WISCASSET — The Lisbon High School boys’ basketball team had a hard time figuring out Wiscasset’s half-court trap on Tuesday, with the Wolverines holding a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter.

The new-look Greyhounds never gave up, led by Tucker Brannon who scored 21 of his game-high 27 points after halftime.

But, Wiscasset gained a healthy boost from its bench in overtime to pull out a 66-63 Mountain Valley Conference win on Tuesday.

The win gives the Wolverines a 9-7 record, while Lisbon fell to 10-6 and saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end.

“I have aged all season,” said Wiscasset coach Dana Lawrence, whose Wolverines host Boothbay on Friday. “We were rotating very well, our weak-side guy was taking away the guy on the post, and Lisbon just didn’t shoot as well as they normally do. (Lisbon coach) Jake (Gentle) has done a great job with that team, and there is no quit in them.”

“You have to give Wiscasset credit as they made a few more plays than we did in overtime and they shot really well tonight,” said Gentle, whose Greyhounds defeated Wiscasset 47-42 on Jan. 8. “They put the ball in the hoop. A three-point game is a three-point game, and you can look back at the first quarter through overtime, with one play possibly changing the whole thing.”

Tied at 57 heading to overtime, Brannon answered a Chandler Longfellow bucket to tie the game, 59-59. Andrew Golino sank a free throw to put the Greyhounds ahead, but Wiscasset’s Thomas Anderson, who didn’t have a point through regulation, received a pass from Travis Padilla and finished while being fouled for a three-point play and a 62-60 Wolverines lead with 1:58 remaining.

“We kept moving the ball around, and I was waiting for my shot and I finally got my chance in overtime,” said Anderson of his three-point play.

Brannon wasn’t finished, taking a feed from Kendal Roy and laying in a shot with 49 ticks left for another tie.

Moments later, Anderson dished to freshman Ethan James, who finished to put the Wolverines ahead to stay (64-62). “This is a big win for us. We needed our bench to step up. We all need to step up, with the playoffs right around the corner,” added Anderson, who dished out five assists in the win.

Wiscasset missed the front end of 1-and-1 with five seconds left, but Brannon’s 30-footer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and bounded away to end it.

“Anybody can beat anybody, so from here we will need to get out heads back, get back to work and get ready for Winthrop on Friday (7 p.m.),” said Brannon, who added eight rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Wiscasset presses

Down 15-13 after a quarter, Wiscasset began trapping the Greyhounds. The strategy worked as Lisbon committed 11 first-half turnovers and the Wolverines closed the first half on a 7-2 run for a 30-25 halftime lead.

“We were being very predictable and they were jumping our passes, and today they stole some big possessions that cost us,” said Brannon. “They were moving the ball good, scoring quick and getting to the lane.”

The Wolverines kept pressing, and a 12-3 run out of the gates in the third quarter staked Wiscasset to a 42-28 lead. Longfellow had six third-quarter points to lead the way.

Lisbon began to make a run, using an 11-2 spurt to get close, trailing 46-39 after 24 minutes.

“It was a matter of recognizing where to go to attack it (the Wiscasset trap), and that is my responsibility. I should have called a timeout earlier to figure it out,” said Gentle.

Wiscasset upped its lead back to double digits as Brandon Sprague (team-high 17 points) scored four straight for a 50-39 lead.

After a Lisbon timeout, the Greyhounds ran off seven straight points in 51 seconds to get to 50-46. After a Wiscasset timeout, Brannon stole a Wolverines passed and scored to get the Greyhounds to within two points, and Johnny Yim’s runner tied the game. Yim put Lisbon ahead seconds later as the Greyhounds finished off a 13-0 run.

“The guys showed they will play hard no matter the score and have a chance to win the game late,” said Gentle of his team.

Wiscasset struck back, getting a 3-pointer from Padilla, his fourth of the game, and the teams went back and forth from there.

“This is very big for us confidence-wise, and maybe we will believe a little bit more. It just takes a lot of work,” said Lawrence after his team shot 50 percent (28 of 56) from the floor. “We received consistent efforts from our starters and a big boost from our bench tonight. That is what we need to do have to success.”

Padilla had 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while Longfellow finished with 13 points, six steals and four assists. James chipped in eight points.

Brannon was 10-for-11 from the free-throw line as Lisbon made 21 of 25 from the charity stripe The Greyhounds shot 33 percent from the floor (17 of 51). Yim had 12 points and five boards, while Roy added 11 points.

Copy the Story Link