BATH – Five games into the boys high school basketball season, about a third of the way in and heading into the winter break, Freeport put together a few “runs” throughout the contest, netting a season-high 82 points as the Falcons downed Morse, 82-51 on Friday evening.
“It was good to see the team put together a good game on both sides of the ball,” Freeport coach Bill Ridge said.
The Falcons improved to 4-1, receiving points from 10 different players en route to the victory. Senior Toby Holt led the visitors with 19 points, followed by 13 points from Elias Thomas, 10 from Gabe Wagner and eight from Shea Wagner in the win. Thomas also added 10 rebounds and Shea Wagner chipped in with eight.
Freeport wasted no time jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead on the Shipbuilders (2-3).
Morse scored its first points with a Gabe Aucoin three at the 5:45 mark, but Freeport continued to put up points in the opening quarter, benefiting from seven turnovers from the home team. A three-point basket from Caleb Arsenault put the Falcons ahead 23-15 late in the quarter, as they carried a 29-15 lead into the second.
“It was really identifying their pressure,” Ridge said of the fast start. “We were able to tell what they were coming out with and that made it more manageable for us, to be able to go attack that.”
The Shipbuilders opened the second frame with a little more purpose, going on a 9-0 run behind Tom Warren and a put-back by Arius Eich to cut the Freeport lead to 29-24 with five minutes remaining in the half. Eich, playing in his first basketball game in almost two years, had six points of his 16 points in the second quarter.
“It was good to have him and his leadership back on the court after 17 months,” Morse coach Tom Maines said of one of his three captains.
It became Freeport’s turn for a run, and within minutes, behind another handful of Morse turnovers, the Falcons went on a 12-0 streak to push the score to 41-24.
“Our pressure got to them, we got a lot of points in transition,” Ridge said.
The Falcons closed out the half strong, leading 46-31 at the intermission. Seven different players hit the scoring column in the first half, something that doesn’t surprise Ridge.
“It can be, absolutely,” the coach quickly replied when asked if on any given night someone different can lead the team in scoring. “It depends on the style of play and what’s going on, match ups. We ask guys to do different things and in a game like this when it’s up tempo, who ever wants to run can get the points.”
Holt agreed with his coach.
“We want everyone to be able to score when they’re on the court and we showed that today. We pushed the ball up, filled in spots and laid the ball in,” the senior guard said.
Behind Holt’s nine first-half points, Shea and Gabe Wagner each registered all of their points (10 and eight), while Barrett added seven. Eich led Morse with 10 points, followed by Warren’s nine in the opening half.
Like much of the first half, the second began with a run. Following a Warren basket, Freeport rattled off the next 15 points to open up a 61-33 lead. Warren scored all seven points for Morse in the quarter, but trailed Freeport 63-38. The Falcons out-rebounded the Shipbuilders, 12-6 in the frame, forcing another seven turnovers for the hosts.
The Falcons took the final quarter as each team emptied their benches.
Warren finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three blocks. While it was frustrating to lose, Warren feels optimistic about the team.
“We definitely know what we did wrong. We allowed too many easy baskets and our defensive rotation wasn’t the best,” said the senior. “He’ll (coach Maines) fix it tomorrow, we’ll be fine.”
Maines was a little discouraged about the loss.
“We couldn’t pass tonight, it was awful how many turnovers we had,” the coach said. “We shot the hell out of the ball in practice last night, tonight we couldn’t buy a shot. We should be able to handle the press, that’s basketball, it’s what it’s supposed to be.”
Maines already knows what his squad will be doing next week in practice.
“Passing, passing, and more passing,” Maines said.
After Warren and Eich, Aucoin finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Freeport will host Lincoln Academy on Dec. 29 (7 p.m.), while Morse will travel to Kennebunk for a 4 p.m. game, also on Dec. 29.
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