AUGUSTA — No one player was the center of attention for the Cony boys basketball team Friday night — and yet the result was still largely what the Rams have been doing all year.
Six players scored more than a dozen points, with no one topping 18 for Cony in a 95-89 victory over Medomak Valley. It was matchup of Class B contenders — Cony in the North, Medomak Valley in the South — who will meet again next Thursday.
“(Our offense) is pretty balanced,” said Jackson Kay, who led Cony with 18 points. “Everyone gets touches, everyone has a chance to score. We have some nights where I could go off, (Carter Brathwaite) could go off, Parker (Morin) could go off, or Ben (Hanke) could go off. I like the offense; it moves really well.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Morin hit a 3-pointer to start the game, Medomak Valley answered with eight straight points before Cony coach Isaiah Brathwaite called a timeout. The Rams (8-2) got within a point at 25-24 to end the first quarter before outscoring the Panthers 26-13 in the second to take a 12-point lead into the halftime break.
“I just got on our guys and had to try to get them back into game mode,” Isaiah Brathwaite said. “I could just tell right then and there that we were in a little bit of a lull, and I had to take a moment to get them back on track and get their minds right.”
Cony’s lead grew in the third quarter to as many as 20 points. But Medomak Valley’s Mason Nguyen erupted for 23 points in the fourth quarter, pulling the Panthers within five before the Rams ultimately closed out the victory.
“I wasn’t really (sweating the result), but at the same time, I wasn’t really happy with our team’s performance down the stretch,” Isaiah Brathwaite said. “Against good teams, you’ve got to be able to close them out, especially when you have such a big lead, up 20.”
WHAT IT MEANS
• Cony gets a signature win after losses in its two previous marquee games, against Gardiner on Dec. 27 and Hermon on Tuesday. It was much-needed win for a team that still hopes to keep pace in the Heal points standings with first-place Gardiner and second-place Hermon, who faced off Friday, with Gardiner winning, 54-38.
• Medomak Valley lost to a Class B team for the first time; its only other loss was against Class A Camden Hills. The Panthers will have a chance to get revenge Thursday in Waldoboro.
“It feels great, and we can’t wait to see Medomak again when we play them (Thursday),” Kay said. “They’re a great team, and it’s definitely going to be different switching it up playing at their gym — it’s going to be a tough one.”
NOTABLE QUOTABLES
• “We’re well-balanced; we’ve got a lot of guys that can come off the bench and score double-digits for us. We’re really deep, and it’s about our guys staying focused, staying ready and coming to play.” — Isaiah Brathwaite
• “(We just had to) stop the ball, talk and rebound. … It was youth night with all the little kids, so we used that energy, took it and put it into the game.” — Carter Brathwaite
STAT LEADERS
• Medomak Valley: Mason Nguyen (36 points; 23 in fourth quarter), Kollin Donlin (26 points, nine rebounds), Micah Fagonde (20 points, five 3-pointers).
• Cony: Jackson Kay (18 points, 7 rebounds), Carter Brathwaite (16 points, six rebounds), Benjamin Hanke (16 points), Parker Morin (16 points).
UP NEXT
• Medomak Valley: vs. Morse (3-6), 6:30 p.m. Monday
• Cony: at Medomak Valley, 6:30 p.m. Thursday
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