LEWISTON – All that’s missing is the striped shirt and whistle. Otherwise, one might mistake Jason Fuller for a referee any time David Labonte shoots a 3-pointer.
The Lewiston coach has a habit of thrusting his arms into the air and giving the 3-point signal whenever his dead-eye point guard launches one from beyond the arc.
Fuller doesn’t wait until after it goes through the hoop. He’s signaling the 3 when it’s leaving Labonte’s hands
“The kid goes 9-for-11 in one game and 8-for-11 in another game, you kind of expect it to go in every time he shoots it,” Fuller said. “I believe in him because I know in the last three years he has really dedicated himself to become a shooter, from coming early to practices and getting shots up to taking a lot of time in the summer and working on his shooting, he’s worked hard at it. And it shows.”
It shows in his scoring average, which is right around 19 ppg, and in the Blue Devils’ success this year, an 11-7 record and home-court advantage for tonight’s Eastern Class A preliminary against Leavitt.
It also shows in the 5-9 senior’s ability to put his team on his back and take over games at key moments.
“He’s had some of the greatest scoring runs that I’ve ever seen, and at big times. That’s the difference,” Fuller said. “The (first) EL game, fourth quarter, we’re down five, and he scores 11 straight. I said, Wow, that one won’t be beat.’ Then we go up to Leavitt. In the third quarter, it’s a tie game, he scores 17 straight. Then against Cony, it was 12 in a row in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.”
“It’s great to go on great scoring streaks,” he added, “but when you can do it when the game’s on the line, it just shows a lot of composure and a lot of guts.”
The scoring binge against Cony is a favorite of Labonte’s. That’s when he drained three consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lead the Blue Devils to a comeback win at home.
“After I drained the last one, we pretty much had the game because the momentum was ours and it got the crowd going, too,” Labonte said.
“I told Dave after the game, Geez, try to make a couple of more in the third so I don’t get so nervous,'” Fuller joked.
Most of Labonte’s hot streaks have come on the road, in front of hostile crowds, with defenders in his jersey and the defenders’ teammates close by to help out.
He relishes those games. His two biggest scoring outputs came in back-to-back road games against Waterville (29 points) and Morse (31).
“I kind of like playing away a little bit better,” said Labonte. “At home, I just get a little bit antsy and overlaunch it sometimes,” he said. “The rims are friendly on the road, I guess.”
“He has ultimate confidence in himself. He knows he can score some way to help the team out. It’s impressive to watch,” Fuller said.
Impressive enough that some of his teammates might get caught standing around watching if Labonte ignored his duties as a point guard. But he leads the team in assists, too.
“He’s had games where I don’t know if he got a shot in the first quarter, and he’s still managed to score 17 points. He knew people were going to play him tough, so he got other people involved,” Fuller said. “Other guys carried us at those times and then he stepped up when he needed to.”
Fortunately, Labonte’s teammates seem to know when he’s ready to step up.
“My teammates help me tremendously,” Labonte said. “They set great screens and they recognize when I’m in a rhythm.”
And they don’t even wait for their coach to throw his arms in the air.
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