BOOTHBAY

Wiscasset scored 19 points in the final quarter of Monday night’s boys high school basketball game at Boothbay Regional High School.

Perhaps more importantly, Boothbay scored zero.

The Wolverines, after being down 12 points at the end of three quarters, put a lockdown on the Seahawks’ offense and surged all the way back to stun the home crowd and capture the Mountain Valley Conference win, 53-46.

“Twelve points is nothing,” Wiscasset coach Dana Lawrence said. “And we know that. We’ve been there. We’ve come back from bigger deficits, and when they went in and decided they were going to run the clock off, we went into our different defense and we created some havoc. The big change was we created the turnovers and capitalized.”

In his first game back after missing a week of school and court time with pneumonia, Kevin Lynch stepped up in a big way during the game-ending run. The 6-foot-3 forward scored all of his 10 points in the final frame, and coolly went 8-of-10 from the free-throw line to cement the win. Two of his seven boards came in crucial possessions with under two minutes to play.

“I didn’t like the way I was playing in the first three quarters,” Lynch said. “I came out with fire in the fourth and knocked down shots.”

“Kevin is amazing,” Lawrence said. “It’s the first game he’s played coming off pneumonia. He’s a work horse. I can’t say enough about him.”

Despite a game-leading 26- point effort from Ethan James, Wiscasset (11-4) held the lead for less than two minutes of the second half. A Lynch free throw at the 1:49 mark gave the Wolverines their first scoring edge since early in the first quarter.

After closing the third frame on a 9-3 run, Boothbay (10-5) went ice cold and only managed a handful of shot attempts for the rest of the game. Senior Abel Bryer, who led the Seahawks with 12 points and six boards, had a chance to take the lead back with 2:09 left, but bounced two free-throw attempts off the rim. Five three throws on the other end and a James bucket later, and the Wiscasset comeback was emphatically complete.

“Coach just really kept our energy up,” James said. “Kept us positive. They fell down and we came up. We just worked as a team and we came together. We pulled through.”

The Wolverines shot 39 percent from the field on 15 field goals, but 13 of their 19 game-icing points came from the charity stripe. James stepped back and hit three treys, while Brandon Sprague chipped in with 12 total points, including three free throws during the run. The two combined for 18 rebounds.

Seahawks run

Boothbay converted a similar 38 percent from the floor while taking just seven free throws. After splitting 26 points and earning a six-point halftime lead in the first two quarters, the Seahawks went full-throttle in the third, scoring 20 more and creating the seemingly comfortable 12 point advantage heading into the fourth.

The home side capitalized on 24 Wiscasset giveaways and turned many steals into quick transition points on the other end. Jacob Leonard (11 points) and Kyle Ames (nine points) contributed and each turned a steal at mid-court into a basket.

But in the fourth quarter, the roles were quickly reversed. Four first-half Boothbay turnovers became 12 in the second half, with Wiscasset amping up the intensity and pressing hard. There wasn’t a vigorous tactical plan for the Wolverines after trailing by six at the half and double that after three. It was a simple message that paid major dividends.

“Just trying to be more efficient with the ball,” Lawrence said. “We had to do it on defense and rebound. That was all it was. Just trying to be more efficient and take care of our opportunities.”

Cody Roberts sandwiched a 3-pointer between two James treys during the third quarter to keep Wiscasset within striking distance. Brycson Grover added the only other points for the visitors with a pair of free throws. Carter Babcock and Nick Gorey split 14 points for Boothbay.

With the come-from-behind win, Wiscasset quickly bounced back from an ugly 67-44 road loss to Winthrop on Friday, and will likely move up a few spots in the Class C South Heal Point Standings.

“Every game we play now is a playoff game,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got to get after it.”

The Wolverines will host St. Dom’s Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Wiscasset 53,
Boothbay 43

Monday, at Boothbay High School
Wiscasset — 11 9 14 19 — 53
Boothbay — 13 13 20 0 — 46
Wiscasset — Russell Marr 0-0-0, Nate
Woodman 0-0-0, Brycson Grover 0-2-2,
Ethan James 9-5-26, Brandon Sprague 4-
4-12, Cody Roberts 1-0-3, Kevin Lynch 1-
8-10, Zack Reed 0-0-0, Grant Hefler 0-0-
0, Logan Orr 0-0-0. Totals — 15-19-53.
Boothbay — Kyle Ames 4-0-9, Jacob
Leonard 5-0-11, Carter Babcock 1-5-7,
Nick Gorey 3-0-7, Abel Bryer 6-0-12,
Austin Campbell 0-0-0, Dan Drummond
0-0-0, Elijah Gudroe 0-0-0, Matthew
Burnham 0-0-0. Totals — 19-5-46.
3-point field goals — (W) Ethan James
3, Cody Roberts; (B) Kyle Ames, Jacob
Leonard, Nick Gorey.
Records— Wiscasset 11-4, Boothbay 10-5.
Up next for the Wolverines — Thursday at
home against St. Dom’s, 5:30 p.m