Hawks’ mettle tested by Central Aroostook

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Last Saturday in Mars Hill, the currently ranked No. 2 Central Aroostook Panthers (8-0) hosted the No. 5 Hodgdon Hawks (7-2) in a Class D dogfight.
    The Panthers pulled out a 64-62 victory.
    The game didn’t start out as Hawks’ coach Robbie Smith had planned and was playing out just like last year’s game in Mars Hill.
    “We came out flat on defense and gave up 22 points in the first quarter,” he said. “In our zone, we did not get our hands up on the outside shooters. We were down 22 last year and fought back to lose in overtime.”
    Smith noted that Joe Stiles and Zach McClung took advantage of the Hawks not getting a hand in their face and knocked down three 3-pointers in the opening stanza.
     “They also knocked down some contested shots,” added Smith. “They took advantage of us not getting back on defense a couple of times.”
    In the first half, Hodgdon mixed up its zone and man-to-man defenses.
    “We just did not have that intensity that we have had in the previous seven games,” Smith said. “We missed some assignments in man and were slow to rotate in the zone. This led to some open shots for the Panthers. 
    As the game progressed, Smith’s squad adjusted on the perimeter and “started to limit their makes from the field,” Smith said.
    Central Aroostook connected for only seven baskets from the field in the second half, but they were dead-eyed from the free-throw line, making 12 of 14.
    Hodgdon’s premiere shooting guards Chris Hudson (seven points) and Tyler Sherman (three points) were contained by Central Aroostook’s triangle-and-two defense in the first half.
    Senior Josh Hudson carried the team, scoring eight first-half points.
    “The defense would sag down off the 3-point line and would give us long shots, but we did not hit them consistently,” added Smith.
    Trailing by 17 points late in the third, the Hawks cut the lead to 12 to start the final eight minutes, igniting a rousing comeback.
    The Hawks led one time and that was with about two minutes left in the game when they took a 57-56 advantage.
    “We started to ball fake more efficiently instead of settling for jump shots,” Smith explained. “We were more effective on the boards and started to take care of the ball better.”
    But, the Hawks were a bit too late, as they could not hold on as Mars Hill tied the score and regained the lead.
     “We have to continue to make adjustments as the season progresses to continue to improve,” he added.  “Again in this game we can take away good and bad moments. As long as our kids are learning from these games we will continue to improve.” 
    Mars Hill was led by Stiles with 20, McClung 19 and Chandler Brewer 14 points.
    In the second half, C. Hudson broke free for 15 of his game-high 22 points, while Sherman scored seven of his 10 points.  J. Hudson tossed in 15. 
    “I was impressed with my team’s fight,” said Smith. “When we were down we fought back. These boys do not put their heads down and take the loss. They fight until the end of the game. We just did not have enough time to finish off the comeback.”
    In other action, Hodgdon topped visiting Southern Aroostook, 74- 51. The Hawks outscored Southern Aroostook, 21-9 in the second period.
    J. Hudson led Hodgdon with a game-high 27 points, while brother Chris added a dozen and Nick Lunn chipped in with 10.
    For the Warriors, Jesse Boulier finished with 22 points and Cody Lassonde added 13.
    The Hawks played at Katahdin Monday night, winning  65-50.
    Hodgdon outscored the host Cougars, 20-10, in the third for a 43-26 lead.
    Nick Lunn scored 11 of his 15 points for Hodgdon in the third, while C. Hudson connected for 19 points.
    Katahdin’s Colton Bivighouse led all scorers with 28 points.
    Hodgdon will play on Thursday, Jan. 17 when they host Van Buren at 7 p.m.