By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — Coming into the season, the Hodgdon boys basketball team had two goals — get back to the Bangor Auditorium and win their first playoff game.
Mission accomplished.
No. 5 Hodgdon (16-4 overall) upset No. 4 Deer Isle-Stonington, 46-42, Monday evening at the Bangor Auditorium in quarterfinal action. The Mariners end their season with a 14-6 record.
Now the Hawks have set their eyes on an even bigger prize, advancing to the regional championship. But first, Hodgdon must get past No. 8 Easton (16-4) in the semifinal round 8:35 p.m. Thursday in Bangor. Easton advanced to the semifinals with a stunning, 55-53, victory over defending state champs, and No. 1 ranked, Jonesport Beals.
GOING STRONG — Hodgdon’s Nick Lunn takes the ball strong to the rack against Deer Isle-Stonington in Class D quarterfinal action. The Hawks will meet Easton in the semis on Thursday.
For the Hawks, sophomore Chris Hudson led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds, one block, five assists and a steal. Tyler Sherman chipped in eight points, three rebounds and an assist, while Josh Hudson (five rebounds, two assists and a steal), Nick Lunn and Devon Logie (three rebounds, two assists, two steals) each had six points,
Deer Isle-Stonington was led by Sam Grindle with 16 points, while Stuart Bray added eight.
Monday’s game was similar to last year’s quarterfinal game the Hawks played with Kathadin.
“This came right down to the last couple points of the game and all I could think was the Katahdin game where we lost by one point on a last-second shot,” said Hodgdon coach Rob Smith.
Clinging to a 44-42 lead, Hodgdon made a final defensive stand with 20 seconds remaining and managed to come away with the rebound on a Mariner missed jumper.
With 10.6 seconds to go, Hodgdon’s Tyler Sherman was fouled, but did not go to the free throw line because the Mariners had only committed six fouls in the half. Now with 9.2 seconds remaining, Hodgdon managed to find Logie for an open layup, giving the Hawks the 46-42 victory.
“I was surprised Devon was that wide open,” Josh Hudson said. “We just wanted to get the ball in and hold it.”
The Hawks played a variety of zone defenses against Deer Isle-Stonington before ultimately switching to man-to-man late in the game.
The Mariners made five 3-pointers in the first half, but only one in the second half. Coach Smith attributed that statistic to the change in defense the Hawks used.
“We switched to a 2-3 zone and then went man and I think that kind of shut them down from outside,” he said. “We were slow to rotate to the wings in the first half, but did a much better job in the second half.”
Hodgdon converted eight of nine foul shots (89 percent), while the Mariners were a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line.
HODGDON (46)
Logie 3 0-0 6, Lunn 3 0-0 6, C. Hudson 6 7-8 20, J. Hudson 3 0-0 6, Quint, Sherman 3 1-1 8, Harmon. Totals: 18 8-9 46
DEER ISLE STONIGTON (42)
Cormier1 2-2 5, Grindle 5 2-2 16, Morey 2 0-0 5, Davis 3 0-0 6, Oliver, Bray 3 2-2 8, Ciomei 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 6-6 42. 3-pointers — Grindle 4, Morey, Cormier.
Hawks 9 10 16 11 — 46
Mariners 10 13 13 6 — 42
