BIDDEFORD – Lacking any real size but loaded with players who can shoot and handle the ball, the Scarborough High boys’ basketball team “has to make the outside shot,” says Coach Tony DiBiase.
But against similarly sized Biddeford, the Red Storm gained the upper hand when it scored inside Saturday. Backed by good foul shooting, Scarborough dominated the final 12 minutes for a 60-50 win.
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Shaking off a week-long layoff, Scarborough (3-3) was 4 of 17 from behind the arc in the first half. With Biddeford (2-4) getting 11 points from Nicholas Leblond and a 10-rebound, 2-block, 2-assist effort inside from Sam Methot, the Tigers held a 31-27 halftime lead.
Early in the second half of a frenetic and physical game, Scarborough guards Brendan Hall and Dillon Russo appeared to make a concerted effort to dribble drive and get inside. Combined with aggressive offensive rebounding, Scarborough closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 40-37 lead.
“We made a couple (from outside) so they know what our game plan is, to shoot a lot of 3s, so they have to come out and guard us,” DiBiase said. “Because if you leave us we have some pretty good shooters. So they have to cheat out. Now all of a sudden it opens up lanes. If we don’t make any shots, they start to back off. So we made some shots and all of a sudden we got inside.”
Both Hall and Russo had 13 points. Kevin Manning added 11 despite sub-par shooting.
The only 3-pointer Scarborough made in the second half came from Matt Hartl, early in the fourth quarter, to give the Red Storm the lead for good at 43-40. Manning followed with a well-executed jumper after sprinting through a series of baseline screens.
Biddeford kept trying to answer in a hurry — a mistake.
In the third quarter, Cam Nadeau repeatedly tried to go one-on-one against the bigger, stronger Hall. That resulted in several turnovers and forced shots in the lane.
In the fourth quarter, Biddeford guard Kyle Lagasse, who sparked the Tigers in the second quarter with three 3-pointers, tried to take control. He forced a foul and made both ends of a 1-and-1 to cut the lead to 45-42 but then missed five straight shots, four behind the arc early in possessions.
“The first half we were patient on offense and more guys were touching the ball and a lot of ball movement,” Biddeford Coach Mike Fecteau said. “The second half was more individual; somebody just trying to take over the game by themselves. They went to a man-to-man defense in the second half and they’ve got some athletic kids, and we didn’t make good decisions.”
Staff Writer Steve Craig can be contacted at 791-6413 or at:
scraig@mainetoday.com
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