Leavitt Area High School’s Josh Banks, left, drives past Fryeburg Academy’s Oscar Saunders during their game in Turner on Friday. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)
TURNER — After being tied at 19 at halftime, Leavitt had seen enough.
The Hornets went on a 10-0 run and outscored Fryeburg by 15 in the third on their way to their fifth win of the season, defeating the Raiders 55-32 in a Class A South clash Friday night.
“We were in the locker room talking about what we had to execute and we all listened,” freshman Wyatt Hathaway said. “We all executed what we needed to. It was just the energy from the players, the guys on the bench and the coaches. It was a great run.”
Starting the Hornets run was Cole Morin, who hit a long two to put Leavitt up 23-20. Then, in a flash, Mark Herman hit a layup, and then Hathaway grabbed a defensive board and went coast-to-coast, finishing on the other end, giving Leavitt three buckets in less than a minute.
“We got the lead to seven and then forced them to call a timeout,” Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway said. “I said in my huddle, ‘Two scores and two stops and we push this thing over 10 and we are in good shape.’ We went out and did it and that was big, that was a big momentum swing.”
After the timeout, Morin stole the ball and hit a layup, followed by another Herman fastbreak score.
Fryeburg’s Reese Kneissler broke up the run with a score inside, but Joziah Learned hit two 3-pointers for the Hornets, while sandwiched in between was a full-court drive and score from Wyatt Hathaway, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Raiders.
“It’s just playing,” Wyatt Hathaway said. “It comes down to when you have the ball, you need to make the shots that you need to make.”
The game was even in the first half — in fact, the score was tied at the end of each quarter. Josh Banks scored seven of Leavitt’s 11 first-quarter points, and Wyatt Hathaway scored four of his 16. Oscar Saunders scored four of his team-leading 11 in the first for Fryeburg.
Fryeburg’s Joe LeBrun grabbed a couple of rebounds and scored five in the second quarter, including a layup that drew the foul, completing the old fashioned three-point play to tie it at 19.
However, Leavitt had lost to Brunswick the night before. It made sure Friday was different.
“We had Brunswick yesterday, who plays very similar to Fryeburg,” Mike Hathaway said. “They’re a bigger and older team, so for us to bounce back like that against these guys, it just shows a lot about our competitiveness.”
In the fourth, the Hornets hit eight free throws to seal the win, placing themselves in the hunt for a playoff spot at 5-5, while the loss drops the Raiders to 4-6.
“We all knew we needed this if we had any shot of getting into the tournament,” Wyatt Hathaway said. “We all wanted it a lot. Every kid, even on the bench.”
Leavitt Area High School’s Keegan Melanson slips past Freyburg Academy’s Nathan Knapp during their game in Turner on Friday. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)
Leavitt Area High School’s Wyatt Hathaway (5) drives past Fryeburg Academy’s Nate Knapp during their game in Turner on Friday. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)
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