LISBON — Scoring points isn’t the type of thing that will get the Lisbon Unified basketball team fired up — they’re used to that.
What will get student helpers like Tyler Halls and Austin Fournier pumped up, though, is when one of their teammates dives for a ball or blocks a shot. Those are the little things — the things that show progress.
The home bench was plenty active during Tuesday’s South regional quarterfinal game against Oxford Hills, as the Greyhounds kept their undefeated season alive and rolled to another win, 41-22.
“I just love these guys,” student coach Jonah Sautter said. “Usually, our problem has been we start out slow and we finish strong. Every game, I know they won’t ever give up and they just keep fighting.”
Oxford Hills (4-6) stuck around early, exchanging baskets in the first quarter and bringing the score within four points early in the second, but Lisbon (10-0), like it’s done many times before, eventually pulled away. The Greyhounds led 12-6, 20-10, and 30-16 at the quarter breaks.
Leading the way was Jake Patenaude, who scored eight of his team’s 10 points in the third quarter, and finished with a game-high 14. Wesley Lucas also chipped in with eight points for the Greyhounds, whose offense was helped greatly by Halls and Fournier grabbing rebounds and moving the ball around the floor. The pair combined for 20 boards, eight on the offensive side.
Lisbon has now won 10 games in a row, and marches on to the South semifinal round Thursday.
The key to success?
“Teamwork and great sportsmanship,” Pautenaude said.
Oxford Hills was paced by Peter Mahones, who led the team with six points. Brandon Robare and Trevor Larrabee split eight points for the Vikings, and Tyler Hall reeled in 10 boards.
The highlight for the visitors came late in the third quarter, when Larrabee lined up under the basket and took a shot. The ball bounced off the glass and into the hand of a Lisbon defender, but ultimately ended up right back with Larrabee. Shot after shot, the ball went right back to him as both teams were determined to see one go in. Sure enough, after a handful of tries, one of them rolled home, erupting the Lisbon crowd into cheers.
With the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, Larrabee closed the scoring by banking another shot in — this time, on just his second try.
On the other side, one of the proudest moments in the game was one in which the Greyhounds didn’t even have possession. Late on in the first half, the ball deflected off a player and went rolling toward the end line. Lisbon’s Brandon Bartlett came flying over and dove out of bounds for the ball. The bench went wild as the whistle blew, no one caring that he came up just short. The next rotation of subs came in, and Sautter high-fived Bartlett and his teammates coming back to the bench.
“It’s great. I love playing basketball with them,” Pautenaude said of his teammates.
“I come out and help them. Watching them progress is the coolest thing,” Sautter said. “Because when they score, it’s the world to them. It’s just awesome.”
Bartlett finished with six points for the Greyhounds, while Brock Vachon splashed the game’s only 3-pointer and finished with five. If having fun is the priority for Lisbon, getting back to the championship game and avenging a loss from last season is a close second.
“Last year we were seeing that gold ball on the table, we were that close,” Sautter said. “Our goal this year is to get to that game and change the outcome. Get that gold ball.”
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