WINSLOW — The Class B regular season finale between the Winslow and Maranacook boys basketball teams Thursday night had the feeling of a heavyweight boxing bout.
The Black Bears and Black Raiders traded proverbial jabs back and forth for much of the night.
And in the end, it was Winslow that delivered the knockout blow, outscoring Maranacook 24-10 in the fourth quarter to run away with a 66-48 victory. Jason Reynolds led the way for the Black Raiders (12-5) with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Teammates Antoine Akoa and Andrew Poulin each added 15 points.
It was a bounce-back win for Winslow, which dropped a 69-61 decision to Mount View on Wednesday night. Reynolds said the win was crucial in regards to seeding for the upcoming Class B North tournament. Winslow entered the contest ranked eighth in Class B North Heal points.
“It was a good matchup,” said Reynolds, a junior forward. “We knew going into this it was a big game for us. If we lost, we’d have the chance to play Houlton (in the first round of the playoffs) — which is three hours away — in an away (prelim round) game. This was big for us, coming off a two-game skid, losing to Medomak and then Mount View (Wednesday) night, that was a tough loss, both tough losses. But it was great to bounce back and get the win for the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.”
The game featured 10 lead changes during the first three quarters of play. Maranacook made its biggest push in the third quarter, putting together an 11-0 run to take 35-31 lead. Winslow responded with an 11-0 run of its own to take a 42-35 lead, which the Black Raiders would hold to eventually seal the game.
Marancook’s Chris Reid right, leads the fast break ahead of Winslow defender Andrew Poulin during a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B game Thursday night in Winslow. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
“We played (Wednesday) night, so it’s always tough to play back-to-back,” Winslow head coach Ken Lindlof said. “We wanted to make sure (Wednesday) night’s loss didn’t carry over. So we started fresh and wanted to honor our seniors (for senior night) with a great effort and emphasize what we do as a team. It wasn’t perfect, but our kids made a hell of an effort. We defended and rebounded well. They made some shots, but we were able to overcome and make enough plays to seal the victory for us.”
“It’s a really big confidence booster,” added Akoa, a senior forward, who grabbed five rebounds on top of his 15 points. “Coming back for a win (Wednesday) really boosted our confidence. Going into the playoffs, we hope to have a lot of that.”
Tyler Hreben led the Black Bears with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Nick Wilson added 10 points and seven rebounds. Maranacook entered the game as the No. 9 seed in Class B South.
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