YORK — Gray-New Gloucester and York were both riding impressive win streaks, and both showed why they’ve been successful in Tuesday’s fast-paced and entertaining inter-class boys basketball game.
With plenty of quick flurries, ball movement, seven lead changes and two ties, it was the Class B Wildcats who ran their win streak to seven games with a 68-66 victory at Robert E. Butler Gymnasium.
The loss snaps Gray-NG’s eight-game win streak. The Patriots (9-4) had entered the game as the top-ranked team in Class A South. York, now 7-2, was third in the B South standings.
JP Frazier led York, scoring a game-high 24 points with four 3-pointers and secured the win with two free throws with just under 20 seconds to play. Kevin Burke, a strong finisher inside, added 17 points.
“We get a lot out of this win,” said Frazier, a 6-foot-4 guard with good ups and a smooth left-handed outside shot. “We had two close games at the beginning of the season. We didn’t get the win on those. This was another close one and we pulled out the win. Showed some guts.”
York’s only losses were a one-point overtime setback to Yarmouth in the season opener and a three-point loss to Class A Marshwood, both quality teams. In its six previous wins, York had outscored its opponents by over 19 points per game.
“It’s definitely nice to finish off a game like this,” said York senior Will Bourgeois, who scored seven points and was key at defending the rim against Gray’s drive-and-dish attack. “On this game we really had to be on top of it because Gray-New Gloucester is one of the best shooting teams in the state. If you give them any room, they’ll make it.”
Similarly, Gray started the season 1-3. Its willingness to battle back was on display Tuesday. The Patriots rallied from an eight-point deficit in the first quarter to lead 32-28 at the half. York put up 25 points in the third quarter, powered by Burke’s forays into the lane, to take a 53-47 lead after three quarters.
Then Frazier started the fourth quarter with a steal and flushed home a two-handed dunk in front of the Hawaiian-shirt wearing York student section. Instead of getting flustered, the Patriots responded with a 12-2 run of their own to take a 59-57 lead on an Aidan Hebert (10 points) steal and layup.
Nate Hebert started the comeback with a cool 3-pointer and then two finishes at the rim. Hebert led Gray-New Gloucester with 22 points. Jay Hawkes finished with 19, including two late 3-pointers that made York sweat a bit.
Frazier tied it with two free throws, Trevor Parker (12 points) hit his third well-timed 3-pointer of the game, and Frazier converted at the rim off a solid back-door cut to give York a 64-59 lead with a minute to play.
“We’ve been on a winning streak and obviously we want to go out and win every game, but this just sets us up to have a bigger comeback next game,” said Gray-New Gloucester’s Nate Hebert.
Gray-New Gloucester gets another of Class B’s best on Thursday when it hosts Yarmouth.
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