By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
The Hodgdon Hawks showed their legitimacy last Thursday when they steamrolled visiting No. 1 Central Aroostook of Mars Hill, 68-42.
Hodgdon coach Rob Smith noted that between the Hawks’ East Grand game and the Van Buren contest, the boys had an eight-day stretch of no games.
“We started to plan practices around areas of our game that still needed to be improved,” Smith said. “We worked on our rotations on our zone and on offense worked on skills and shots that would be open if Mars Hill played a triangle and two defense against us like they did up there.”
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
SEASON HIGH — Hodgdon’s Devon Logie, No. 00, gets ready to go to the hoop against CAHS’ Spencer Garrison and Zack McClung. Logie scored a season-high 16 points in the game.
The Hawks switched their man-to-man matchups from the first meeting in Mars Hill and frustrated the Panthers.
“These matchups created some tough shots and put more pressure on the ball,” said Smith. “They still got some good looks, but we challenged more shots then we did up there.”
The Hawks held Central Aroostook to 15 first-half points as they built a 23-15 lead at intermission. In the third period, Hodgdon turned on the burners to outscore Mars Hill, 23-11 to open the game up, 46-26.
“I would say that we put together the best two defensive halves that we have all year,” Smith said.
Chris Hudson led all scorers with 22 points.
“He flashed to the basket, which opened up the outside game,” explained Smith.
Tyler Sherman finished with 17 points, while Devon Logie turned in a season-high 16 points.
“Nick took care of the ball and Josh fed the open guys,” added Smith.
Central Aroostook (12-2) was led by Steven Decker’s 16 points and Chandler Brewer’s 15.
“On defense and offense we worked hard on the boards,” said Smith. “Our big key was to win the rebounding battle. In Mars Hill, we did not rebound well offensively and had a lot of one-and-done attempts. On Thursday, we were working hard on the offensive boards, which led to second and third shots and we capitalized on some attempts.
“We were still beat back some in transition, but Mars Hill turned the ball over to save us from some easy layups,” he added. “There are always things to improve on and that is one we need to work on. Overall a great win for the team and for the school.”
Hodgdon had not beaten Mars Hill since 2003.
“We played well as a team, but we have to remember that it is one game and we still have five regular season games left,” said Smith. “It is a great booster for our play and can give us confidence that we can play with top teams.”
Last Tuesday, the Hawks overpowered visiting Limestone/MSSM, 73-35.
The Hawks led 20-13 to start the game and held a slim, 27-25 halftime advantage. But, the Hawks made a strong stand in the third, outscoring Limestone/MSSM 18-2.
Josh Hudson tossed in 24 points and brother Chris netted 16 more, while Sherman had 12 points, Logie, 10 and Devin Quint eight more.
The Hawks have four more games to close out the season. They faced the Tigers yesterday in Fort Fairfield and will travel to Dyer Brook with a meeting with the Warriors at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Hawks face Houlton for a rematch at 7 p.m. Next Tuesday, the Hawks go to Limestone/MSSM and complete the regular season on Friday, Feb. 8 at home to GHCA.
“These are all big games with a lot of points available to help us in the standings,” said Smith.
Hodgdon as of Tuesday is ranked fifth with an 11-2 record.
“At any moment, things can change and we could go up or down, along with other teams in the top six in the standings,” Smith said. “We have to continue to improve and keep working hard toward the end of the regular season and do as we have done all year ‘take it one game at a time.’”
Editor’s note: Nick Lunn has been battling a small broken bone (radial head) in his elbow, hampering his play. Smith said his senior guard is continuing to improve. He has played in all but one game since his diagnosis, but sees limited time when it is possible.
“We will continue to work with his healing and hopefully have him 100 percent by the tournament,” added Smith.
