AUBURN – Losing basketball games by the dozen when your roster is wracked by senioritis doesn’t bode well for your program. Twelve losses when most of your players aren’t old enough to own a driver’s license suggest that you might be able to turn things around in a hurry.
Edward Little was the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys’ team that missed it by that much last winter. In Tuesday night’s 2005-06 opener, the Red Eddies didn’t appear to be missing much of anything in an authoritative 57-38 win over Cony.
Troy Barnies scored 10 unanswered points to christen the fourth quarter and turn a seven-point lead into a laugher. The 6-foot-6 junior center finished with a game-high 18.
“Of our 12 losses last season, 10 of them were by five points or less,” Barnies said. “We know that means our defense needs to step it up in the close games.”
How’s this for stepping up? EL forced 28 turnovers, many with a frantic full-court press. The Red Eddies also harassed Cony into 2-for-13 shooting in the fourth quarter, suddenly silencing the Rams (0-2) in a game that was deadlocked at halftime. Cony hit only one field goal from outside the paint all evening.
And there was more to EL’s offense than Barnies.
Ryan Goss (15 points) nailed three of his four 3-pointers in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Kyle Philbrook chipped in 12 points, four assists and four steals off the bench.
Eleven different players scored for Cony, but that was little more than a statistical oddity. Derek Ferland, a 6-5 senior forward, led the Rams with eight points, most of them when Barnies retreated to the sideline with foul trouble.
“Troy is big, he’s lean, and he seems to be taking his game to the next level,” said EL coach Mike Adams. “But I don’t want to sell Ryan Goss short. He’s one of our best shooters, and when his shots weren’t falling in preseason, he was our best defensive player.”
EL engineered the last of 10 lead changes in the first half before Brian Lui’s drive to the hoop pulled Cony even, 24-24, at the break.
Goss drained two carbon-copy bonus balls from the left wing for a 30-26 advantage early in the third quarter, matching the Red Eddies’ largest lead to that point. Derek Doucette and Barnies followed Goss’ second salvo with back-to-back buckets.
Cony contained EL to only one additional hoop in the period, but it was Goss’ third trey, good for a 37-30 lead at quarter’s end.
“Ryan and I talked a lot about how you’ve just got to keep shooting and have confidence that you’re going to start hitting them again,” Adams said.
Then came Barnies’ personal highlight film, headlined by a 15-footer, a backdoor cut for two and a transition layup off his own steal.
Barnies opened the game with a thunderous dunk. He overcame two quick fouls after that, supplementing his offensive fireworks with six rebounds, five steals and a pair of blocked shots.
“Starting off the game with a dunk, it’s probably the worst thing that could have happened,” Adams said. “He got a little too pumped up. You can’t fault a kid for that.”
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