Hermon defeats MDI 64-46
The Hermon Hawks (6-6) defeated the Mount Desert Island Trojans (7-5) 64-46 on Tuesday evening.
These two teams faced each other early on in December at MDI where Hermon won 58-53. The Hawks are coming off of a tough loss against Caribou (12-1), while the Trojans are riding on a win against John Bapst (8-3).
Hermon sits right below Mount Desert Island in the Heal Point Standings by one slot, making this game an important one.
The game had a slow start with the first basket being scored at six minutes. James Witham, a Sophomore guard for Mount Desert Island, secured two early defensive rebounds. One of which set him up for a clean pop off of a dribble-drive giving the Trojans the advantage.
Slowly Hermon crawled back from their early deficit with Junior guard, Carter Wiggin, hitting two jumpshots. But, it wasn’t just the offense for the Hawks, it was their unrelenting defense underneath the basket by forward pair Junior, Mason and Senior, Maddox Kinney. Hermon was able to force MDI out of the lead, stealing the quarter 11-8.
Driving to the block and dishing off to posts for kickouts to the guards seemed to be the name of the game in the second quarter. The teams swapped baskets and eventually landed at a tie of 16-16 two minutes into the quarter.
Hermon’s offense laid not only on the inside with their strong posts, but also in the hands of Wiggin. He created several chances for his teammates to score, also keeping some for himself.
The physicality underneath only continued with players taking advantage of it. Mason Kinney finished through contact with a nice drop step toward the basket to take the two point advantage with four minutes left, making the score 20-18.
MDI’s offense dwindled until head coach Justin Norwood called a clever timeout to remind his team to cut through the paint. This created open paths for point guard Withman to sNcase some impressive handles at the end of the half, cutting the Trojan’s deficit 27-22 heading into halftime.
Mount Desert Island opened the half with a stronger effort in the paint on defense. However, this only fueled Hermon’s big-men. Bryce Edwards, a Senior forward of the Hawks secured the offensive board a minute into the half. He made the putback, shutting down the Trojan’s.
Whitman continued to drive toward the basket, often shaking his defender for a good look at the basket. On a rare miss from Whitman, Jarron Kiekert, a Senior forward gave the Hawk’s a taste of their own medicine. He made the o-board rebound, making the score 33-26 at the four minute mark.
Senior guard, Cal Hodgdon, made the deuce off of a baseline shot to boost Mount Desert Island to 33 points to end the third quarter. While Hermon sat ten points above with 43.
The Hawks slowed down their movement on offense to accompany their lead in the fourth, hoping to drag out their possessions, forcing the Trojans to put on a full court press.
Hermon combatted this by outletting to their forwards and working it up the court with long passes. This opened up some outside shots. Mason Kinney and Wiggin scored a pair of threes at the six minute mark, making their lead 50-37.
Valiant attempts were made by MDI to stay in range of their opponents. Sophomore forward, Lincoln Gray, stole the ball with three minutes left in the game for a layup. Nevertheless, the Hawks pulled away with their fast breaks and physical defense.
Hermon defeated the Trojans 64-46.
MDI plays their next match at Presque Isle on January 24th, at 7:30 p.m., while Hermon plays away at Old Town on January 23rd, at 7:00 p.m., for a much needed rehash of their previous game against the Coyotes.
