Senior Tyson Rice turns to see the hoop to lay it up and in. By Alicia Allen
By Alicia Allen
Deer Isle—The Mariners ended a string of three basketball games in six days by pulling out a 58-57 win over Bangor Christian January 29.
It was senior night, and emotions were a little high beforehand as the team will be losing eight seniors this year. However, they did not let this hurt their play. Coach Izaak Bolduc said this was the first time this season when they have been down in the fourth quarter and did not crack under pressure. The team held it together, and in the end, it was defense that won their game, as Bangor Christian had possession of the ball for the final shot.
Mason Oliver led the team with 26 points and 14 rebounds for a win that puts them in eighth place for Class D North.
Against Machias on January 27, the team played a hard-fought game and did not give the Bulldogs an easy win. The team started off really slow in the first half, letting Machias get a 26 point lead. They then came out in the second half a completely different team, with a strong defense cutting the lead down to 14 going into the fourth quarter. The Mariners continued on a run but couldn’t pull it out in the end, falling 71-76.
Senior Stephen Cochrane goes up for his shot. By Alicia Allen
Mason Oliver led with a huge 34 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Tobey Snow followed with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
The team also fell to Greenville, 40-62, on January 24. Coach Bolduc said it was a tough game. They struggled to match their intensity in the first half. Greenville came out and went on a run while the Mariners couldn’t get anything to fall. The second half was a different story. The team came out with some fire and went on a 9-point run to close the gap from 18 to 9. Vital players then got into foul trouble which slowed the Mariners down. Freshman Zachary Billings stepped up huge in the second half of the game and shut down their post scorer, making Greenville’s guards take over. Mason Oliver led the Mariners with 12 points and 6 rebounds, Nathan Thompson with 10 points, Tyson Rice with 7 points, and Zachary Billings with 2 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The Mariner boys travel to George Stevens Academy on January 31 and Searsport on February 6 to finish out their regular season.
Senior Nathan Winchester goes up for a block against Bangor Christian. By Alicia Allen
Senior Skylar Perez takes the rebound and makes a break for it. By Alicia Allen