LISBON — When Greely Rangers Unified basketball player Connor Hines swished a 10-foot shot well after his coach had called a timeout in the first quarter, no one complained and the Lisbon High School gymnasium erupted in applause.
Fast-forward to the fourth quarter. There were no complaints when Greyhound Ryley Austin handed the ball to Ranger Michael Thibodeau for an uncontested basket, or when Lisbon burly center Robert Wood kindly stepped to the side as Devin Libby put home a short shot.
See, that is what the Unified Basketball League is all about, even if it was a West quarterfinal contest on Tuesday.
Second-seeded Lisbon had no problem getting the win, taking a 49-18 decision over the 1-6 and seventh-seeded Rangers.
Behind 12 points from Amanda Mason, 11 from Brock Vachon and 10 from the hands of Jake Patenaude, the Greyhounds jumped out to a 26-6 halftime lead and cruised.
“This is what it’s all about – including everybody and going for success in their own ways,” said Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac, whose 6-3 Greyhounds will host the winner of the No. 3 Yarmouth/No. 6 Poland game on Thursday in the West semifinals. “Amanda has improved a million times over, knowing nothing about the game of basketball when she started. Jake, the same thing. He is getting more involved, getting to the rebounds and is getting into it. As a collective unit, they have come a long way. They understand each other better.”
Austin, Wood and Nathan Havlicek handled the bulk of the rebounding for Lisbon, combining on 53 of Lisbon’s 68 rebounds. Lisbon put up 90 shots, making 24. Wood added eight points, while Brandon Bartlett and Richie Thuotte picked up four points apiece.
Sportsmanship
“That is something that we didn’t tell them to do and that is a whole different story and something we are very proud of them for,” said Tlumac, after watching several members of her team rebound the ball and hand it off to a Greely player for a potential bucket. John Misner picked up six of his team-high eight points for Greely in the fourth quarter, while John Nadeau swished an NBA-range 3-pointer for the Rangers and pulled down eight rebounds.
“That says a lot about their character and personality,” said Tlumac of her team’s sportsmanship. “My kids were excited for them and clapped when they scored. And, it was loud in here tonight. (Greely) came with a ‘fan van.’ This really draws in those kids who otherwise might not have gotten that chance. They are just so proud and it gives them a better sense of belonging.”
“This was really fun,” said Patenaude, who five rebounds, four steals and three assists. “We really like playing as a team and it is fun to win. And, we loved allowing them to have chances of scoring. That is what makes this so much fun.”
Tyler Kane, Hines and Thibodeau each scored two points for Greely.
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