EASTON, Maine — The Easton Bears boys’ basketball team, under the direction of second-year varsity coach Cody Closson, will look to get to the Cross Center in Bangor later this winter after having just missed the tournament a year ago.
A solid 11-8 regular season earned the Bears a seventh-place finish last year, but their drive to get to Bangor ended with a preliminary round loss to the Southern Aroostook Warriors. The Bears lost their top three scorers from that team (Collin Sotomayor, Keagan Kinney and Noah Hanscomb), but they return nine players to the floor.
Seniors Isaac Currier and Alex Harvath are back and will provide leadership to the squad. Currier will be counted on as a defensive stopper, while Harvath is a grinder in the paint. Both work hard and will be counted on to contribute.
Junior Matthew Pangburn started a year ago and put in a lot of time in the off season to improve. Junior Kooper Kinney has displayed excellent basketball sense and is a solid ball handler.
Sophomore Camden Michaud will handle the point guard duties and will be expected to control the pace and tempo for the Bears. Sophomore Kyle Flewelling is a solid rebounder and interior defender, while sophomore guard Austin Carver earned valuable time a year ago and will continue to grow and develop. Sophomores Owen Nicholson and Kody Carter both saw time a year ago and will become more and more valuable as the season progresses.
New additions to the team include senior Gavin Pangburn and sophomores Mitchell Flewelling and Paul Bonner. Pangburn missed last season due to injury and has fought to get back into the mix. Flewelling and Bonner both will battle for time with solid work on both ends of the floor.
Closson sees his team’s greatest strength as being its team depth.
“I am confident and comfortable going 10 to 12 deep on any given night,” he explained. “The team has continued to work hard throughout the off season and [the players have] really found their own individual roles within the program.”
To be successful, Closson believes that Easton will have to force teams to play the Bears’ game.
“We hope to control both sides of the ball,” he said. “On the offensive side, we aim to make each possession count and work for our best opportunity. On the defensive side, we want to force our opponent into playing a game that they are not used to playing.”
Closson said despite losing three top offensive weapons off last year’s team, he has a positive outlook to the season.
“We return a solid group of guys with great experience and knowledge,” he said. We hope to compete every single night that we step on the court and improve our best daily.”
Closson tries to get the most out of his players and the squad has bought into his philosophy.
“Our mantra at Easton is ‘row the boat.’ You will see the team support our oar, which represents the work that we dedicate to the program,” Closson said. “Each week we will award the oar to the teammate who best exemplified our values of responsibility, trust, and belief. We expect to be the hardest-working team on the court every single day.”
