HODGDON, Maine — A balanced scoring attack lifted the Hodgdon boys basketball team to an impressive 65-54 victory over Narraguagus Wednesday, in Class C North preliminary playoff action.
With the victory the Hodgdon boys advance to the Class C North quarterfinal round in Bangor for the first time in seven years. The No. 5 Hawks (16-3 overall) will face No. 4 Machias (14-4) on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 4 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena. The two teams did not meet during the regular season, nor did they face a common opponent.
Four players scored in double digits for Hodgdon, led by freshman Logan Sherman, who tallied 19 points, including five baskets from behind the 3-point arc. Three of Sherman’s buckets came at pivotal moments in the fourth quarter when Narraguagus had clawed its way back into the contest.
Freshman Cyran Ciarleglio added 16 points for Hodgdon, while junior David Tuttle chipped in 13 and freshman Wyatt OIiver had 11. Junior Brody Little added six points in the win.
Hodgdon coach Sam Henderson said he was impressed by his squad’s resilience, particularly when the Hawks saw a 10-point lead (51-41) evaporate in a two-minute span midway through the fourth quarter. Narraguagus went on an 8-1 scoring run to cut the lead to just one possession (52-49) with just under three minutes to play.
“That has been the story of our entire season,” he said. “We let teams come back in games, which is part of our youth and inexperience. We get ahead and relax a little. If we can break that mold, we are going to finish so much better.”
The Hawks have a whopping five freshmen on the roster, with two of those freshmen – Oliver and Ciarleglio — serving as starters and key figures in the team’s game plan.
“Making free throws were huge for us tonight,” the coach added. “It shows they are growing and learning.”
Hodgdon converted an impressive 12-of-19 (63 percent) free throws, which helped the team seal the game in the waning moments of the contest.
Senior Kevin Alley led the way for the Knights with 15 points, many from the low post. Sophomore Ripley Strout had 12 points and sophomore Grady Cashman poured in nine. All seven baskets from the duo came from behind the 3-point arc.
Senior Kayden Grant chipped in seven points for Narraguagus, while freshman Sullivan Strout added six; junior Manny Absalom had three; and sophomore Micah Look added two.
No. 12 Narraguagus finishes its season with a 9-10 overall record.
