FREEPORT — Coming off its first loss of the season, it didn’t take long for the Yarmouth High boys’ basketball team to get back on track.
Less than five minutes, actually. Yarmouth, which has been at or near the top of the Class B South Heal point standings all season, raced to a 12-3 lead Friday night at Class A Freeport, led 20-8 after a quarter and rolled to a 57-31 win.
Peter Psyhogoes, a 6-2 senior who will play for Bates College next season, led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Psyhogoes and starting forward Sutter Augur both were out because of sickness for Wednesday’s 35-32 home loss to Lake Region.
“I feel fine. My symptoms have been gone for a couple of days now,” Psyhogoes said. “I felt good in warmups and my teammates found me early, so it was nice to be able to get in a groove.”
Yarmouth (10-1) displayed its most consistent trait of playing tough man-to-man defense. Freeport (5-5), which is on a three-game skid, didn’t score in double figures in any quarter.
According to Yarmouth Coach Jonas Allen, the focus was on stopping Blaine Cockburn and Colby Arsenault. Cockburn was held to one late basket. Arsenault who got his fourth foul early in the third quarter, led the Falcons with nine points.
“Let’s be honest, Blaine and Colby are very good players. We knew if we let one or both of them go off, we were in trouble,” Allen said. “Sutter changes us so much on the defensive end, and when we’re bought in and playing as one unit, we do OK.”
The Clippers controlled the glass at both ends, as Psyhogoes was aided by Augur, center Cole Snyder and Yarmouth’s guards.
“We always talk, ‘Finish the possession.’ It’s not a stop if you give up an offensive rebound,” Allen said.
In the loss to Lake Region, Yarmouth had 14 offensive rebounds but failed to convert them into a single point. Against Freeport, four of the Clippers’ first five baskets – including 3-pointers from Psyhogoes and starting point guard Matt Waeldner (12 points) – were second-chance points.
Psyhogoes, who has a smooth left-handed release that makes 3-pointers look easy, was red-hot to start, making his first three shots. He had 15 points midway through the second quarter. As a team, Yarmouth was 7 of 14 on first-half 3-point attempts, 4 of 6 in the first quarter. Stevie Walsh came off the bench to make three treys.
Freeport did tighten up its defense after falling behind 28-10, forcing several turnovers with quick hands in the passing lane. But the Falcons failed to convert, either turning it over themselves or missing shots.
“Defensively, we were a little slow out of the gate, but I thought we adjusted well,” said Freeport Coach Tyler Tracy. “We were able to get some stops but, man, we struggled to score after those stops. I think we had four straight steals, and two of them we missed shots and the other two we turned it over. You’ve got to capitalize.”
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