Boys basketball: Messalonskee earns a dose of revenge on Skowhegan

AUGUSTA — Some people say it’s not good to dwell on the past. Some people never met the Messalonskee boys basketball team.

Merrick Smith had 18 points and nine rebounds, Ty Bernier added 13 points and the Eagles took down Skowhegan 68-50 in the finale of the Capital City Hoop Classic on Thursday night at the Augusta Civic Center.

The game was a rematch of last February’s Class A North semifinal, in which Skowhegan sent Messalonskee packing with a 54-34 rout at the Civic Center. Ten months later, the Eagles (4-1) still had not forgotten.

“We’ve kind of had what they had done to us the last time in the Civic Center in our mind all week in practice, so it felt really good to come out here and win,” said Smith, a 6-foot, 9-inch junior who scored 10 of his points in the second quarter, when Messalonskee outscored Skowhegan 22-5. Smith’s biggest highlight during the rally was a put-back in which he rebounded the ball with his back to the basket, twisted around and floated the ball into the net all in one motion.

Messalonskee point guard Jacob Moody also did damage in the second, twice stealing the ball and firing long passes to teammates for easy layups.

“We kind of wanted to make a statement here,” first-year Messalonskee coach Sam Smith said. “We were fired up, and we had a great week of practice. We came in with 100 percent effort and energy.

Messalonskee’s Merrick Smith (11) wins the tip-off against Skowhegan’s Ryan Donoghue (20) in a boys basketball game Thursday at the Capital City Hoop Classic at the Augusta Civic Center. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“We’ve had some ups and downs, but I think tonight was the first complete game we’ve played,” added Smith, whose team’s only loss was a 66-58 decision to Mt. Blue on Dec. 15. “Tonight was also the first game we’ve been fully healthy. It’s been up and down, but we’re finding ways to win games, which is important for the group.”

The night was a bit frustrating for Skowhegan (3-2), which played Messalonskee virtually even — if you toss out the second quarter. Adam Fitzgerald, a pesky 6-1 sophomore guard, led the River Hawks with 15 points, followed by senior Ryan Donoghue — Skowhegan’s own tall order at 6-7 — with 13.

“We didn’t come ready to play,” Skowhegan coach Tom Nadeau said. “They hit shots, we didn’t.

“We’ve got to find more consistency. We have a couple guys who got minutes last year, the rest of the crew are brand new to varsity basketball, and so we’re still trying to figure some things out.”

Messalonskee led 12-7 after the first period on the strength of seven points from Drake Brunelle, who was held scoreless the rest of the night. The Eagles scored the first eight points of the second and took a 34-12 halftime lead.

Skowhegan tried to chip away at the deficit but still trailed 48-28 after three. A Fitzgerald basket closed the deficit to 58-43 with 3 minutes left in the fourth, but Messalonskee scored the next seven points — including a Smith dunk off an alley-oop pass from Moody that drew the biggest reaction of the night from the Civic Center crowd — to seal the deal. Bernier scored seven points in the fourth.

The last few years have been trying in some ways for Messalonskee. Sam Smith is the Eagles’ fourth coach in three seasons, but the Eagles, who last season had a winning record for the first time since they won the 2017 Class A North title, may be ready to take flight for the foreseeable future.

“I think in the three years I’ve been here, this is the best team we’ve had,” Merrick Smith said. “It just feels good to get a win over a good team.”