Regional Sports Lakers fail to make statements vs top foes

By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer

There is disappointment, like Saturday night when Lake Region saw a golden chance to notch a signature win over third-ranked Class A Gray-New Gloucester, only to see opportunity slip through their fingers due to miscues and an inability to match the Patriots’ physical play. In a scrappy, defensive battle, GNG battered the Lakers inside the lane, and ultimately capitalized on mental mistakes to pull out a 40-35 win.

“This was a playoff situation. I learned a lot from it. I know the mistakes I won’t make regarding the rotations — who I need in the game during certain times. I need to go with my heart and understand who I need on the floor,” Laker Coach Doug Banks said. “Being a firstyear coach, I got a feel of what it will be like down the road. The loss is not good, but I’ve learned things from it. I hope the team feels the same way.”

The young Lakers learned little mistakes against contending clubs often mean the difference between a victory and defeat. GNG took advantage of the Lakers’ all-out rebounding effort, releasing Isabelle Morrelli (16 points) who netted three uncontested fastbreak lay-ups enabling the Patriots to open up a double-digit lead.

LR also gave up two easy buckets off an inbounds turnover, and an over-thetop pass off the inbounds to Amber Fortin for a lay-up to start the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the Lakers struggled to find open outside looks as Gray’s guards squeezed the 3-point line. LR managed just 6 points in the first two quarters and netted just 7 field goals in the second half. They went 11-of-18 from the foul line to keep the game close.

“We need to get better shots within our offense. We’re settling for shots that are not part of our offensive plan. We need to get people

Lumber’s PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

in place where they should be, and not running crazy all over the floor,” Coach Banks said. Maybe the biggest factor was Gray’s physical play, which seemed to rattle the Lakers.

“Yes, their physicality took us out of our game. We lost some of our confidence. We’re going to run into it again against Wells and in the playoffs,” Coach Banks said. “I’ve been in this program for 13 years, and I have yet to see a Gray team that wasn’t physical. It’s always a low scoring, defensive game. I thought defensively we did okay. We had a couple of breakdowns, but they are things we can fix. Offensively, we need to be able to play within our system — which has worked for us. We have put up huge numbers on good teams too (such as Yarmouth).”

Coach Banks feels both he and his team need to work on handling game pressure.

A silver lining was the play of sophomore forward Jordan Blanton, who mixed it up with Gray’s big people, holding her ground and hauling down some big rebounds.

“We matched up well, but we just didn’t meet their physicality. We had some kids who did, like Jordan (Blanton). She played great. Jordan went in and took care of business. (Coach) Jordan Turner has done a great job of building her confidence so when she gets an opportunity to play in a varsity game, she’s ready to go,” Coach Banks said. “We have situations which are fixable, and we have three games left to straighten those things out before we go to the Banks Expo for the tournament.

Hailey Brewer

In her first season of indoor track and field, Hailey Brewer is making an impression.

“Like outdoors, she is one of our top sprinters. She is reliable, dependable, and demonstrates great work ethic,” Lake Region varsity coach Mark Snow said. “Hailey keeps the sprint group on task at practice and at meets while making it a fun experience. She is very supportive of her teammates and their achievements.”

In recognition of her strong work ethic, determination, commitment and good sportsmanship, Hailey is this week’s Boosters and Hancock Lumber “Player of the Week.” Each week, a Lake Region athlete is recognized for his/her dedication (does more than what is asked), work ethic, coachability and academic good standing. Recipients receive a speciallydesigned t-shirt, sponsored by Hancock Lumber.

Player of the Week

Name: Hailey Brewer

Year in School: Junior Hometown: Bridgton

Parents: Kristina and Todd Brewer

Sports you Play: Soccer, Track & Field, Dancer.

Q. Why did you choose indoor track? I’ve always wanted to get better at my running and keep up my endurance throughout the year.

Q. Complete the following, “I know I’ve had a good if…” I know I’ve had a good meet if I feel good at the end of the race and I’ve met or exceeded a previously set goal.

Q. What goes through your mind before a big meet? How I would like the events to go and if it were to go bad how I would deal with that.

Q. If things are not going well, what do you

Hoop RepoRt

BOYS RECAPS Lakers 66, Wells 62: One lesson a young team needs to learn is how to pull out a tight game. The Lakers past that test Tuesday night with a win at home over the Warriors.

The Lakers (7-9) enjoyed an 8-point halftime lead, but saw Wells (4-10) make a late charge, cutting the lead to just three with under two minutes left.

