By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Hopefully none of your holiday feasts unfolded like Edward Little’s basketball game Friday evening.

The roast was cold in the middle. The potatoes were lumpy. The cream in the coffee was curdled. There were spots all over the silverware. But hey, at least dessert was delicious.

Sophomore guard Eric Prue punctuated his first varsity start with six fourth-quarter points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining, as the Red Eddies somehow salvaged a 31-26 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys’ hoop victory over the nagging Skowhegan Indians.

Troy Barnies also chalked up 14 points, 11 rebounds and four steals to rescue the Red Eddies in what could end up as the ugliest non-blowout played on the schoolboy hardwood this winter. Then again, EL (3-3) hasn’t been in a position lately to quibble about style points.

“It looked to me like a lot of standing around for most of the night, and that probably wasn’t a lot of fun to watch,” said EL coach Mike Adams. “After three straight losses, though, we’ll take it.”

Skowhegan (1-6) snagged the early lead by holding EL to only two points in the first quarter, and the Indians maintained that advantage and dictated the tempo almost to the finish.

Steve McDaniel’s 3-pointer and an inside bucket by Mike LaCasse pushed Skowhegan to a 24-18 lead with 6:50 left. Then a few panicked possessions coupled with continued solid defense by EL forced the Indians into seven straight misses.

Barnies and Kyle Giguere went a combined 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to claw within a point before Prue pocketed a pass from Ryan Goss along the left wing and knocked down EL’s only field goal in the final nine minutes.

“I didn’t know if it was going in, because (Skowhegan’s defender) was pretty much in my face,” said Prue.

He faced far less resistance, if even a tad more pressure, while swishing three of four from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds to ice the needed win.

Was he nervous? Prue shrugged his shoulders before confessing, “Maybe a little.”

His coach didn’t try to hide the apprehension.

“You worry about a kid making his first start and being in that situation,” Adams said. “It’s good to see him make that shot and develop a little confidence, because he could be a nice player for us down the stretch. We need that kind of contribution from our perimeter players.”

Sophomores and juniors are the rule for Skowhegan. Josh Whiting, one of only two seniors on the floor for the Indians, led the way with 12 points and six rebounds.

“We can’t seem to figure out how to close out a game,” said Skowhegan coach Troy Scott. “This is the third straight game where we’ve had the lead in the fourth quarter and haven’t been able to finish. We play hard. We just don’t have that one go-to guy, and we don’t have a natural point guard.”

The Indians do play defense, however, as evidenced by EL’s 8-for-39 (21 percent) travails from the field.

Win or lose, EL prefers a more free-wheeling approach. But the lack of offense gave the Red Eddies a chance to celebrate achievements that usually get lost in the box score.

“We always take a quick look at the stat sheet after the game,” said Adams, “and tonight it was a big assist by (Cam) Leary here, a blocked shot by (Kyle) Philbrook there. There were a lot of little things, which I guess is good, because there sure wasn’t a lot of scoring to talk about.”