GRAY — Once Gray-New Gloucester found its rhythm, there wasn’t much Lake Region could do in Tuesday’s boys’ basketball contest.
The Patriots took control in the second quarter and never looked back in a 63-34 win, their second over the Lakers this season.
“I definitely think it was momentum,” Gray-NG guard John Martin said. “We basically just played off that energy.”
After finishing the first quarter down 13-10, the Patriots opened the second with a 7-0 run to take a 17-13 lead.
That was just a warm-up. Later in the period, they scored 11 straight points to go up 28-16.
Gray-NG coach Ryan Deschenes said a defensive change helped the Patriots take over the game.
“We switched to a 2-3 (zone) because they were getting in the paint too much,” Deschenes said.
“The energy in our 2-3 was tremendous,” he added. “We forced some turnovers, got them out of rhythm, we made that run and pushed it to 10-12 (points).
“Our defense really led us to some flow offensively. We’ve been struggling with some offensive flow the last few games, but tonight our defense led the charge.”
It also helped that the Patriots started making shots, including four from beyond the arc in the second quarter. Nick Pelletier made two and Martin and Josiah Rottari each hit one.
“We’re a team where, if we start knocking down shots, we’re going to keep knocking them down,” Martin said. “If we get hot, you can’t stop us.”
Lake Region’s struggles were compounded by the foul trouble of guard Tristen Chaine.
“We had some foul trouble with our point guard,” Lakers coach John Mayo said. “So that hurts. He really keeps us going and stuff. And then we kind of got passive there. They were trapping on the wing and that hurt us a little bit.”
The Patriots kept the momentum on their side in after halftime, adding to their lead with a 9-0 run. Martin made several plays, but the Gray-NG post players – Zachary Brady, Ryan Lachance and Hunter Colby – also took over.
“We got our big guys involved,” Deschenes said. “When our big guys get going, it really opens things up.
“We try to be an inside-out oriented team, and when that’s going, we’re tough to stop.”
The Patriots (6-5) added another 9-0 run in the fourth quarter, during which their lead got as high as 31 points.
Martin finished with a game-high 22 points, highlighted by four 3-pointers. Brady and Lachance each contributed eight points and Colby had seven.
Mark Mayo led Lake Region (5-6) with 10 points, while Chaine scored nine in limited minutes.
Gray-New Gloucester’s Nick Pelletier left and Lake Region’s Paul Walker wrestle for a loose ball during the first half of Tuesday’s game. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Gray-New Gloucester’s John Martin launches a shot from the perimiter as Lake Region’s Tristen Chaine defends during the first half of Tuesday night’s game. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Gray-New Gloucester’s Nick Pelletier drives to the basket as Lake Region’s Paul Walker gets into position to take a charge during the first half of Tuesday’s game. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
Lake Region’s Robert Crockett left and Gray-New Gloucester’s John Martin battle for a rebound during the second half of Tuesday’s boys’ basketball game. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
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