Boys basketball: Mt. Blue builds big lead, then holds off Oxford Hills

PARIS — Evans Sterling isn’t the only reason for Mt. Blue’s undefeated start to the season.

On Wednesday, several Cougars chipped in to build a big first-half lead and then hold off Oxford Hills to earn a 51-39 boys basketball road win.

“I think what tonight shows is that … we’re not just Evans,” Mt. Blue coach Troy Norton said. “Like, we’re a team. And we have other guys that can score, we have other guys that can rebound.”

The Cougars (10-0) opened fast, scoring the first 10 points of the game and essentially dominating the first quarter as they built a 13-5 lead.

Sterling entered Wednesday averaging 25.9 points per game and is one of the state’s most dynamic players, if not the most dynamic. The versatile 6-foot-3 point guard only scored two points in the first, but it didn’t matter because Tyler Abell tallied five, and Nolan Leso and Tucker Fitch each had three.

“We have great team chemistry, and I feel like the other four guys really play well around Evans, and we give Evans what he needs to basically take over in games when he needs it,” Leso said. “When he’s not, like when he’s getting double- and triple-teamed, we try to contribute in ways that we can.”

Leso scored early in the second period to push the lead to 15-5 and begin a quarter-opening 16-0 run by Mt. Blue.

By the time Oxford Hills’ Gabe Damon drove the baseline and scored with 3:29 left in the second, the Cougars’ advantage was up to 29-7.

Leso was everywhere in the first half, racking up 10 points, including a 3-pointer, six rebounds and two steals.

“I just try to throw myself out there, just try to do the best I can,” Leso said. “I play physical. I try to rebound and I try to score when I’m wide open — I mean, I was kind of feeling myself from behind the arc a little bit there. So, yeah, I try to just play physical, play hard, defense, get on the loose balls, you know, rebound.”

Abell hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the first two quarters. Sterling was limited to seven points in the half. But, Leso said, the senior point guard played a huge role in Mt. Blue’s 30-9 halftime lead.

“Really, him getting double-teamed, triple-teamed, it gives us all opportunities to score, and he’s great at finding us,” Leso said. “Like, he knows where the defense is going to attack, and he knows where to dish the ball. He’s just really good — he’s known for his scoring, but he’s great at facilitating, too, like, just like finding the open man.

“That’s really why we jumped out, he was just able to find us repeatedly.”

Oxford Hills’ defensive game plan was clearly focused on and succeeded at slowing Sterling — who Vikings coach Scott Graffam said is the “best player we’ve seen” — but its offense struggled to make shots in the first half.

The Vikings lost several key players from last year’s Class AA North finalist squad, including a dynamic player, Teigan Pelletier, who transferred to a prep school. That has left Oxford Hills with Holden Shaw, Jake Carson and 12 varsity newcomers this season.

“That worked,” Vikings coach Scott Graffam said of the defensive plan for Sterling. “But when you can’t score, and they’re getting run-outs, you know, that’s the issue. We held them to 50 points. I mean, in a high school basketball game, if you can hold a team to 50 points, you have a chance to win. But our problem is that we can’t score because, I don’t know if it’s Teigan Pelletier was the scorer and now these other kids have got to do it.”

A 3-pointer by Carter Norton early in the second half put the Cougars up 34-11. That ended up being their only field goal of the third quarter, and they were limited to free throws until midway through fourth.

Oxford Hills (4-6), meanwhile, started hitting its shots. Eli Laverdiere made a couple of post baskets, and seemed to set the tone for the Vikings for the remainder of the game. The 6-foot-4 junior got the ball in the post and went up strong against a swarm of Mt. Blue arms. When he missed, he often got the rebound. He scored four of his seven points and grabbed most of his eight rebounds in the third quarter.

“We took those starters out and put those other kids in, they battled off the backboard and we got a bunch of offensive rebounds,” Graffam said. “… That changed the momentum of the game, because Eli Laverdiere and Jake Carson, you know, they got after it.”

Brayden Murch also began muscling his way into the post and scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

The Vikings outscored the Cougars 17-9 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 39-26.

Besides Norton’s 3-pointer, Mt. Blue only managed six free throws in what was a physical quarter in a physical game by both teams.

“It was a tough game for the officials because it was just so physical and they could have blown their whistle on any play,” Troy Norton said.

The teams combined to shoot 21 free throws in the third, 12 for Mt. Blue and nine for Oxford Hills.

“We knew coming in, Oxford Hills is always physical, well-coached, they play hard. So, we were prepared for this,” Troy Norton said. “We just couldn’t really make any shots there in the third quarter. We got good looks, they just, nothing would fall. It was like there was a lid on the basket.

“But our guys, they don’t lose composure. And we knew that if we just kept playing our game, that we’d be fine.”

Brady Delamater hit Oxford Hills’s first 3-pointer of the game about a minute into the fourth, and Carter Holbrook drained another a few minutes later to give the Vikings the first six points of the period and cap off an 11-0 run that put them within reach at 39-32.

“You’ve got to give them credit, they played hard. They definitely didn’t quit, that’s for sure,” Troy Norton said. “But we held it together.”

Abell ended Mt. Blue’s field goal and scoring drought with a 3 midway through the fourth.

“That was definitely a momentum changer,” Leso said. “I mean, I think they honestly had momentum for a while. They were getting their bigs — I mean, their bigs are really good — like, just getting buckets after buckets down low.

“That was a really good shot, really changed momentum. Quieted the gym down, which was pretty nice.”

Shaw (six points, eight rebounds) responded with a basked at the other end for Oxford Hills, but then Carter Norton (eight points) hit another trey the next time down the court, and Mt. Blue led 45-34 with 3:30 remaining in the game.

“He hit that one,” Troy Norton said of Abell, “and then Carter hit one shortly afterwards. I mean, I knew eventually one of those was going to go in. They’re too good of shooters to just miss, you know, eight in a row.”

Abell, who led the Cougars with 16 points, helped seal the win with five free throws.

“We kept our composure,” Leso said. “I mean, this is the loudest gym we’ve been in so far, definitely — hardest environment, it’s a really tough environment. We played through physicality, fouls every possession, even the ones that weren’t called. And we always play as a team, and that’s why we pulled out the win today.”

Sterling finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Leso had a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards. He also had four steals and a block.

“His rebounding was outstanding,” Troy Norton said. “He’s just a great athlete, and he can really do everything. I mean, he could play point guard. He could play center. And that’s what we have, we just have kids who are basketball players.

“And they all just like each other and they are so cohesive as a team that nobody cares who scores. I mean Evans didn’t score as much tonight as he normally does. He doesn’t care.”

Graffam said that the Vikings’ slow start was just too much to overcome.

“Second half, those guys were focused. We got up after it. We made some shots. We attacked the rim. I was proud of that,” Graffam said. “Mt. Blue’s a really good team, you know, as good a team as we’ve played this year. So I knew we were gonna be in for a tussle, but I thought we’d play with them.

“But the first half we didn’t come to play. And it had something to do with them, but we were getting good shots …”

Oxford Hills next faces Lewiston (3-9) on Friday at home. Mt. Blue, which is in first place in the Class A Heal point standings and seventh in the Varsity Maine poll, hosts Cony on Friday.