OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Ever since Dec. 18, when the A.R. Gould boys basketball team topped Old Orchard Beach 57-54 in one of the weaker games OOB has played this season, the Seagulls have had a sour taste in their mouths when it comes to the Bears.
In large part, because of a prayer answered on Tuesday night, they finally got to savor some sweet redemption.
Old Orchard Beach got the better of Gould the second time around, taking a one-point lead on a Joey Gildard buzzer beater from beyond halfcourt at the end of the first half and riding that momentum to a 71-56 win to improve to 7-4.
Gould (6-5) held the edge through much of the first half, taking its lead as high as seven, before a late run got the Seagulls back within two. That’s when Gildard took an inbounds pass and flung it from behind the half-court line, banking it in to give his team a 38-37 lead and a much-needed lift in the third quarter.
“That gave us the big boost,” said Old Orchard Beach forward Jimmy Strohm. “We were kind of down on ourselves at the half, and to go in with the lead was huge.”
It was the kind of shot you practice for fun, and Gildard chalked the basket up to exactly that.
“I didn’t think I was going to, but obviously I wanted to make it because I’ve practiced that shot many a time during school, just going into the gym and throwing it up,” Gildard said. “Especially putting us up by one, I think it gave us a good amount of momentum.”
From there, it was all Seagulls as they outscored the Bears 18-8 in the third quarter and ran away with the 15-point victory, earning Old Orchard Beach some much-wanted payback.
“It was nice to get back at them,” Strohm said, “and show everyone looking at the box score that we are the better team, and we can compete with anyone.”
Gould standout Zacharia Mohamed, scorer of 36 points in the teams’ first go-around, had 23 points in the first half Tuesday, including nailing five 3-pointers and showing off, as Gildard put it, “ridiculous range.” But an early third foul in the second half landed Mohamed on the bench, and that, along with a stifling 2-3 zone defense, helped OOB hold Mohamed to just six points in the second half.
“It definitely took (Mohamed) out of the groove,” Strohm said. “Yesterday at practice we put in defenses especially for him because he went off on us last time. First half it didn’t work so well, but second half we went in the 2-3. He wasn’t getting the open looks and it forced them to take some shots they really didn’t want to take.”
While shutting down Mohamed was crucial for Old Orchard Beach in the first half, Strohm was another key for OOB, getting a rare start and making the most of it with 14 points before the break. Strohm said starting made him “a little more nervous than usual,” but he didn’t show any nerves as his play kept the Seagulls in the game.
“He has played sensational in the last three or four games,” OOB coach John Regan said of Strohm, who scored 16 points in total and is averaging more than 12 a game during the Seagulls’ current three-game winning streak. “Tonight he started, the other night he comes off the bench, he brings us so much energy, offensive rebounds, he just never stops.”
In addition to Strohm’s strong performance, center Quincy Grace led the team with a season-high 22 points and is now averaging 16.2 a game, fifth in the Western Maine conference. Gildard added 15 points, while Nick Carlin and Anthony Langella-Laws both chipped in eight to round out a balanced scoring attack.
Old Orchard Beach will look to extend its winning streak to four on Thursday when it hosts winless Greater Portland Christian School at 7 p.m. While the Lions are 0-10, Strohm said it is still important the Seagulls play well on Thursday “to keep our groove going,” while Gildard said past experiences would help OOB avoid a letdown.
“We’ve overlooked some teams before, and they’ve come out and beat us,” he said. “Last year, we overlooked Sacopee, and they beat us. Earlier this year, we overlooked A.R. Gould, and they beat us. So we’ve got to come out firing on Thursday.”
— Contact Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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