WALES — During most of Saturday’s second half, Lisbon’s Corey Wiers worked to find open space against rival Oak Hill.
After putting up seven first-half points in the Mountain Valley Conference boys basketball squads’ season opener, Wiers finally found that space in the fourth quarter, nailing a pair of 3-pointers to put the Greyhounds ahead to stay en route to a 57-46 victory.
Wiers led Lisbon with 13 points as the Greyhounds shook off an ugly start to record an opening day win.
“You always want to start the season with a win, and if you can start the season with a win on the road, that is even better, while beating a fellow Class B opponent. That is important because we only play them one time,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said.
The game did not begin well for the Greyhounds, who fell behind 16-7 and saw senior leader DJ Douglass on the bench with two early fouls. Caden Thompson had the hot hand for the Raiders, nailing a pair of treys and scoring eight first-quarter points.
“We got off to a good start after having a solid scrimmage with Richmond, and this team has worked hard in practice,” said Oak Hill (0-1) coach Tom Smith, whose Raiders visit Monmouth on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Lisbon (1-0) began chipping away late in the opening frame as Owen Fish went inside for two tough points and Wiers drained a pair of free throws to draw the Greyhounds to within give points, 16-11, after eight minutes.
The visitors kept the run going in the second quarter. Douglass hit his first field goal, and Cameron Gilman swished a 3-pointer after a pass from Neil LaRochelle for a 16-16 deadlock.
Back came Oak Hill, which went on a quick 9-2 run for a 25-18 lead. Justin Aldridge scored four points, while Thompson nailed his third 3-pointer of the half.
Lisbon came off the mat in the final three minutes of the half, using a second 9-0 run for its first lead — 27-25 at the break. Wiers tied the game with two free throws, and Ring Ring scored inside to send the Greyhounds into the half on a high note.
“We had a lot of energy at the end of the half and it helped fire us up for the second half,” Wiers said.
“We didn’t have a very good defensive first quarter, but in the second we only allowed nine. I told the guys that if we only give up under 10 points a quarter, we will be in good shape and right there to win it,” Gentle said.
Both teams had small runs in the third quarter. Thompson’s 3-pointer drew the Raiders into a 29-29 tie, and Liam Rodrique was all over the court, with four rebounds and three steals in the frame.
For Lisbon, Fish scored and was fouled, with his free throw completing a three-point play and staking the Greyhounds to a 35-33 lead, and Charlie Doyle closed the quarter with a trey as Lisbon held a 38-36 edge after three.
Oak Hill refused to go away. Gavin Rawstron made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, and Thompson hit his fifth 3-pointer, giving him a game-high 18 points as the Raiders grabbed a 40-38 lead.
But Douglass found Wiers alone in the corner for a 3-pointer, and moments later Wiers finished off a pass from Gilman, giving Lisbon a 44-40 edge with 5:27 remaining.
Douglass hit his only trey of the contest. swishing a 30-foot dagger to make the score 51-42. Douglass scored 12 points and fouled out when he was whistled for a technical foul. Rawstron defended and frustrated Douglass throughout the contest.
“(Douglass) is one of the tough matchups for a lot of guys, but Gavin Rawstron was on him the entire game and he did a fantastic job on him,” Smith said. “Douglass is a kid that if he starts making shots, he will get on a roll. We were good at putting pressure on him. It took him out of the game.”
“Our guys know that not one player will do everything for us,” Gentle said. “We played nine guys tonight, and I feel comfortable with that. We are confident in the guys coming off the bench to get it done.”
“We really needed to step it up, and it felt good to get it done today,” Wiers added.
Ring picked up eight points, LaRochelle added seven and Gilman chipped in six.
A cold-shooting second half that cost Oak Hill. The Raiders made just 6-of-25 second-half shots, and went 8-of-17 from the free-throw line in the contest.
“I liked our start, but we went cold in the second half, especially on 3-pointers. I have some good 3-point shooters and they will knock them down. We have to take advantage of the situation, and we just didn’t do it,” Smith said.
Ring had seven rebounds, while Gilman and Douglass each pulled down six. LaRochelle dished out a team-high three assists.
Rawstron had 10 points, seven boards and four assists for the Raiders, and Rodrique grabbed 10 rebounds and made three steals. Aldridge finished with eight points.
Lisbon, which made 15-of-26 at the stripe, visits Boothbay on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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