FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue Cougars are on the verge of making another postseason appearance after orchestrating a convincing 58-45 victory over the persistent Lawrence Bulldogs in a boys basketball game on Tuesday night.
Mt. Blue’s Dawson Black (10) goes up for a shot as Lawrence’s Zack Nickerson defends during a boys basketball game in Farmington on Tuesday. Tony Blasi/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Of course, there are a few games left in the season before the Heal points are tallied up and teams know for certain if they’ve locked up a playoff spot.
“We made some shots, which was a good thing,” Mt. Blue coach Troy Norton said. “We had struggled to shoot the ball this season. It was a total team effort and all the seniors contributed, and that was great to see.
“Lawrence always play hard. They are a well-coached team. I thought we brought intensity, energy and played hard tonight. We needed this one.”
Norton said earlier this season after a frustrating loss that the Cougars (7-10) need to learn how to play a full 32 minutes of basketball.
“We had a lot close games this year. We played great for 28 minutes,” Norton said. “We just had let downs. So this time we played hard the whole game, limited turnovers, and this guy, Jacob Farnham, right here, was the difference. He is the best player on the court.”
Farnham led the charge with the game-high 21 points and landed five 3-pointers. Senior Hunter Meeks helped out with 13 points.
Mt. Blue’s Jackson Eustis (4) leaps to pass the ball as teammate Dawson Black (10) looks behind him during a boys basketball game in Farmington on Tuesday. Tony Blasi/ Sun Journal Buy this Photo
“We have a really strong backcourt, and with me and Zach Poisson, I feel like teams think they can stop us. They see we are not big like Bradley Shamba and Hunter Donald,” Farnham said. “So with me and Zach as playmakers, I feel like teams overlook that, and so we were able to hit our bigs. I think that’s why we succeeded tonight.
“Offensively, I think we broke the press pretty easily tonight.”
Farnham added that his senior teammates were all over the court throughout the game.
Mt. Blue has evolved and demonstrated its maturity against a good Lawrence team. The Cougars opened up on the Bulldogs in the second half. There was no question senior night and a packed house had a lot to do with Mt. Blue’s motivation and tenacity.
By halftime, Mt. Blue led 23-16, and they didn’t lose a step in the second half.
The Cougars began to distance themselves with a 44-32 cushion after three quarters and then went up 49-34 with 5:30 left in the game. But five minutes is a lot of time, and Lawrence did cut Mt. Blue’s lead to 10 points, but the Cougars pressed on and scored more baskets.
But no matter how close the Bulldogs got, the Cougars kept pulling away. Lawrence (7-10) senior swingman Dylan Martin-Hachey and forward Nic Blaisdell each scored 17 points.
“Talked to the guys at halftime,” Lawrence coach Jason Pellerin said. “We had really bad slot selection. I though we played rushed. In the second half, we talked more about taking our shot and dictating what the shot was going to be than what they were doing to us offensively.
“I give our guys credit. We played hard. I give Mt. Blue credit, on senior nightt hey played with a lot of positive emotion. They made shots. They made plays and they made more plays than we did. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat.”
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