BATH

Coming off a nine-point loss to previously-winless Lincoln Academy on Friday, the Morse High School boys basketball team looked across the court at Western Maine Conference power York Monday afternoon, a Wildcats team with a 7-3 record.

In a half-full gymnasium at Bath Middle School, there was little reason to think the 1-8 Shipbuilders were going to hang with York, even though the Wildcats had dropped their previous two games to Kennebunk and Greely.

However, the Shipbuilders had other ideas, leading at the half before a third quarter 10-0 run allowed the Wildcats to escape with a 67- 58 Class A South victory.

“This was nothing that I didn’t expect,” said York coach Paul Marquis, whose 8-3 Wildcats, No. 2 in the Class A South Heal Point Standings, host Class B South top team Cape Elizabeth Friday night at 7 p.m. in a key WMC tilt. “Morse is a very good team that has been on the wrong end of a lot of tough losses. They put up a lot of points. They have decent shooters and played hard throughout.”

“That was a great effort, we got open looks, defense was outstanding, and we played to win. We just didn’t come out on top,” Morse coach Brian Bennett said.

The first half played out nearly perfect for the Shipbuilders, who shot 63 percent from the field (14-of-22) and led 35-34 at the half. Tom Warren came off the bench midway through the first half and led the Morse charge, tallying 12 first-half points.

“It was a really good game, and going into the second half with the lead says something. We can hang with anyone, even though our record doesn’t show it,” said Warren, who finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and six assists.

For York, the third-quarter run was led by the Wildcat defense. York forced six Morse turnovers over a three-minute stretch, turning a 47-43 deficit into a 53-47 lead heading to the fourth.

“We all knew coming out of the half that it was our game, and we went full throttle, feeling there was no way we were going to lose this game,” said York forward Will MacDonald, who scored six points in each half. “They shot the ball well, but it was our defense. We have to stay active. Most of the shots they hit were wide open shots, and that is on us.”

“We have a lot of guys that can do a lot of good things for us,” added Marquis. (Alex) Zinkevicz played well in the first half, then we went to a different lineup, looking to create a little bit of offense from our defense. It worked out.”

“It was just miscommunication,” said Bennett of his team’s third quarter struggles. “We have had some kids not with the team and we put in a new zone. No fault on anyone, it was the breaks.”

Hot first half

York came out strong, jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Warren entered the game for Morse and immediately took over. He scored seven first-quarter points as the Shipbuilders closed to 16-13 after eight minutes. MacDonald had six points for the Wild- cats in the opening frame.

The second quarter saw Morse light it up. Parker Onorato had eight points, Tyriek Foster six and Warren five as the Shipbuilders put up 22 points for the halftime lead.

York’s second-chance points were huge, as the Wildcats grabbed 12 offensive boards by halftime, leading to 20 points.

“Second chances are big, another chance to get a bucket,” said MacDonald.

Morse continued to hit big shots as Onorato drained a 3-pointer and Kaleb Jackson twice went inside the paint for baskets. Dom Green came off the Shipbuilder bench and floated in a shot, giving Morse a 47-43 lead with 3:23 left in the frame.

MacDonald hit a shot after a York timeout to get the Wildcats going, with Riley Linn tying the game and Chris Cummins putting York ahead after a steal and a layup. Brady Cummins added a pair of field goals to close the quarter, giving the Wildcats a six-point lead.

Brady Cummins made it six straight points, with his bucket on the first possession of the fourth quarter giving York a 55-47 edge.

Morse tried to hang in, with Onorato adding five of his game-high 17 points down the stretch, while Warren and Foster each scored to keep the Shipbuilders close.

Linn hit both ends of a 1- and-1 to close out the Shipbuilders, who fell to 1-9 and visit Freeport today at 5:30 p.m. before heading to Medomak

Valley on Friday (7 p.m.).

“I am proud of how my guys stay composed and finished the game,” said Marquis.

“Unfortunately we have had a lot of games like this, where we battle and battle. The score doesn’t dictate how close the game was,” Bennett said. “The win-loss column won’t show it, but we have a bunch of fighters that play to win and want to win. At some point it will all come together for us.”

Morse shot 53 percent (23-of-43) for the game. Onorato had four assists, while Foster picked up four steals. Jackson chipped in seven points.

Zinkevicz paced York with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, while Chris Cummins added 14 points, five boards and three steals, and Brady Cummins 10 points and seven rebounds. MacDonald finished with 12 points and seven caroms off the bench.