Oxford Hills players Chris St. Pierre, left and Atreyu Keniston take a break from Friday’s practice at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal)
AUBURN — This has been a season of adjustments for the Oxford Hills Vikings, so a late change to the practice schedule to spend an afternoon at Central Maine Community College wasn’t anything the team couldn’t handle.
Oxford Hills coaches borrowed the Mustangs’ gym in Kirk Hall on Friday to help players prepare for Tuesday’s Class AA North boys’ basketball semifinal against Edward Little (Tuesday, 2 p.m.) by practicing on a 94-foot floor, bigger than their home court in South Paris and the same length as the Cross Insurance Arena floor, where they will meet their Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rivals.
For senior starters Atreyu Keniston and Chris St. Pierre, who are both considering attending and playing basketball for CMCC next fall, the session may have provided a glimpse into the future. But they weren’t looking past Tuesday’s rubber match with the Red Eddies.
“That’s a big rivalry right there,” St. Pierre said.
“I’m pretty excited. I’ve never played there,” Keniston said. “We’ve got a little extra chip on our shoulder (playing EL). We’re going to have to go down there and give it our best.”
The third-seeded Vikings (13-6) are riding an eight-game winning streak to Portland after knocking off No. 6 Deering, 57-52, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The streak started with a 58-54 win over the third-seeded Red Eddies (EL beat Oxford Hills in the season-opener, 58-51). They have come a long way since starting the season by losing four of their first six games.
Two of the keys to their second-half success are Keniston and St. Pierre. Both are quiet leaders who, along with junior guard and AA North all-defensive selection Janek Luksza, set the tone for the defense-first Vikings. But it is their development at the offensive end that played a big part in Oxford Hills turning the corner.
The Vikings came into the season lacking an offensive identity after losing about 50 percent of their scoring from last year’s semifinal team when Cole Verrier (graduation) and Matt Fleming (transfer to Bangor) moved on.
“We just had to find all of our identities. We needed to find our roles on the team,” St. Pierre said. “We had our problems earlier in the season, but I think we finally figured out who needs to be where and who needs to do what.”
“I feel like our offense has started clicking,” Keniston said. “We’ve realized what we can do with each other. Mostly, it’s been the offense working itself into a groove, because we’ve always been a good defensive team.”
Keniston is the consummate high-motor, blue-collar big man. Slimmed down after shedding 25 pounds, the 6-foot-4 center always has to be accounted for in the paint, even though he may be the Vikings fourth or fifth option on offense.
“He’s one of those kids that does a lot of stuff that doesn’t show up in the stats,” Vikings coach Scott Graffam said.
Keniston has been contributing more points lately, though, because he has more confidence in his shot, and simply because he’s given himself more opportunities.
“He has a really good touch around the rim, and he can make a jump shot. Earlier in his career, that was not going to happen. And a layup was a 50-50 proposition,” Graffam said. “We have so much confidence in him now. He’s become a very productive player around the rim. He was a 30 percent foul shooter. Now he’s up around 60 percent, so teams can’t just foul him. He’s really been an integral part of this run.”
Graffam credits eighth grade coach Mike Johnson with developing Keniston’s footwork in middle school. Once he got to high school, freshman coach Pat Carson and varsity assistants Joe Oufiero and Shane Slicer honed his shooting.
Keniston gets a lot of his shots when his teammates miss theirs. His relentlessness on the offensive boards is a source of frustration for opposing coaches and pride for him and his coach.
“I try to work the hustle plays. I have ever since I was sitting on the bench on varsity and swinging up junior year and sophomore year,” he said. “I really just try to do everything I can to help the team win.”
Keniston’s persistence in the paint reminds Graffam of a basketball legend.
“He doesn’t give up,” Graffam said. “Moses Malone was the best offensive rebounder you ever saw. I heard a quote from him one time: ‘It’s not how good of an offensive rebounder you are, it’s how many offensive rebounds you go for.’ If you go for every offensive rebound, you’re going to get more than everybody else, and that’s one of the things Atreyu does.”
Keniston has been able to do everything more because he’s been on the floor more. As one of the most active and physical players on the floor, he was plagued by foul trouble for much of his career. Perpetually having to go to the bench due to cheap fouls was all the incentive he needed to learn how to play smarter.
“I’ve always had trouble with fouls, but it’s more in my own head,” Keniston said. “I’m just a little nervous at the beginning of games. Last year was not good. I fouled out of every game almost. I’ve just got to try to keep under control, stay composed.”
The early upheaval in the offense seemed to affect St. Pierre, a 6-foot-2 guard who has been playing varsity since he was a freshman, as much as any of the Vikings.
One of the top shooters in the league, he thrived off of the attention Fleming, Verrier and, before them, Andrew Fleming drew from opposing defenses. He got a lot of his points from spotting up at the 3-point arc and making defenses pay when they sagged off of him to try to stop the other scorers.
This season, St. Pierre needed to not only create his own shots but also set up teammates. But now he was the one opponents were face-guarding as the No. 1 offensive option. It was a big adjustment for him early in the season, and the entire offense suffered as a result.
“I think I needed to step up, not just for myself, but I think I needed to get other people going as well,” he said. “I like well-rounded team play, and I felt like if I could get others going it would get me going, too, and we could all feed off each other.”
“The second half of the season, he’s figured that out,” Graffam said. “He’s looked for his shot off the dribble. He’s made some offense for himself. He’s sprinted hard through cuts and got himself in spots where he can get shots up. It’s been really good watching him progress that way and become one of the best players in our league and obviously really valuable for us.”
As valuable as St. Pierre’s contributions are on offense, he’s become just as indispensable on defense. His size allows him to match up with opponents’ big men, which also helps keep Keniston out of foul trouble.
The latest example came in the quarterfinal against Deering, when he guarded 6-foot-6 center Ben Onek, the second-leading scorer in AA North, and limited him to nine points.
“That’s the biggest improvement in his game since his sophomore year,” Graffam said. “Last year, he figured out how to take charges on guys setting screens. This year, he’s really paid attention to being able to follow guys around. He’s face-guarded a lot of really good players.”
“Graf yelling every day probably helped (me improve),” St. Pierre joked. “Playing with a lot of good players through the years really helped out, and also playing AAU with (Portland star) Terion (Moss) and all of them, it’s just helped me a lot. I’ve become quicker and I’ve lifted and gotten a lot stronger. It’s just all come around.”
The Vikings can say the same.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
