BANGOR, Maine — Penquis’ Trevor Lyford is one of the most prolific scorers in Eastern Maine and proved that by scoring 39 points in his team’s win over Washington Academy in the quarterfinals.
Houlton’s Jacob Drew made sure there wasn’t a repeat performance in Friday afternoon’s Class C semifinal round at the Cross Insurance Center.
Drew had the defensive assignment on Lyford for much of the night and made him work hard for his 23 points as the Shires posted a 60-44 victory.
“We knew he hit some big shots against WA and knew that if we didn’t shut him down it was going to be a close game,” Drew said. “You have to bring the hustle — that’s a big component. He has a good pull-up jumper and can also go to the rim, so I sagged off him a bit but still was ready to get in his face.”
Lyford scored his team’s first 13 points, but the Patriots’ inability to control Houlton’s inside game, led by Kyle Bouchard, helped give the Shires a 17-point lead with 3:20 to play in the second quarter that ended up being 13 points at intermission.
Bouchard received numerous lob passes along the baseline and either hit layups or was fouled and regularly connected on free throws (8 for 10 in the first half). The Shires as a team converted 15 of their 19 foul shots over the first two quarters.
“We knew if they were going to have just one player guarding Kyle, we’d look inside every time because he would be able to chew them up inside,” Drew said.
Penquis made a run in the third quarter and early in the fourth with Lyford and sophomore Noah Allen inflicting much of the damage. Allen, who went scoreless in the first half, nailed three three-pointers, the final one getting Penquis to within five points (44-39) nine seconds into the final period.
Houlton then spread the lead thanks to a Drew layup off a Bouchard assist, a Christian Crane putback and another Crane layup to push the lead back to 11 with 4:48 to play.
Colton Larrabee of the Patriots drained a three with 3:17 remaining to make it 50-42, but Houlton scored 10 consecutive points to put the game away.
Houlton outrebounded Penquis 29-11 and nailed 25 of its 30 free throw attempts over the course of the contest.
“Foul shots win games and that was a good example right there,” Drew said.
Bouchard scored 22 points and Nick Guiod, who hit all 12 of his foul shots, finished with 14 for Houlton. Crane went 4 of 6 from the field and had eight points off the bench, while Isaac Cone suffered early foul trouble but still netted seven points.
Penquis, the No. 5 seed and last year’s state champions, finished the season with a 13-7 record.
