GORHAM — After his team recorded only two baskets in the first half Friday night against Bonny Eagle, Gorham Coach Mark Karter knew he had to make changes.
One of the points he stressed at halftime was to get the ball to the Rams’ big men, who had a decided height advantage.
The change resulted in some easy baskets en route to a 40-29 victory.
“Offensively in the first half, we struggled,” said Karter. “We wanted to make sure to get the ball inside (in the second half). I thought we were able to do that in the third quarter to get us going (offensively).”
Trailing 20-15 at intermission, Gorham (2-3) scored its first three baskets of the third quarter from inside the paint – a shot from down low by Logan Drouin off a Jackson Fotter assist, Cam Wright’s shot after a Kyle King pass, and a left-handed hook shot by King, who rebounded his own miss.
That loosened the Bonny Eagle defense on the perimeter. Drouin took advantage with a 3-pointer, off an Andrew Brown pass, for a 24-23 advantage with 2:22 left in the quarter. It was the Rams’ first lead since 5-4 with 2:52 remaining in the first.
“We were really looking to get the ball inside against them with our height advantage,” said King, who finished with seven points and eight rebounds. “If we couldn’t get anything inside, then we’d wanted to try inside-out (basketball) and get things going offensively.”
Gorham led 28-24 after three quarters and quickly stretched it to 34-24 on a 3-pointer by Drouin (10 points, four steals) and a three-point play by Brown.
At the same time Gorham’s offense was clicking, the defense clamped down on the Scots, who won three of their first four games while averaging 57 points. They put up only nine second-half points.
“We struggled to find any movement, any consistency … it just seemed like a slow, methodical type game,” said Scots Coach Mike Francoeur. “We were trying to get more up-tempo (in the second half). But scoring nine points, we obviously didn’t get the game as up-tempo as we’d like.”
The stop-and-go second quarter may have done in the Scots, who couldn’t build on their lead despite Gorham’s cold spell from the field. Gorham attempted 11 free throws in the quarter; Bryce Womack made five.
The points from the charity stripe allowed the Rams to stay close. Gorham finished 16 for 24 from the foul line.
“We were fortunate to get them in foul trouble and make some foul shots,” Karter said. “I thought we shot much better at the line tonight than we have all year. That’s a big help if you can make (foul shots).”
Connor Sirois led Bonny Eagle with 11 points. Zach Maturo added 10 and Jackson Hogan chipped in with six.
Francoeur noted that the Rams did a good job defending his team.
“Their point guard on the top, he is really nice on the ball,” Francoeur said. “He doesn’t allow dribble penetration. He was good at taking things away that we were successful with in the first four games.”
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