PITTSFIELD — Coming off back-to-back losses, the Maine Central Institute boys basketball team was looking to regain the spark it had in winning its first six games of the season. The Huskies found it early Thursday night against Winslow.
MCI scored the game’s first nine points, never trailed, and left Wright Gymnasium with a 63-52 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win. MCI is now 7-2, while Winslow is 4-5.
“It meant the world getting the first nine (points) of the game,” said MCI senior guard Joe Cloutier, who scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Winslow’s Kevin Ware, left, attempts to block MCI’s Owen Williams during a game Thursday in Pittsfield.
The transition game was big for the Huskies’ fast start. MCI grabbed defensive boards and took off, beating the Black Raiders down the court for uncontested layups.
“We knew this is a defining moment in our season. We want to emphasize defense and making stops,” MCI coach Josh Tardy said. “We still have some kinks to work out on the offensive end, but I thought we defended well.”
For Winslow coach Ken Lindlof, the slow start was a rerun of a show he’s seen.
“We’re not trending well the early part of the last few games,” Lindlof said. “Getting off to a good start so you’re not putting yourself in a hole is a point of emphasis, but that said, you’ve got to go out and execute.”
Winslow cut MCI’s lead to five points, 32-27, on a Justin Laflamme 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but the Huskies soon regained momentum, pushing the lead back to double digits on a Gavin McArthur three a minute later. McArthur hit three 3-pointers for the Huskies, and was one of six MCI players to sink a three.
“It helps when everybody’s got the hot hand going, and it helps when we’ve got the ball reversal going too,” Cloutier said.
Winslow’s Jacob Bisson, left, and MCI’s Gavin McArthur go up for jump ball during a game Thursday in Pittsfield.
Added Lindlof: “They give us a lot of matchup problems. You try to find somebody maybe you can sag off of and help, but they don’t provide us that luxury.”
Four Huskies scored in double figures in a balanced offensive attack, led by Daniel Garamvolgyi’s 16. Owen Williams scored 13 for MCI, and McArthur 11.
Colby Pomeroy led Winslow with 16 points, while Laflamme and Kevin Ware each scored 15.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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