WINTHROP — Funny, on a Friday night when Jacob Hickey scored 31 points and went 8-for-11 from 3-point range, that Winthrop played probably its best overall team game of the boys’ basketball season.
Sensational efforts off the bench by Andrew Pazdziorko and 6-foot-7 freshman center Cam Wood also were substantial to the story line as Winthrop wrapped up its productive, perfect week in the MVC with a decisive 67-44 victory over Wiscasset.
“It didn’t feel like he scored that many,” Winthrop coach Todd MacArthur said of Hickey.
Well, they add up quickly when you knock down your first seven 3-pointers without a miss in the first half. Hickey also was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Foul trouble was Hickey’s only foil. He sat down with his fourth personal foul late in the third quarter and wasn’t needed much thereafter, with the Ramblers (12-2) having more than doubled their 11-point halftime lead.
Most of his 3-pointers appeared relatively uncontested, although maybe Wolverines (10-4) were simply busy tipping their hats.
“We tried a box-and-one on him. We tried man. We tried zone. He’s just a very, very, very good player,” Wiscasset coach Dana Lawrence said. “Sometimes it just doesn’t matter when a guy’s on, and he’s been shooting very well all year.”
It opens up opportunities for the others in green-and-white also.
Wood wound up with eight points and a team-high five rebounds. Pazdziorko supplied seven points. Bennett Brooks dished out five assists. Spencer Steele (nine points) and Garrett Tsouprake (six) led the defense with four steals apiece.
“We know it. I witness it every day in practice,” MacArthur said. “They’re all talented. They all can do things. They all can contribute. It’s just about putting it together hopefully for the right time as the tournament approaches. We’re excited about that. It was a good week for us.”
The Ramblers routed Telstar in Bethel on Monday and knocked off previously unbeaten Dirigo, 49-42, at home on Wednesday.
Winthrop scored the first 10 points in a mere 1:48. Nine belonged to Hickey.
Still, Wiscasset (10-4) lurked, led largely by 6-6 junior center Ethan James (24 points, 15 rebounds). After Pazdziorko’s 3-point play made it 29-17 with 4:15 left in the half, James scored three consecutive buckets — one after the Wolverines broke Winthrop’s press, the two encores via offensive rebounds — to nudge within six.
“When he caught the ball on the block tonight, we did OK,” MacArthur said. “He got a lot of them on the put-backs. The way we play defense, we’re going to have to live with those. He’s a very good player.”
Two could play at that game, as Wood demonstrated with a layup and a second-chance basket of his own to restore the double-digit margin. That was followed by — you guessed it — Hickey’s seventh triple.
Brandon Sprague notched back-to-back buckets for the Wolverines, but two Hickey free throws produced a 38-27 halftime cushion.
Sprague had 10 points for Wiscasset (10-4), which has been ravaged by the flu. Kevin Lynch, a 6-3 junior starter, was out. Sprague and James were fighting symptoms.
“Not to make excuses, because that’s what you deal with in high school basketball,” Lawrence said. “I’ll give the kids credit. They didn’t quit. They hung in there and worked hard. If we could have gotten a couple of baskets, especially in the third quarter when we started to make an appearance, it might have made a difference.”
Despite the foul difficulties for Winthrop stars Hickey and Anthony Owens, there would be no such run. Tsouprake’s foul-line jumper and nifty hook fueled a 10-0 run that included two more Wood hoops and a pair of Hickey free throws.
James’ six points were the extent of Wiscasset’s offense in the third. Pazdziorko and Steele slashed for buckets to give Winthrop a 52-33 lead.
Winthrop shot 52 percent from the field and held Wiscasset to 34 percent.
“The best part about tonight was we actually had to go quite a bit deeper than we normally do,” MacArthur said. “We got in a little bit of foul trouble early. We played a little too much with our hands instead of our feet. I think that was a little bit of a letdown from Dirigo, because we put so much effort in Wednesday.”
koakes@sunjournal.com
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