Senior Jacob Chadbourne scored a game-high 22 points, while Jackson Libby chipped in 17 and Evan Duprey 10 points. Other LR scorers were Brock Gibbons 5, Ian Brogan 5, Aiden Roberts 4 and Jacoby Bardsley 3.

Greely 117, Raiders 115

OT: You don’t see this too often on Maine high school scoreboards. In a shoot fest, the Rangers pulled out the home thriller as Kade Ippolito converted a lay-up with .6 seconds left in the eighth overtime to sink the Raiders.

Fryeburg engineered a fantastic finish, whittling away a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes to force overtime, 61-61. FA seemed primed to capture the win but saw Tyler Pettengill (39 points, nine 3-pointers) knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force a sixth OT.

Tristan Cormier

Tristan Cormier is the lone Laker when the gun sounds to start the indoor two-mile run each week at the University of Southern Maine field house in Gorham.

“Tristan has made significant improvements from last year on his times in the mile and 2-mile races. He is disciplined, doing many workouts alone being our only 2-mile focused runner,” Lake Region varsity Indoor Track & Field Coach Mark Snow said. “Tristan has been extremely helpful in setting up for our practices. He often stays after practice to help put things away.”

In recognition of his strong work ethic, determination, commitment and good sportsmanship, Tristan is this week’s Boosters and Hancock Lumber “Player of the Week.” Each week, a Lake Region athlete is recognized for his/her dedication (does more than what is asked), work ethic, coachability and academic good standing. Recipients receive a specially-designed t-shirt, sponsored by Hancock Lumber.

Player of the Week

Name: Tristan Cormier

Year in School: Senior Hometown: Bridgton

Parents: Jason Cormier, Karyn Cormier

Sports you Play: Cross Country, Indoor/Outdoor Track and Field

Q. Why did you choose indoor track? I chose to do Indoor Track and Field because it’s a good way to stay in shape for Outdoor Track and Field.

Q. Complete the following, “I know I’ve had a good meet if…” I know I’ve had a good meet if I either got a PR (personal record) or am too tired to run another event.

Q. What goes through

For the Lakers, Bella Smith was high scorer with 11 points, Melissa Mayo added 7, Ava Smith 6, Abby Lavoie 4, Margo Tremblay 4, Jordan Blanton 2 and Kasey Johnson 1.

One that got away

This one had to sting.

It was beyond heartbreak.

This one hurt, real bad.

Lake Region had a chance to bounce back from Saturday’s loss with a big road win against thirdranked Wells. A win, and the Lakers were likely looking at the third-seed in the Class B playoffs. Margo Tremblay came up with a steal, and made 2-of-4 foul shots to put the Lakers up 43-39 with 17.6 seconds left.

After a timeout, Wells did what seemed like the impossible. Kendall Maxon swished a straight-away 3-pointer with 9.3 seconds left. Then, a whistle. An official called a foul against LR center Ava Smith, after the shot. It appeared Smith was shoved from behind by a Wells player, pushing Smith into Maxon. Maxon made one of two foul shots to tie the game.

LR turned the ball over, pushing the game into over- time.

The lead flipped back and forth in OT with Wells grabbing a 48-45 lead as Megyn Mertens sank a pair of foul shots with 43 seconds left.

LR stormed back when Ava Smith corralled a missed shot, and made a reverse layup. She was fouled, and tied the game with a foul shot with 29.8 seconds left. After a Smith block, guard Abby Lavoie made a hard push up the floor and launched an off-balance shot. She was fouled with 4.1 seconds left, but missed both foul shots to force a second OT.

While Mertens (20 points) made a living at the foul line — she made 14 straight, finishing the night 14-of-16 — the Lakers kept pace as Jordan Blanton scored inside

Gunnar Saunders had a career night, netting 40 points, including four 3-pointers. Lorenzo Vallemani tossed in 31 points, including five 3-pointers. Camden Johnson dropped 13 points, and Joao Orlando added 10 points, Bryce Richardson 9, Idan Or 6, Jagger Helwig 5, and Sean Davis 3.

Gray-NG 80, Lakers 44: The Patriots played in a whole different gear than the Lakers all night — they were quicker, they had better bounce inside the lane, and they shot the lights out behind Nathaniel Hebert, who knocked down five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points as Gray-NG spanked the Lakers.

GNG took an 18-10 lead

HOOPS, Page 6A LR GIRLS, Page 6A