Auburn, ME – Boston Caldwell saved his best for the second half. Held scoreless in the first half, he exploded for 24 second half points leading the Mustangs to an 89-80 win over visiting Great Bay.
In a night with plenty of on and off the court action, the Mustangs understood the importance of the first conference game of the semester and responded accordingly. Coach Gonyea responded, "we knew going in this was going to be a dogfight. They have two prime time players who can get it done and have all season. We needed to match the physicality and hit shots. The first half seemed like a stalemate with both teams making some good, but some bad decisions as well. We haven't been able to get untracked in the scoring column for a number of games now and we have all been waiting for our offence to kick in. Seeing Boston go off tonight really sparks the squad and gives us the confidence going into the weekend. I am so happy for him but even happier for the entire squad."
It was a defensive game leading into halftime with the Herons taking a 39-37 advantage. Nine CM players played double digit minutes in an attempt to balance out the energy load. Gonyea again says, in a high emotional game, the boys are tuned up and ready for battle. That energy takes its toll and we have to keep fresh bodies in the game to keep up the pace. I was particularly proud of Kenrary. He came off the bench and provided not only the energy we needed, but had four key rebounds, and scored six points. The kid works so hard in the gym and has taken his game to another level. Our bigs are getting better and better each game as well. Josh Gentry played his best game as a Mustang which helped Harry Bates a lot reducing his minutes load."
The second half was all Boston Caldwell. He played 16 of the 20 minutes, not only provided 24 points on an 8-16 shooting night, but added 3 rebounds and 4 assists. What is not in the stat column is his defense at the top of our 3-2. He was relentless and controlled the top of the zone.
Wyatt Hathaway struggled from the three-point line but changed his game to get inside and registered 12 important points.
Jackson Birmingham contributed 13 points and dished out 6 assists.
There is no rest for the Mustangs. They take to the road Friday for a 5pm game at Vermont University Randolph.
