FARMINGDALE — The Monmouth Academy boys basketball team is far from a finished product.
But on Friday night, the Mustangs took another step forward.
Led by sophomore forward Jacob Harmon, who scored 23 points while grabbing eight rebounds, the Mustangs beat rival Hall-Dale, 62-46, in a Mountain Valley Conference showdown in front of a packed crowd at Penny Gym.
“It’s a big win,” said Harmon. “We’re rivals, but also, Heal points-wise, this should secure us the No. 2 spot (in Class C South). It was a hostile environment; I was just proud of our guys for sticking it out and closing the game out.”
“It’s always good to come to your rival’s gym and play well,” Monmouth coach Wade Morrill said. “We went a little crazy (with the ball) in the last two minutes, but every time Hall-Dale made a couple big plays in a row, our guys answered. That’s a sign of maturing, and that’s what I like to see.”
Sophomore guard Levi Laverdiere added 16 points for the Mustangs (11-4), while senior forward Bingham Abbott chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds. Monmouth has now won six straight games, including a 69-62 win over C South’s No. 1 team, Mt. Abram, on Jan. 14.
Keegan Cary scored 17 points to lead Hall-Dale (11-5). Sophomore forward Karter Eldridge had a double-double, scoring 10 points while grabbing 16 rebounds.
Harmon scored 11 of his 23 points in the first quarter, helping spark a 7-0 run and giving the Mustangs a 14-9 lead by the end of the quarter.
“A lot of respect (to Hall-Dale), that’s a good program over there,” Harmon said. “It’s a tough place to play, I’m glad we got through with the win.”
Hall-Dale showed fight throughout, going blow-for-blow with Monmouth in the third quarter. But turnovers and shooting woes ultimately hurt the Bulldogs, who have dropped three of their last four games.
How did they do it?
While Harmon stood out as the lead scorer, and the spark to get Monmouth’s offense going, the Mustangs crashed the boards, forced turnovers and hit 3-pointers when needed.
“I was getting a lot more time in the post than I normally do,” Harmon said. “I usually get (double-teamed), but I was getting isolated out in the post, and I was able to use my footwork to push hard and get some offensive rebounds.”
“Jake is an underrated player,” Morrill said. “He works really hard. If you look at last year’s stats, you’ll notice it was about at this time last year that he started picking up the pace. He’s a grinder. He works his butt off. At this time of year, he really starts to step up. He’s got a championship pedigree; he’s a tough kid. It was nice to see him play well, especially on a night where Hall-Dale was making it harder on some of our other guys.”
Laverdiere didn’t have his best shooting night against Hall-Dale, but he nailed four 3-pointers, including three in the second half that helped the Mustangs pull away. Abbott had no issues doing the dirty work in the post, grabbing rebounds and getting most of his baskets on putbacks.
What does it mean?
The win solidifies the Mustangs as the No. 2 team in C South with just three games remaining in their regular season. Those final three games aren’t pushovers, as they play Richmond and Class B Maranacook before a rematch against Hall-Dale in the regular-season finale on Feb. 5. All three of those teams are expected to make the playoffs.
Hall-Dale entered the game as the No. 3 team in C South but dropped to No. 4 in the standings. The Bulldogs are firmly secure in the C South tournament, but with three losses in their last four games, they will want to right the ship in the final two regular-season games.
“We’ve been able to execute and win close basketball games, when we’re able to keep it close,” Hall-Dale coach Chris Ranslow said. “We lost the other night against (Maine Central Institute), which I hope I’m not seeing the start of a trend. Our other losses have been blowout losses, to Spruce (Mountain), against Mt. Abram, and against Monmouth, because (tonight) felt like a blowout to me.”
They said it
“There’s nothing better than playing on a Friday night in front of a packed gym. This is what you play for in basketball.” – Jacob Harmon
“I was very disappointed with our execution, with our intensity. We missed free throws. We didn’t play with savvy; we didn’t play with much poise. I’m not sure if it was just (Monmouth’s) stuff that made it difficult for us to be ourselves, but we just weren’t ourselves.” – Chris Ranslow
Statistical leaders
Monmouth: Jacob Harmon (23 points, eight rebounds), Levi Laverdiere (16 points).
Hall-Dale: Keegan Cary (17 points), Karter Eldridge (10 points, 16 rebounds).
Up next
Monmouth: vs. Richmond (7-6) at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Hall-Dale: vs. Waynflete (7-7) at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
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