Lisbon High School’s DJ Douglass, right, gets a hand on the ball controlled by Freeport High School’s Eriksen Shea during their game in Freeport on Tuesday.
FREEPORT — Although the two school districts neighbor each other, Freeport and Lisbon High School teams rarely meet in athletic events.
They met Tuesday night for a Class B South boys’ basketball preliminary game at Freeport High School. The Falcons used their speed and athleticism — and 26 points from Toby Holt — to pull away for a 66-44 win over Lisbon.
“We expected the crowd and the energy we had here tonight,” Freeport coach Bill Ridge said. “We had this kind of atmosphere last week against Gray-New Gloucester, so we knew what to expect.”
The Falcons first needed to take care of business in the school’s first playoff appearance in 11 years.
The Greyhounds (9-10) did not hesitate hoisting 3-point shots in the opening quarter, something they’ve been accustomed to this season. Sean Scott opened the scoring with a rainbow three, but the visitors soon went cold from behind the arc, missing their next five attempts.
Meanwhile, the Falcons began doing what they have done best this season — move the ball around and work inside out.
Holt scored 11 first-quarter points, including a layup on a feed from Ethan Sclar. A steal by Eriksen Shea that resulted in a three-point play after a Lisbon foul extended Freeport’s lead to 20-8 late in the quarter.
A Jonah Sautter trey as the buzzer sounded kept Lisbon within nine, 20-11, after eight minutes.
DJ Douglass sank a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, but Freeport quickly responded with a Shea basket and a Kaleb Barrett 3-pointer to keep Lisbon at a distance, 28-15.
Holt continued his assault inside the paint, grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds, putting them back for four of his five second-quarter points.
“(Holt) is what is he is,” Ridge said. “He’s always been like that for us, he’s just been a little more explosive down the stretch.”
Freeport won the quarter, 12-10, and increased its lead to 32-21 at the break.
Holt led all scorers with 16 points at the half. The junior also grabbed seven rebounds. Shea added seven more.
Sautter led Lisbon with eight points, including a pair of treys, while grabbing six boards. Scott chipped in with six while Douglass had five in the opening half.
Lisbon was 4-for-15 from behind the arc while Freeport was 2-for-9.
Douglass again began the quarter with a basket from behind the arc. The sophomore hit another the next time down the court to cut the Freeport lead to 34-27.
Shea answered with a pair of 3-pointers of his own for a 40-32 Falcons lead with under three minutes remaining in the frame.
Lisbon continued firing 3s, shooting eight more in the quarter, connecting on only two. Freeport was 4-for-6 from the charity stripe in the quarter and built its lead through three quarters, 46-34.
The visitors did not get any closer as the Falcons put an exclamation point on their victory, doubling up their guests, 20-10 in the final eight minutes.
“They’re a very good team, very athletic,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “Give them credit, they can run, work it inside and shoot.”
Shea hit two more 3-point baskets and Holt scored his final six points in the fourth in the win.
“We came in looking to work inside out,” said Holt. “We look to get a paint touch and then kick it out to our shooters.”
Douglass netted a team-high 16 points, including four 3-point baskets. Sautter registered 14 points and nine rebounds in his final high school basketball game.
“When I was a freshman, I thought it was cool to see the seniors honored, I didn’t think it was going to come so fast,” Sautter said. “I’m going to miss this, miss playing with my teammates.”
“Like any senior it’s tough to see them go, they’ve worked so hard all four years to get here,” Gentle added.
Lisbon connected on seven of its 29 attempts from behind the arc.
Behind Holt’s 26, Shea followed with 19 points that included six 3-pointers, while Barrett and Wagner each added six. Shea also had four steals in the win.
Freeport (11-8) advances to play No. 1 Wells at the Portland Expo on Saturday at 4 p.m. Freeport beat Wells, 52-37, on their home court a week ago.
“They were here tonight, we saw them,” Ridge said. “They know what we’re about, we know what they’re about, hopefully it should be a good battle next week.
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