lead, then got it back at 56-54 with 6:25 left when Brady Hopkins swished a three from the right corner.
The River Hawks were unfazed. A basket by Obert and another by Quintcey McCray put Skowhegan up 58-56, and Obert followed with another basket and then a 3-pointer to make it 63-56 and prompt a Cony timeout with 4:35 to play.
“My team knew I had the hot hand, they just kept getting it to me,” Obert said. “Our game plan was to get it inside, and if they were to double, kick it out.”
Cony didn’t get within seven points the rest of the way. LePage scored six straight points for Skowhegan to help make sure there was no late rally.
“It’s a sign of growth,” said coach Tom Nadeau, whose team also got 10 points and nine rebounds from Adam Savage and seven points and eight rebounds from Collin LePage. “We have a lot of growth to do, but that was a big deal. Especially on the road against Cony in this gym.”
Skowhegan’s Kyle LePage, center, gets double teamed by Cony’s Dominick Napolitano, left, and Kam Douin during a boys basketball game Wednesday in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Cony shot 14-for-21 from the free throw line, while Skowhegan went 20-for-21.
“They’re really good, and it’s little things that win games,” said Cony coach T.J. Maines, whose team got seven rebounds from Dom Napolitano. “Defensively, we did some good things, but you have to be able to finish possessions off. … I think we started off pretty sluggish, but I was proud of the grit and the fight we showed in the second half.
“Bottom line is, playing the way we play, you’ve got to make shots. And we’re just not making shots.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
