At Howand Wednesday evening, the Penobscot Valley boys were able to score just enough to outlast their rival the Penquis Valley Patriots 34-25 in a Class C North preliminary playoff game.
The Howlers had a strong first quarter and jumped out to an 11-6 lead, led by seven points by senior Nate Scharff. Penquis senior standout L.J. Shaw carried the load with all six of his teams points. It appeared that PVHS of Howland would go into the half with a lead, but junior Max Wells hit a pair of three pointers within the last minute to give the Patriots an 18-15 lead at the break.
The ticket to success this season for PVHS has been through its defense, as they led the Penobscot Valley Conference in opponents points per game. During the third quarter, the Howlers held Penquis scoreless as they built up a four point lead once again led by five points from Scharff. Timely rebounds, putbacks, and free throws helped allow the hosts to outscore Penquis 12-7 during the final period and close out the game with a nine point victory.
The Howlers received scoring from all seven of their top rotational players, including a team-high 12 points for Scharff. Isaac Doore netted eight of his own, and contributed four steals. Juniors Colin Dunn and Colin Harding both finished with four points, while fellow juniors Kaden Loring and Caleb Moon scored two each. Gabe Reed, who faced a diamond & one defense for most of the night, scored two points and recorded four steals.
For Penquis, Shaw finished with a game-high 13 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Wells tallied six points, Dylan McKenzie went 4-4 from the line to score four points, and Kooper Badger had two. The ninth seeded Patriots finish the season at 8-11.
Penobscot Valley (11-8) earns their way to the Cross Insurance Center, where they will face top seed Calais in the quarterfinals at 8:30 Tuesday night. This is the fourth trip to the tournament in Bangor for the Howlers in the past 5 years that it has taken place.
Recap edited and posted by Chris Lessner on information provided by PVHS head coach Jeremy Durost.
PVHS vs Penquis game photos provided by Feldmus Photography. Top to bottom- Nate Scharff, Gabe Reed, and Isaac Doore
