By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
Last Wednesday, the Hodgdon varsity boys didn’t come out with their usual energetic flair, instead, the visiting Limestone/MSSM Eagles slowed the pace making it difficult on the Hawks, as the two teams were each vying for a trip to Bangor.
It was a low-scoring affair for Hodgdon compared to their last two meetings (66-35 and 73-35) with the Hawks pulling out a 47-33 victory. They played No. 4 Deer Isle-Stonington Monday night in the Class D quarterfinals at the Bangor Auditorium.
We came out flat on the boards,” said Hodgdon coach Robbie Smith.
Limestone outhustled and outworked Hodgdon on both sides of the boards.
“They were driving the lanes and baseline and we were slow to rotate in our zone,” explained Smith. “In our man [defense] we did not help when the front guy got beat. They would drive or get a shot and then rebound to get two or three more chances and capitalized on their second chances.”
The Hawks did not take advantage of their post or transition game in the first half, as Limestone/MSSM hung around 20-15 at halftime.
“We played into Limestone’s [hands] of slowing the game down,” Smith said. “Limestone, in the first half, defended us well. After the rebound was retrieved by our team, they would usually have two guys on the rebounder and we had to try and dribble around or pass out of the double team.”
The Eagles stayed within striking distance, 22-19, just a minute and a half into the third. The Hawks would look to get a little momentum, but the Eagles would find a way to cut into the lead.
Tyler Sherman and Chris Hudson came up big in the second half for Hodgdon, both scoring 11 points.
“We wanted to overload one side with our two 3-point shooters so their zone would not be able to cover both shooters,” said Smith. “We got a few baskets off of that offensive set and started to push the ball more.”
Sherman’s 3-point shooting and Hudson perimeter shooting helped the Hawks surge to a 10-point third-quarter lead, 37-27.
“In the fourth quarter, we gave up a couple of quick baskets off of turnovers and we switched back to our man-to-man defense,” said Smith. “In the last two and a half minutes of the game, we went into a delay and Limestone started to foul us.”
Hodgdon went 7 for 15 from the line, with only two baskets from the field, in the final eight minutes. The Hawks’ defense proved itself down the stretch, holding the Eagles to six points.
“In the end, we still did not rebound well, but we got crucial rebounds when we needed them,” said Smith. “On offense when we went into the delay, we took care of the ball and shot 50 percent from the line to keep the lead.
