RUMFORD — Despite some adversity along the way, Mountain Valley coach Tom Danylik believes his team is headed in the right direction after the Falcons fought back Monday night in a boys’ basketball game.
Boothbay simply had all the answers with a huge run to start the second half and big man Abel Bryer scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, as the Seahawks raised the tempo in a 60-46 win against Mountain Valley at Puiia Gymnasium.
Bryer established control in the paint and Boothbay hit all, seven shots in the third quarter, to open up a double-digit lead. The Seahawks received plenty of support, with Jacob Leonard and Kyle Ames scoring 19 and 13 points, respectively.
“Bryer had a good game,” Boothbay coach I.J. Pinkham said. “He tends to get in foul trouble. It’s always nice when you can have three guys score in double figures.”
Class B South Mountain Valley (1-5) was anxious to keep going after having won its initial game at Carrabec last week. The Falcons came back in the second quarter behind freshman Keegan Davis who two baskets to tie the game at 20-all with 2:28 left in the second quarter. Mountain Valley had ample opportunity to take the lead with six possessions, but turned the ball over four times, committed an offensive foul and missed a shot. Falcon guard Riley Flynn had five steals in first half.
“The score was 20-13 and the game could have got away,” said Danylik, who shot a cool 26 percent for the game. “But the kids didn’t fold. They responded. That’s a positive sign because it shows that we are headed in the right direction.”
Class C South Boothbay (4-2) was on fire opening the second half with a strong transition game that led high percentage baskets. The Seahawks scored 15 of the first 16 points, to open up a 39-23 lead. They scored seven points before Falcon guard Alex Ridley made a fee throw.
“We made a couple adjustments to start the second half,” Pinkham said. “We had a big inside game, but I told them to get up the floor and get our transition game going.”
Ames started an 8-0 run scoring on a fast break and Leonard stole the ball and went coast-to-coast. Leonard converted a conventional three-point play and Dyer made two free throws.
“Secondly, we tend to force the ball, at times,”Pinkham said. “We needed to take the ball outside and move it around.”
Mountain Valley was held without a field goal, until Davis scored with 4:11 remained in the third quarter. Freshman Jacob Blanchard scored 11 points and had four rebounds. The Falcons missed 12 of 14 shots.
“The biggest problem was the first three and a half minutes the second half,” Danylik said, the Falcons had eight turnovers in the final three quarters. “They made that big run and we didn’t play defense. It will come with maturity.”
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