LISBON — After losing Friday night on the road in its season opener, the Lisbon boys’ basketball team didn’t want to fall too far behind to start the season.
Monday night the Greyhounds sank 13 3-pointers and Jonah Sautter hit for 28 points as Lisbon ran away with a 64-52 victory in Mountain Valley Conference action.
“It was a good win for us tonight,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “Both defensively and offensively. We made shots and every team knows that if you make shots, you get more excited on defense, more up, ready to play.”
The Seahawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead with hoops by Hunter Crocker and Elijah Gudroe before Sautter hit a lay-up underneath and then followed with a trey. Another three the next time down the court by DJ Douglass gave Lisbon an 8-4 lead.
“It was huge to get this first win,” Douglass said. “We work on ball movement a lot in practice and I think that really showed tonight.”
Sautter continued his hot hand, dropping in a couple of more baskets, including one from behind the arc for 10 first-quarter points before coming out with just under two minutes left in the quarter after a pair of fouls.
“He got a couple of quick fouls last week against Winthrop, too,” Gentle said. “We sat him the final two minutes of the first. He’s realizing when to and not to foul. We always say it’s sometimes better to give up two points than pick up a third or fourth foul.”
The two teams traded the lead a couple of times in the first quarter, and a Hunter Davis layup with 1:13 remaining in the opening period gave the Greyhounds an 18-17 lead that stood to the end of the quarter.
“It was our first home game and we didn’t want to start 0-2,” Sautter said. “My teammates have my back, and knowing that makes my game better, I always know they’re going to be there for me.”
The second quarter stayed close early on, with each team trading hoops and the lead midway through the quarter. Boothbay held a 26-25 lead with 4:20 left in the half after a Kyle Ames 3-point basket.
After a Lisbon turnover, Boothbay missed a chance to extend its lead with a shot missed by Ames. Sautter hauled down the defensive rebound and found Morgan Perron streaking down the court. Sautter’s long pass to Perron split a pair of defenders and the senior guard converted the hoop for the one-point lead.
“I saw him running down the side, I wasn’t sure if there were a couple of Boothbay players there, but I threw it anyway,” Sautter said.
“He had a really sound pass to Perron,” Gentle added. “He sees the court and makes good decisions out there for us.”
Douglass, Sean Scott and Sautter all nailed 3-point hoops to close out the half and take a 40-32 lead into the locker room.
Boothbay opened the third with an 8-5 run, cutting the Lisbon lead to five with three-minutes remaining. But a pair of 3s from Sautter kept Boothbay at a distance and the Seahawks did not get any closer.
“We called a quick timeout when we recognized they were on a quick run,” Gentle said. “We wanted to make sure we locked down on them and didn’t let them get into a run. It’s very crucial in the first two or three minutes of the third quarter to set the tone for the rest of the half.
“The biggest thing was we came out of the timeout and converted,” added Gentle.
Lisbon finished the third on a 12-0 run to hold a commanding 57-40 lead. Sautter scored eight points while Douglass added five in the frame.
Perron took a charge opening the fourth quarter, firing up the Lisbon bench and seemingly taking the wind out of the Seahawks sails.
“We were strong defensively in the second half,” Gentle said. “I liked how we came out and controlled the tempo.”
Sautter’s only point in the fourth quarter came on a free throw that pushed the Lisbon lead to 60-40 early in the fourth quarter. Sautter had six 3-pointers, seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks in the win.
Douglass finished with 15 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds. Douglass also had a pair of steals. Scott ended the contest with a trio of three’s ending with nine points. Davis contributed with eight rebounds to lead the Greyhounds.
Ames scored a team-high 13 points for Boothbay while Crocker added 10. Nick Simpson contributed nine points off the bench in the loss.
Jonah Sautter of Lisbon moves to get open and receive an inbound pass as Boothbay’s Cameron Crocker defends and Lisbon’s Morgan Perron looks on from behind. (Eric Maxim/Brunswick Times Record)
Send questions/comments to the editors.
