TOPSHAM — Over the course of Saturday afternoon’s Class A South boys high school basketball game, Mt. Ararat had its chances to make visiting Kennebunk feel uncomfortable.
After the Rams darted out to a 23-14 first-quarter lead, the host Eagles showed signs of drawing closer.
But, Kennebunk always seemed to have an answer — especially from seniors Max Murray and Kyle Pasieniuk — en route to a 73-54 victory.
The Rams left Topsham with a 4-2 record, while Dave Dubreuil’s Eagles fell to 1-5 after their fifth straight loss.
Murray tallied 24 of his game-high 27 points through three quarters of play, and Pasieniuk nailed three big baskets in the fourth quarter as Kennebunk pulled away.
After the Rams opened the game with a 21-9 run, Mt. Ararat hung around. JD Dionne’s slam dunk ignited the Eagles, and James Singleton hit a pair of short jumpers to get Mt. Ararat within nine heading to the second quarter.
Down 34-22, Ty Henke finished a kick-out pass from Caleb Manuel for a trey, followed by a pair of free throws by Singleton’s to make for a 34-27 contest.
However, Murray and his Ram teammates had a reply.
“Hats off to Kennebunk, after we made those runs they came down and hit a big three,” said Dubreuil, whose Eagles visit Leavitt on Tuesday at 6;30 p.m. “They just always seemed to have an answer, and it’s tough when you make that run and that happens every time. We could get it to seven, nine, but we just didn’t get closer.”
“You can’t let a team get on a run. It is tough to stop them. But when they have one, you have to recover. We did that,” said Murray, who picked 15 first-half points as Kennebunk carried a 38-29 lead into the intermission.
Mt. Ararat continued to show flashes of drawing closer throughout the third quarter. Lukas Holman came off the bench for four points, and Henke also had four points.
However, Murray continued to lead his squad. He scored nine points in the third quarter, and his 3-pointer upped Kennebunk’s edge to 18 points, 63-45, early in the fourth.
“Our team is built to play quick, fast-paced, running the floor,” Murray said. “We need to focus on fine-tuning things heading into that next part of the season.”
Unselfish Eagles
Throughout Saturday’s contest, Mt. Ararat was balanced on the scoresheet. Henke nailed three shots from beyond the arc in the first half to lead the Eagles with nine points, while Dionne added seven and Singleton six.
“We are becoming more unselfish, more of playing team basketball,” Dubreuil said. “When we play as a team, get the ball up and pass up good shots to get great shots, we are much better. There are flashes of it, but we just need to work on our consistency.”
Despite trailing by 18 points in the fourth quarter, Mt. Ararat didn’t quit. Dionne scored four quick points off a pair of steals to get the Eagles to within 11, 63-52, with 3:55 remaining. Dionne led the Eagles with 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals, with Henke and Singleton adding 13 points apiece.
“We don’t want to have an opponent go after one of our players. We are going to spread the ball, share the ball. We did that tonight, but just came up short,” said Dubreuil.
Holman led the Eagles’ bench with six points, while Jace Hollenbach pulled in eight rebounds.
Murray’s 12 rebounds gave him a double-double, with Pasieniuk scoring 24 points and grabbing six boards. Sam Tartre dished out six assists and had three steals, with Adam Lux chipping in nine points and three assists. Ian Murray and Tommy Lazos split 10 points down the middle.
Kennebunk was 26-of-62 (41%) from the floor and nailed 10 treys along with an 11-of-12 performance at the free-throw line.
Mt. Ararat was a perfect 9-of-9 at the charity stripe and shot 35% (20-of-56) from the floor.
Kennebunk 73, Mt. Ararat 54
Saturday at Topsham
Kennebunk — 23 15 19 16 — 73
Mt. Ararat — 14 15 14 11 — 54
Kennebunk — Sam Tartre 0-0-0, Ian Murray 2-0-5, Kyle Pasieniuk 10-0-24, Adam Lux 2-5-9, Max Murray 9-5-27, Aaron Waitt 0-1-1, Don DeFeo 0-0-0, Tommy Lazos 2-0-5, Keegan Andrews 0-0-0, Landon Schwartzman 0-0-0, Elliot Gere 1-0-2. Totals — 26-11-73.
Mt. Ararat — Jace Hollenbach 0-0-0, Ty Henke 5-0-13, James Singleton 4-4-13, Jared Withers 1-0-2, JD Dionne 6-3-15, Lukas Holman 3-0-6, Caleb Manuel 0-2-2, Marcus Steinman 1-0-3, Ryan Robertson 0-0-0, Carson Taylor 0-0-0, Kobe Clark 0-0-0, Brandon Emerson 0-0-0. Totals — 20-9-54.
3-point field goals — (K) Pasieniuk 4, M. Murray 4, I. Murray, Lazos; (MtA) Henke 3, Singleton, Steinman.
Records – Kennebunk 4-2, Mt. Ararat 1-5.
Up next for the Eagles — Tuesday at Leavitt, 6:30 p.m.
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