St. Dom’s Ethan Bosse goes up for a basket during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
BUCKFIELD — Buckfield held an eight-point lead midway through the second quarter before St. Dom’s senior Ethan Bosse led a comeback to pull the Saints within one point at halftime Thursday.
But Bosse is the Saints’ only senior, and the lack of experience showed itself in the second half as Noah Wiley and Tyler Gammon led the Bucks to a 55-42 win in a Class C South boy’ basketball contest.
The comeback was a quick one for St. Dom’s in the second quarter. With 3:40 remaining, Bosse scored six of his 16 first-half points from it seemed like wherever he wanted, helping the Saints charge back from down 24-16 to make it 25-24 in favor of the Bucks at halftime.
Buckfield (1-4) coach Kyle Rines let his team know that the Bucks’ play late in the half was not that of a team scratching and clawing for its first win of the season.
“I was pretty stern at halftime,” Rines said. “We made a lot of mistakes that kept them in the ballgame. It’s kind of a wake-up call, as it’s the first game after winter break, like, if you want to win this game, go earn it.”
The Bucks made some adjustments defensively to slow down Bosse, who finished with 23 points, and Noah Wiley came alive on the offensive end.
Wiley hit a couple of 3-pointers in the third on his way to 18 points in the game. While Whiley is a prolific scorer, he knows that scoring isn’t always what is needed from his team.
“We upped our defense and the results came,” Wiley said. “My job for the team is to kind of run the offense, and if that means to shoot, try to score, pass it, play hard defense just get the team ready.”
The Bucks also out-rebounded the Saints heavily in the third frame, including one possession in which Buckfield pulled down six offensive rebounds before making a layup.
Buckfield was up 42-30 after three quarters.
St. Dom’s (1-6) coach Kenneth Poulin said Thursday’s game was “a tale of two halves” for the Saints.
“At halftime we tried to talk about what we were going to do better, play a little slower, get to loose balls, and in the second half we just didn’t do any of the things we did well in the first half,” Poulin said. “It was a tale of two halves. We are not at the point offensively where being down 15 is advantageous for us. We don’t score a ton, so we have to try to hold people and limit possessions.”
Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Wiley swiped a pass at midcourt and drove it to the basket. He got fouled and missed both free throws, but seconds later the senior made another midcourt steal, and this time made the layup and the ensuing free throw.
“He is a great player,” Rines said. “He has to learn a lot still, but he’s very active and when we create turnovers then it allows him, Tyler and other guys to get easy baskets. I thought he did a really good job tonight, and I have yet to see a guy finish at the rim better than he does for a guy who is 5-6.”
Gammon scored down low twice an drilled a 3 for seven of his game-high 19 to finish off Buckfield’s first win of the season.
“I thought in the second half my seniors Noah and Tyler stepped up and led the charge,” Rines said. “Defensively, we played better in the second half. I felt like that was the difference, we set the tone better in the second half.”
Robbie Dick scored six points for St. Dom’s, while Logan Welch added five and Noah Cyr four in the loss.
Buckfield’s Jacob Toomey passes the ball past St. Dom’s Brian Lac during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Buckfield’s Zach Shields passes the ball to a teammate during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Buckfield’s Tyler Gammon charges to the basket during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Buckfield Max White shoots the ball from downtown during Thursday night’s game in Buckfield. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
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