Skowhegan’s Adam Savage, left, passes to teammate Jimmy Reed (23) during a Class A/B boys basketball central Maine tournament game against Winslow on Tuesday in Skowhegan. Dave Dyer/Kennebec Journal
SKOWHEGAN — The Skowhegan boys basketball team picked a good time to play its most complete game.
The No. 2 RiverHawks beat No. 6 Winslow 74-51 on Tuesday night in a Class A/B semifinal in the central Maine basketball tournament. The RiverHawks will meet No. 1 Maranacook in the championship game Thursday.
Skowhegan had three players, guard Levi Obert (16) and forwards Kyle LePage (21) and Adam Savage (14) post double-digit points.
“We’ve talked all season about putting together a complete game,” Skowhegan coach Tom Nadeau said. “That is about as complete a game as we’ve played this year.”
The RiverHawks were dominant on the boards as well, as Savage pulled down 12 rebounds, while LePage had seven.
Skowhegan’s Adam Savage shoots over a Winslow defender on Tuesday in Skowhegan. Dave Dyer/Kennebec Journal
We just do what we do,” LePage said. “Grab boards, push the ball and play as a team. Things work out good for us.”
The RiverHawks (12-2) started the game strong, as a 10-0 run helped give Skowhegan a 19-6 lead after the first quarter. An 8-0 run in the second quarter only helped lengthen that lead, giving the RiverHawks a comfortable 30-16 lead at halftime.
Winslow (7-6) improved its play in the second half, outscoring Skowhegan 17-16 in the third quarter. But Skowhegan’s lead was too much to overcome.
“We just wanted to slow it down on offense, get the ball in the post,” LePage said. “Not force shots and defend (Jason) Reynolds — he’s a very good player — and just slow him down, slow the pace of the game down.”
Jason Reynolds led the Black Raiders with 16 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Poulin added 13 points.
Both teams had to fight through second half rallies in the quarterfinals to make it to the semifinal round. Winslow fought back from a double-digit deficit to beat Lawrence 54-45 on Thursday. Skowhegan trailed by 15 points to Maine Central Institute late in the first half, only to claw back to an eventual 64-45 victory on Friday.
After Tuesday’s win, the RiverHawks feel ready to take on the Black Bears.
“It’s a good time to start rolling,” LePage said “We’re feeling good against Maranacook. They’re a good team, solid. Cash (McClure) is really good, we’ll have to stop him, play good, play as a team and see what we can do.”
“All of the pressure is on (Maranacook),” Nadeau said. “Nobody is expecting us to win. We’re just going to show up and do our business, do what we do and see if we can give them a game.”7
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