WISCASSET

Coming off a pair of tough home losses to Madison and Winthrop, Wiscasset High School boys basketball coach Dana Lawrence looked for a bounce-back game against Monmouth Academy on Monday.

With the Wolverines clinging to the eighth spot in Western Maine Class C, three spots ahead of the No. 11 Mustangs, who hold down the final playoff position, a win was surely needed.

After a less than stellar first half — and Monmouth holding a 25-19 lead — Wiscasset turned up the defensive pressure for a 63-49 Mountain Valley Conference victory.

The win gives the Wolverines an 8-6 record, with a visit to Mt. Abram slated for Thursday, while Monmouth dipped to 6-9.

The story of the second half was Wiscasset’s full-court pressure defense. After committing just eight turnovers in the first half, Monmouth turned the ball over 19 times in the second stanza as the Wolverines used a pair of long runs to take control.

“They are like us, young, and our thoughts were to turn up the defense, and that leads to our offense,” said Lawrence, who watched his Wolverines shoot 59 percent (16 of 27) from the floor in the second half.”

“We were spot-on in the first half defensively, knowing they have fast guards, and I thought we did really good,” said Monmouth coach Lucas Turner after watching his Mustangs hold Wiscasset to just six second-quarter points. “The second half, Dana made an adjustment, pressed us, and we had trouble adjusting.”

Trailing 33-30 with 2:41 left in the third quarter, Wiscasset used a 12-0 run to take control.

Freshman JD Souza, who scored a game-high 19 points for the Wolverines, finished off the run with a 3- pointer, while Chandler Longfellow and Austin Haskell scored all 10 of their points in the second half as Wiscasset held a 44-24 scoring advantage.

“We were able to put pressure on the ball, which was big, and turnovers were a big key,” said Haskell. “To be successful, we have to pressure the ball and run. This is a big win.”

Monmouth drew to within seven points on a Marcques Houston putback, but a 9-0 spurt put the Mustangs away as Wiscasset claimed a gamehigh 16-point advantage, 53-37 with 3:09 remaining.

Slow start

Wiscasset held Monmouth scoreless over the first four minutes of the contest, taking a 7-0 lead behind four points from Souza.

Billy Cummings came off the Mustangs bench to light a fuse, a move that paid off immediately as the senior drained a 3-pointer for Monmouth’s first points. Monmouth trailed 13-7 after a quarter, as Souza finished with seven for Wiscasset.

Monmouth took over in the second quarter. Back-to-back treys by Cummings gave the Mustangs the lead, and Drew McFarren drove to the basket for four points as Monmouth claimed a 25-19 halftime lead.

Cummings spearheaded the visitors’ attack, scoring 11 first-half points as the Monmouth bench held a 16-1 scoring advantage. He finished with a game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers.

After Wiscasset drew to 25- 23 early in the second half, the Mustangs seemed to figure things out, getting a 3-pointer from Cummings for a 29-23 lead, and a short jumper by Brett Wilson made for a 33-30 Monmouth advantage with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

“Monmouth is a good ball club, so it is a big win to keep them behind us,” said Lawrence. “This game was very big for us after two tight losses. We have a tough schedule down the stretch (Mountain Valley, Oak Hill, Boothbay), so we will need to keep playing well.”

Monmouth was 15 of 40 (37 percent) from the floor and made 14 of 20 free throws. McFarren added seven points, while Wilson had six points, three steals and three assists. Brandon Goff and Houston chipped in five points each, with Houston pulling down six rebounds.

Souza added six rebounds, five assists and four steals for Wiscasset, while Travis Padilla, Longfellow and Haskell each scored 10 points. Dale Peaslee chipped in seven points and six rebounds. Wiscasset was just 11 of 19 from the foul line, but made seven of eight in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.

“Free throws are always big, and we were able to make them when they counted tonight,” said Lawrence.

Maine HS hoops

Monday’s Scores
BOYS BASKETBALL
Boothbay Region 74, St. Dominic Regional 36
Dirigo 56, Spruce Mountain 49
George Stevens 57, Deer Isle-Stonington 54
Hall-Dale 62, Lisbon 47
John Bapst Memorial 73, Orono 45
Limestone Community 49, Easton 33
Machias 57, Shead 31
Madison Area Memorial 63, Telstar 43
Mount Desert Island 71, Washington 64
Mountain Valley 61, Mt. Abram 54
Sumner Memorial 63, Searsport District 45
Winthrop 61, Oak Hill 48
Wiscasset 63, Monmouth Academy 49
Woodland 63, Narraguagus 57
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ashland Community 47, Katahdin 41
Calais 76, Machias 56
Fort Fairfield 67, Madawaska 36
Hebron 30, Greater Portland Christian 18
Houlton 41, Hodgdon 37
Jonesport-Beals 63, Sumner Memorial 44
Penquis Valley 59, Stearns 35
Piscataquis Community 38, Central 30
Schenck 72, Penobscot Valley 47
Van Buren District 47, Easton 41
Washburn 100, So. Aroostook Community 36

Wiscasset 63,
Monmouth 49

At Wiscasset
Monmouth — 7 18 8 16 — 49
Wiscasset — 13 6 20 24 — 63
Monmouth — Brett Wilson 3-0-6, Devin West 0-
0-0, Drew McFarren 3-1-7, Brandon Goff 0-5-5,
Marcques Houston 2-1-5, Billy Cummings 5-6-
21, Kasey Smith 2-0-4, Cody Gallagher 0-0-0, DJ
McHugh 0-1-1, Alex Curtis 0-0-0, Joe Menice 0-
0-0, Chris Armstrong 0-0-0. Totals — 15-14-49.
Wiscasset — JD Souza 7-2-19, Matt Craig 2-1-
5, Travis Padilla 5-0-10, Chandler Longfellow 3-
3-10, John Rines 1-0-2, Thomas Anderson 0-0-
0, Dale Peaslee 2-3-7, Austin Haskell 4-2-10.
Totals — 24-11-63.
3-point goals — (M) Cummings 5; (W) Souza 3,
Longfellow.
Records — Wiscasset 8-6, Monmouth 6-9.
Next — The Wolverines visit Mt. Abram on
Thursday, while Monmouth hosts Dirigo on
Thursday.

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