JAY — Spruce Mountain let Maranacook get away in the third quarter of a December boys’ basketball battle. Then the Phoenix blew a nine-point lead in the fourth period against Poland, only to back it up by wasting multiple chances to put away Gardiner in regulation.

Three losses, three crises of confidence, all of which reared their ugly head on Saturday night even as Spruce seemed in cruise control with a 17-point cushion in the closing minutes against Gray-New Gloucester.

“Again it’s crunch time, with a lead, fourth quarter. We should have won by 25,” Spruce Mountain coach Scott Bessey said. “We’re up 16 in a timeout saying layups and free throws, and then play solid (defense). We’re taking bad shots, turning it over, then fouling them and putting them at the free-throw line.”

Gray-New Gloucester erupted with 11 unanswered points to rouse those recent demons, but James Ouellette and Austin Darling responded by sinking six consecutive free throws in the final 47.6 seconds to seal a 50-41 Class B South win at the Phoenix Nest.

Darling scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter for Spruce Mountain (3-4), fueled by a pair of steals. Brett Frey and Noah Preble scored nine and eight points, respectively, and built the big lead by combining for five 3-pointers in the second and third periods.

“We had two tough losses,” Darling said. “We were just hungry for this win.”

Zack Haskell led Gray-New Gloucester (2-6) with 15 points. John Martin scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. John Henry Villanueva added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Playing without 6-foot-5 forward Kyle Keenan, who was home with the flu, Gray-New Gloucester shot 29 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers in the first three quarters prior to its rally.

“Their physicality certainly wore us down. We struggled to score. We tried a few things that didn’t work,” Gray-New Gloucester coach Ryan Deschenes said. “Defensively we stayed in it for a while and made a little run at the end.”

Andrew Darling’s layups courtesy of his own steals were the highlight of a frosty first quarter for both teams. Brandon Anctil’s late bucket made it a 6-3 Phoenix edge after eight minutes. Preble rained down two 3-pointers in a three-minute span early in the second period.

Haskell missed much of that session with an injury to his right thumb, compounding the Patriots’ struggles from the field. Villanueva’s 3-point play and a Zac Brady hoop off the Gray-New Gloucester press breaker cut the deficit to 14-13.

“Our whole team’s defensive energy right now, and this is a problem that we’ve got to fix, changes if we’re making or missing shots,” Bessey said. “If we’re making shots, boom, the energy picks up, and it can’t be that way. It’s got to be just the opposite. When we miss shots, our intensity has to increase defensively.”

Frey ignited the Phoenix with a 3-pointer from the right wing. Caulin Parker added a put-back for a 19-14 halftime edge.

Parker’s drive preceded consecutive treys from Frey to key an 8-0 run in the third, and Austin Darling ended his night-long scoreless drought to make it 33-22 just before the horn.

“It’s good to see the ball go in. Then we forced them to have to pick up full court a little bit, and that’s when I think the game got away from them,” Bessey said. “That’s when we’re able to use our gifts and our athleticism, the things that we’re good at.”

The lead crested at 44-27 with 4:22 to go after two free throws and a steal and a layup, all by Austin Darling.

“We were just working hard,” Darling said.

Spruce Mountain also labors feverishly at learning how to put teams away. Gray-New Gloucester extended the game by pounding the ball inside and getting into the double bonus.

Martin, Haskell and Villanueva launched the late run modestly by making five of six from the line. Villanueva’s 3-pointer cut it back to single digits with 1:25 to go. After the Phoenix missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Martin delivered a conventional 3-point play to make it a two-possession game with 1:03 to go.

The Patriots’ fate was sealed earlier, though.

“We didn’t turn it over much against their press, but it definitely wore us down,” Deschenes said. “It got us out of our offensive rhythm in the half court for sure.”

After Ouellette’s free throws, Matt Cornelio drew an offensive foul to keep that wiggle room. One additional Martin 3-pointer wasn’t enough to make a dent.

“We needed a win, period,” Bessey said. “We’re better than the results have been.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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