LISBON — The second quarter of Wednesday’s Mountain Valley Conference boys’ basketball game seemed to take a lot out of Lisbon.
The Greyhounds hit the court, battled the taller Boothbay Seahawks in the paint and trailed by a single point, 30-29, at the half.
But, Boothbay had the extra step in the third while Lisbon played flat, allowing the Seahawks to take control for a 63-47 victory.
Lisbon guard DJ Douglass scored 20 points in the first half, but when the third quarter began, he was on the bench.
“We were tired, DJ was tired and asked to sit to start the second half, and we just didn’t have the energy in the third quarter,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “I don’t know why. We just didn’t come out as strong as we needed to, and they made us pay.”
Leading 35-32, Boothbay used a 12-2 third-quarter run for a 47-34 advantage. The Greyhounds had six turnovers in the third and made just 3-of-10 shots.
“In the third, we played tired, and against Boothbay you can’t do that,” Gentle said.
TOUGH START
In the first quarter, Lisbon had trouble on the offensive boards.
The Greyhounds (9-6) stayed in it thanks to Douglass, who made his first four 3-point attempts for 12 points.
Tied at 14, the Seahawks (11-4) closed the quarter with five quick points, including an open trey by Sullivan Rice, for a 19-14 lead after a quarter.
Lisbon decreased the deficit by taking away most of Boothbay’s offensive rebounding opportunities in the second period.
“We calculated six offensive rebounds for them in the first quarter, and in the second we talked to them about winning that battle,” Gentle said. “We hit the boards in the second and we were down by just one at the half.”
Douglass added his fifth and final 3-pointer and matched his jersey number with 20 first-half points.
“He was on fire, and he is such a good shooter off the screen,” said Boothbay’s Hunter Crocker, who was charged with guarding Douglass one-on-one. “He hit one 3 on us up at our place (an 80-52 Seahawks win on Dec. 10), and tonight he puts in five on us in the first half.”
With Douglass on the bench to open the second half, Rice hit another 3-pointer and Ben Pearce crashed the boards and finished to give Boothbay a 35-29 lead.
Boothbay’s big run began with a free throw by Crocker, and Steve Reny was able to break free for seven of his 16 points in the frame as the Seahawks held a 51-40 advantage as the game moved to the fourth quarter.
Crocker seemed to control Douglass, who still managed 11 second-half points for a game-high 31.
“Slowly, I took away the ball coming up the court and he wasn’t getting that shot off the screen,” Crocker said. “Coach (I.J.) Pinkham told us that our rebounding was great and to keep that up. He said to look on the high post and the flex corner and we should be all set. We were able to get wide-open looks. We have not been the best on the glass on offense. Tonight, offensive rebounds helped us out a lot.”
Lisbon’s cold shooting continued in the final frame, with the Greyhounds making just one field goal — a layup by Douglass — while Boothbay made 8-of-12 at the free-throw line to close out the win.
Lisbon has no time to rest, with Mountain Valley visiting on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“They are going to rest, hopefully, come after school and have some light shooting,” Gentle said. “We will talk about the same thing as we did tonight, to keep Mountain Valley off the glass. If we don’t do that, we won’t have a chance.”
Pearce led Boothbay with 20 points along with eight rebounds, while Nicholas Morley pulled in 10 rebounds with four assists and three steals. Crocker finished with 13 points and 10 boards, and Rice hi for eight points.
Ring Ring had six points and 13 rebounds for Lisbon, while Corey Wiers added five points and three steals and Hunter Davis dished out three assists.
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