Gardiner boys basketball rolls past Hermon in key Class B North showdown

Hermon’s Carter Wiggin loses the ball against Gardiner’s Brayden Elliott. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

GARDINER — It was supposed to be a matchup of two of the top boys basketball teams in Class B North.

Gardiner, however, was in control throughout and ran away in the second half to beat Hermon, 54-36, on Friday night at a packed Bragoli Gym.

Junior guard Trace Moody led the Tigers (9-1) with 15 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Brady Peacock added 14 points and nine rebounds. Gardiner led 24-18 at the half and went on an 8-0 run to start the third quarter. The Tigers outscored the Hawks (8-2) 30-18 in the second half to secure the win.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, that one versus two (seeds),” Peacock said, referring to the Heal point standings. “We knew it’d be a low-scoring game. (Hermon) is good in the paint. Everyone contributed. It just felt really good.”

Mason Kinney had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Hermon.

Both teams displayed a physical style throughout the game. Gardiner was able to force 18 turnovers, while the Hawks forced 15.

Gardiner has won six straight since a 78-45 loss to Brunswick on Dec. 16.

How did Gardiner win?

Consistent play on both ends of the floor. The Tigers jumped out to a 14-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Three-pointers from Moody and senior guard Brayden Elliott gave Gardiner an early spark.

Gardiner was also tough on the defensive end. Though outsized, Gardiner did the dirty work on the boards and on loose balls to gain possession.

“We work on defense every day at practice,” Peacock said. “The big key is getting rebounds. One shot, (get the rebound) and then we go take control on offense.”

Added Gardiner coach Aaron Toman: “With us, everything starts on the defensive end. When we are playing disciplined defense and we’re connected, good things happen. Obviously, (making) shots helped, we hit a couple early. But what I really liked was our discipline and compete level on defense. We just strung together stop after stop.”

The Tigers also did well to contain Kinney, who scored six of his 15 points at the foul line.

“(Kinney) is a very talented player,” Toman said. “He can beat you on the inside and the outside. He handles the ball a lot, he makes good decisions. He’s a tough matchup. But I thought our guys — Nick McKay, Brady Atwater, Colin McCormick — those three really guarded him the majority of the game and made him work.”

Plays of the game

Gardiner started the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Moody and Atwater as part of that 8-0 run. The Tigers outscored the Hawks 11-4 in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter with a 35-22 lead.

“We knew (Hermon) was going to come out and try to slow down the game, and we didn’t let them,” Moody said. “We played as one and we knew we could run with them. Everyone did good and contributed.

“Our third quarters usually aren’t the best, coming out of halftime. We knew we just had to keep fighting and going right at them. We knew we had it right after that 8-0 run and just kept going and going.”

What does it mean?

Gardiner moves up to No. 1 in the Class B North Heal point standings, while Hermon drops to No. 2. Meanwhile, Cony (8-2) moves up to No. 3 after a 95-89 win over Medomak Valley on Friday, and Mount Desert Island falls from third to fourth despite improving to 9-1 with a 75-55 win over Belfast.

Gardiner’s winning streak also includes a 97-90 victory over rival Cony on Dec. 27. The back end of the Tigers’ schedule is far from easy, and includes a rematch with the Rams on Jan. 22 in Augusta. Gardiner is also scheduled to play Medomak Valley this month, a top-three team in Class B South.