POLAND — After having to dwell on a loss for much of the weekend, the goal was the start of a new winning streak Monday.
The Poland boys’ basketball team lost at Waynflete last Thursday. It was the end of a pretty good run for the Knights.
“Prior to that game, we had a good four-game winning streak going,” Poland coach Tyler Tracy said. “I think that was a big part of tonight. After losing, you want to get that bad taste out of your mouth. We had some great practices before this game, and they were ready to go.”
The Knights bounced back with a 60-54 win over Gray-New Gloucester. Poland was up by as many as 16 points in the third quarter but watched the Patriots rally in the final minutes, cutting a 15-point deficit to just six with a 9-2 surge.
“We were in a weird gym and got all discombobulated,” junior guard Trevor Saunders said of last week’s loss to the Flyers. “We weren’t playing as a team and were playing separate.”
Both teams are chasing one of the final playoff spots in Western B. The Knights (7-6) are currently eighth in the standings while the Patriots (6-7) are ninth. The two rivals play again to end the regular season February 5.
“We had the hiccup last Thursday, but we’re getting better every day,” Tracy said. “That’s what we’re focused on. Hopefully by February, we’re going to be playing our best basketball. So are they. They’re a great team and they’re only going to get better. So its nice to get this one early.”
Saunders led the Knights with 12 points while Adam Mocciola had 11. Patrick Kuklinski and Zack Lowe each chipped in nine. Alan Young and John Fossett were both hampered by fouls and finished with eight and seven points respectively.
“We had a lot of guys step up,” Tracy said. “John and Alan were in foul trouble. Other guys took advantage of the opportunity they had. They played great defense. I just can’t get over the great defense that we played.”
Zack Haskell led the Patriots with 16 while Tyler St. Pierre added 15. Andreas Kariotis added 13.
The Patriots had opened an 8-4 lead in the first on five straight points, including field goals by Haskell and JT Magno. Poland answered that with 14 straight points to finish the opening quarter up 18-8.
“That helped and it was nice how we did it too,” Tracy said. “It was about playing great defense. They got easy baskets in transition. Those transition baskets always hurt. That got us fired up, and they got back on their heels.”
A Saunders 3 kick-started the run. Derek Michaud followed with a rebound. Lowe finished off a Saunders pass for a three-point play. Then Michaud had a drive and Saunders fed Kuklinski for a hoop. Saunders finished the quarter off with a fast break basket with four seconds left.
“We had good momentum in the beginning and keeping it up throughout the game was really helpful,” Saunders said.
The Patriots got within six on a basket by Magno and were down 21-16 after a leaner by Kariotis, but the Knights finished the half with a 7-3 run. After Kuklinski and Lowe each scored, St. Pierre hit a 3 to make it 25-19. Kuklinski drilled a 3 of his own for the 28-19 lead at the half.
Poland maintained the double-digit lead for much of the third quarter, especially when the Patriots missed its first nine shots. Gray-NG got within eight after a basket by Magno and 3 from Kariotis to start the fourth, but Poland answered with a pair of hoops by Fossett.
“We had a few moments where we panicked but we were able to collect ourselves and come back,” Saunders said.
Gray-NG made another run with seven straight, led by six from Haskell, to get within 50-43 with 3:10 left. Poland responded with six straight of their own on a pair of baskets by Young and free throws by Lowe to make it 58-45 with a minute left. The Patriots had one last surge, using their pressure defense and forcing five turnovers. Kariotis had a 3. That was followed by baskets by John Henry Villanueva, St. Pierre and Haskell to get within six, but the Patriots ran out of time.
“We played pretty good offense and defense,” Saunders said. “We played good defense on our side. When we turned it over and they missed a shot, we played good transition offense.”
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