March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Bangor rolls to victory> Blackstone helps beat up Nokomis

BANGOR – When Elliot Blackstone trotted off the court on Friday night to get – how do we say this delicately – a coach-mandated first-quarter breather, the face that greeted him at the bench was not that of a happy, contented mentor.

Instead, it was a – how do we say this – rather energetic coach Roger Reed who told Blackstone exactly what he thought of his performance to that point.

The crime: being tentative.

Later, when Blackstone was allowed back on the hardwood at Red Barry Gym, Reed sat back and relaxed as much as basketball coaches ever relax. Not at all.

He could have.

Blackstone, a 6-foot junior, went absolutely ape on Nokomis of Newport from there, scoring 21 points in the final three quarters and keying a 70-46 Big East win.

Bangor improved to 4-1, while the Warriors of Newport dropped to 2-2.

“I told him, `You have your shots, and if you’re not gonna play, you might just as well be over here sitting beside me,’ ” Reed said, allowing himself a post-victory smile.

Apparently, Blackstone didn’t like the view from the bench. He nailed two 3-pointers in the second, another in the third, and grabbed eight rebounds on the night to spur Bangor to the win.

Senior point guard Tommy Waterman scored all 16 of his points in the final three quarters and classmate Mike Arsenault added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Waterman also handed out four assists.

Blackstone attributed his success to the presence of those two established stars.

“I just feed off Tommy and Mike,” Blackstone said. “When they have everyone keying on them, it just ends up freeing me or Duane [Peoples] or anyone else on our team.”

Arsenault said he wasn’t at all surprised by Blackstone’s big night.

“It just shows you that we’ve got a lot of good players on this team,” he said.

The Rams had their hands full against Nokomis for the better part of three quarters as they tried to find the key that would unlock a stingy zone defense.

And on defense, The Rams had to contend with the inside bulk of 6-4 senior Rodney Rouse, who finished with 18 points including 10 in the first half.

The offensive key turned out to be the coach’s best friend: patience.

“You’ve got to take your time and make sure you take good shots and not rushed shots,” Reed said. After shooting just 40 percent in the first quarter, the Rams heeded Reed’s words, connecting on 21 of their final 42 shots.

Bangor ended the first half with a 13-2 run that provided a 30-22 edge, Nokomis narrowed the gap at the start of the third period.

But then the Rams exploded, scoring nine straight points to end the third and launching another 9-0 run midway through the fourth.

“The difference is, the Bangor kids are a lot tougher than our kids,” Nokomis coach Jim DiFrederico said. “It was 35-31 in the third and they just decided that they needed to get to the glass, that they were going to get after it and they did.”

Rams 70, Warriors 46

Nokomis (2-2) Bangor (4-1)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Tucker 0 0 0 0 0 Waterman 6 12 3 3 16

R. Otis 2 7 0 0 5 Peoples 4 10 0 0 8

Boulanger 0 0 0 0 0 Blackstone 8 12 2 2 21

White 3 7 1 2 8 Crane 0 0 0 0 0

Ellisen 2 12 2 2 6 Gallant 0 0 0 0 0

Adams 0 1 2 2 2 Leture 0 0 0 0 0

J. Otis 0 2 0 0 0 Arsenault 4 10 2 2 13

Rapp 3 4 1 3 7 Pitula 3 8 0 0 6

Rause 8 15 2 4 18 Clarkson 2 3 1 2 5

Turner 0 2 1 2 1

Totals 18 49 8 13 46 Totals 27 57 9 11 70

Nokomis 14 22 33 46

Bangor 15 30 46 70

3-pt. goals: Nokomis (2-11): R. Otis 1-3, White 1-4, Ellison 0-3, J. Otis 0-1; Bangor (7-12): Waterman 1-2, Blackstone 3-5, Arsenault 3-5

Attendance: 350 (est.)


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