CUMBERLAND – Sam Johnston scored 24 of his 29 points in the second and third quarters as unbeaten Greely used a 28-10 run to take control on the way to a 67-49 victory against York in a Western Maine Conference schoolboy basketball game Thursday night.
The Rangers (6-0) outscored the Wildcats 17-5 in the third quarter to put it away, but the game really turned in the final five minutes of the first half.
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Greely led 18-14 after an opening quarter in which each team had seven turnovers, but reserve Hayden Webster (10 points) knocked down a jumper and Liam Langaas followed a pair of Webster steals with a 3-pointer to give York its first lead at 19-18.
Two more baskets by Webster after a Johnston scoop shot put the Wildcats up 23-20, but center Tanner Storey took over on defense for Greely while Johnston did most of the offensive damage.
Storey (six blocks, 10 rebounds) followed a Johnston basket with a block that Nick Clark turned into a layup, giving Greely the lead for good at 24-23. A Storey rebound and long outlet pass sent Johnston in for another fast-break bucket.
After Zach Leal scored underneath off a nice bounce pass from Langaas for York, Johnston answered with two more baskets and a free throw to put the Rangers up 31-26.
“Tanner did a great job controlling the paint,” said Johnston. “The guys stepped it up on defense, and on offense we just try to find the guy with the hot hand, and tonight that was me.”
As for some of his unorthodox scoring, including several underhand shots and one where he never came close to squaring up for a one-hander, Johnston said, “It’s just instinct. I try to focus on the rim, and sometimes they fall and sometimes they don’t.”
Langaas found Todd alone in the left corner for a buzzer-beater at the end of the half that cut the deficit to 31-28 and might have given York (4-2) some momentum, but after a slow start to the third for both teams, the Rangers took over.
It was 35-31 when Johnston sank a pull-up and followed with a drive through the lane and a foul shot for a 40-31 lead.
Two steals by Johnston and one each by Liam Maker and Bailey Train helped thwart the Wildcats, and a pair of hoops from Johnston, a put-back by Storey, and a leaner by Michael McDevitt (10 points) made it 48-33 after three quarters.
York’s only points in that stretch came on a pair of free throws by Webster.
“I was real happy with the way we played in the second half,” said Greely Coach Ken Marks. “We made a few adjustments and the kids picked up their defense, and our big guys handled the rebounding. Sam had a nice game off the dribble, and we rode him.”
“Give them all the credit,” York Coach Randy Small said of Greely’s role in talking about his team’s struggles on offense.
“Their staff and players did a great job. They came out in the third with intensity and we couldn’t match it.”
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