MILO- L.J. Shaw scored a game high 26 points on Friday night, in leading the Penquis Valley Patriots to a 43-39 Class C schoolboy basketball win over the Central Red Devils at Oakes Gym.
Shaw got off to a strong start for Penquis with eight first quarter points. All but two of the points for Central came from behind the three-point line with four from the arc, as the Red Devils held a slim 14-12 lead. The hosts won the second quarter 8-6, and the teams went to the half tied at 20-20. A big third quarter by Shaw and Penquis made the difference in the game. The Patriots outscored the Devils 14-7, with 10 of those coming from Shaw as they had a seven point edge heading to the fourth. Central changed up their defense to a zone in the final eight minutes, and that seemed to give Penquis some trouble as the guests would trim the deficit to one at 36-35 with a 8-2 run with five points coming from Lucas Gustin. Despite some trouble at the foul line for the Patriots who missed their first six at the charity stripe to start the fourth quarter, some key foul shooting late sewed up the victory. Penquis made their last seven at the line to record their second straight win.
Both teams didn’t shoot well at the line for the game, as Central went 6-14 and Penquis would go 15-28. Along with the 26 from Shaw, Brenan Grant and Nate Lovejoy had five points a piece for the Patriots who improve to 3-2. Kooper Badger had four and Andrew Lagasse added three points. Shaw was named the Bangor Savings Bank Player of the Game. Jackson Pollock led Central (1-6) with 10 points. Kolby Bean had eight, Benjamin Speed seven, Hayden Strout six, Gustin five, and Ethan Ladd had three points. The Patriots and Red Devils both return to action on Monday at home, as Penquis plays Bangor Christian and Central battles Stearns both at 6:30 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner
L.J. Shaw scored 26 points on Friday night to lead Penquis to a 43-39 boys basketball win over Central in Milo. Shaw was named the Bangor Savings Bank Player of the Game. Photo by Marc Calnan
