By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — It wasn’t the offensive explosion that fans of the Hodgdon boys basketball team were accustomed to, but in the end it was a victory for the Hawks nonetheless.
Pioneeer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
HOLDING — As Hodgdon’s Chris Hudson, left, makes his move to the hoop, he is slowed down by CAHS’ Zach McClung.
No. 5 Hodgdon (17-4 overall) picked up a 26-24 victory over No. 8 Easton (16-5) Thursday evening in an Eastern Class D semifinal contest at the Bangor Auditorium. With the win, Hodgdon advanced to Saturday’s regional championship against No. 4 Central Aroostook. The Panthers beat No. 2 Washburn 66-63, in overtime to advance to the title game.
The normally explosive Hawks were held to just 26 points as Easton slowed down the pace of Thursday night’s game. During the regular season, the Hawks averaged 71 points.
Easton coach Dillon Kingsbury was determined to keep the Hawks from getting into any sort of offensive rhythm. On numerous occasions, the Bears held onto the ball near the half-court line, trying to entice Hodgdon out of its zone defense.
For the most part the Hawks declined, and allowed significant time to run off the clock.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
DRIVES — Hodgdon’s Tyler Sherman takes the ball strong to the hoop against Easton’s Hunter Turner during the Class D semis.
“It was very frustrating,” said Hodgdon senior Nick Lunn. “We like to get up and down the floor. It was definitely different for us to only score 26 points.”
Senior Josh Hudson led Hodgdon with eight points, six rebounds and two assists. Lunn (three rebounds, assist) and sophomore Chris Hudson (nine rebounds, assist) chipped in six points each.
For Easton, only three players got into the scorebook. Senior Jerad Hafford handled the bulk of the scoring duties, tossing in 18 of his team’s 24 points, and adding two rebounds. Junior Hunter Turner added four points, six rebounds, an assist, steal and block. Sophomore Connor Burtt had two points.
The scoring was so sparse that the two teams combined for just six points in the fourth quarter, coming in the final 2:30 of action.
More than five minutes ran off the clock in the final period before someone managed to sink a basket. Easton tied the game at 23-23 with 2:40 to play as Hafford hit an eight-foot jumper. Hodgdon quickly countered with a backdoor layup by Lunn with 2:27 to play, making it 25-23 in favor of the Hawks.
“We knew they (Easton) were going to come in and slow the game down,” Hodgdon coach Rob Smith said. “We prepared for that, and actually worked on a game plan of our own for slowing things down, but we’d prefer to get out and run.”
The Bears looked to the same defensive strategy that worked so well in their quarterfinal contest with Jonesport-Beals. Cody Halvorson guarded the Hawks’ best offensive weapon — Chris Hudson — for most of the contest.
“Chris really kept his composure on the floor tonight and did a great job with what they (Easton) were doing with him,” Josh Hudson said.
“It was a close game, so we played it possession by possession,” Lunn added. “We tried to shut down their 3-pointers on offense and try to convert on the other end.”
Clinging to a 25-23 lead with 13.7 seconds to play, Hafford was fouled as he tried to penetrate to the basket. Hafford made the first free throw, but his second was off the mark. Hodgdon’s Chris Hudson came up with the rebound and fired the ball down the court to a streaking Lunn who laid the ball up and in.
Or so he thought. The basket was waived off as coach Smith had called timeout prior to the basket.
Up 25-24 with 9.8 seconds to play, and with Hodgdon having possession of the ball, Easton had no choice but to foul. The only problem was, because of the slowed down pace, neither team had committed the necessary six fouls to send a player to the line.
Easton committed three fouls, taking several seconds off the clock, before finally sending Chris Hudson to the free throw line with 5.5 seconds remaining. Hudson made his first foul shot, but missed the second, giving Easton the ball with five seconds to play and a chance for a last-second shot.
The Bears looked to their top scorer — Hafford — who had already made five 3-pointers in the game, but his shot was off the mark, allowing the Hawks to escape with the win.
HODGDON (26)
Logie 2 0-0 4, Lunn 3 0-0 6, C. Hudson 2 1-2 6, J. Hudson 4 0-1 8, Quint, Sherman 1 0-0 2, Harmon. Totals: 12 1-3 26. 3-pointer — C. Hudson.
EASTON (24)
L. Halvorson, C. Halvorson, Sotomayor, Hafford 6 1-2 18, Gadaire, Turner 2 0-1 4, Burtt 0 2-2 2. Totals: 8 3-5 24. 3-pointers — Hafford 5.
Hawks 9 8 6 3 — 26
Bears 8 5 8 3 — 24
