Deer Isle-Stonington’s Dillan Steele gets the ball over a Greenville defender during the second quarter of the Mariners’ home game on January 12. By Franklin Brown
Deer Isle—The boys basketball team picked up a big win, beating Machias 49-38 in Machias on January 19. We led throughout, building a 28-15 lead at the half after holding Machias to two points in the first quarter. Machias battled back to close the gap, but we kept our lead with clutch foul shooting at the end of the game. We ended up 17 of 21 from the charity stripe.
Again, this was a team win, with everyone contributing. With Coleman Brown in foul trouble much of the game, Zach Billings and Dillan Steele did a great job rebounding in his absence. Coach Don Allen felt the bench players played well in the last quarter or so when we had to sit players in foul trouble, and they helped maintained our lead. This team was inspired to get this win, and that is how we played. Myles Brown had 15 points, Nathan Thompson had 14, and Tobey Snow had 12.
The boys are 4-7 and in sixth place by a Heal Point. We will certainly see the post season and have several important games ahead. This team is a motivated group and works hard to keep improving. We are a young team, but we are playing well with a lot of confidence. I will miss seeing the regular season games due to a work trip to Belize, though I would really want to see the Searsport game. We lost a close game in their gym and I know we are looking for revenge.