WELLS – Thomas Coyne and Nick Burton came off the bench early to spark unbeaten Falmouth, which took advantage of its size and depth to control Wells from the start and coast to a 70-36 victory in a Western Maine Conference boys’ basketball game Friday night.

Coyne, a freshman, and Burton, a junior, were hot from 3-point range. Coyne hit three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points. Burton had two 3s and scored 13.

Because of exams, neither team had played in a week. The layoff rust showed more on Wells (9-4) than Falmouth (13-0).

Wells led 3-0 when Dylan Stevens hit a 3-pointer and also 3-2 before Falmouth got untracked.

The Yachtsmen got their fast break going and continually found open men inside for easy baskets.

With the exception of Coyne’s 3-pointer in the quarter, all of Falmouth’s baskets were scored from in close.

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Charlie Fay, a 6-foot-5 center, had eight points in the opening quarter.

Fay got in early foul trouble and didn’t score again, but others stepped up.

Falmouth’s other big men, 6-4 Justin Rogers and 6-5 Jack Simonds, also scored inside. Rogers had two baskets; Simonds had one.

The Yachtsmen led 24-6 after one quarter and 43-13 at the half.

“I think our depth and being able to keep the intensity up were keys,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. “Wells is a dangerous team if you let them get untracked. Our other big guys off the bench did a nice job.”

With no games early in the week, Halligan said his team was thrown off its routine.

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“They got tired of playing against each other in practice. They were ready to play someone else,” he said.

With the game well in hand by halftime, Falmouth was able to clear its bench.

“We have a game Saturday (Poland) so we were able to rest some of our starters,” said Halligan. “The learning, teaching and coaching never stops. Our goal is to get better. We want to be better in the second half than we were in the first half. If we keep striving to improve, hopefully by the tournament we’ll be where we want to be.”

The Warriors won the opening tip and soon had the lead.

“Our start was OK,” said Wells Coach Troy Brown, whose team plays Saturday at Waynflete, “but we weren’t getting back on defense. We were giving up easy baskets and you can’t do that against the No. 1-ranked team.

“Falmouth took advantage of the size mismatches and they have kids coming off the bench. We missed a few easy baskets. Not that it would have made a difference but it hurts mentally.

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“I thought we played hard to the end. I know what we’re capable of. I thought we slipped a little bit defensively tonight. We need to pick it up.”

Stevens led Wells with 10 points.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH

 


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