Minutemen Score on Patriots

MILLINOCKET -- The Stearns Minutemen met the Penquis Valley Patriots on December 27th at Wentworth Gymnasium, closing out the year with another win, although not an easy one.

The first quarter ended with the Minutemen in a 16-13 lead over the Patriots, but the second quarter belonged to the Patriots, who opened the quarter on a 8-0 run, giving them a 21-16 lead with just over 5 minutes to play.  Following a timeout called by Stearns, Penquis Valley extended their lead to 29-19 with only 3 minutes to play.

Stearns fought back in the latter part of the first half, narrowing the gap to 32-26 in favor of Penquis Valley at the end of the half.  Jordan Allen scored 8 second- quarter points, Chris Gray 6, and Devin Johnson 5.

The Minutemen outscored the Patriots in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 41-38.  Derek DiFrederico scored 5 points, Matt Leino 3.

Coming from behind in a close game, the last quarter - and the game - belonged to Stearns. Kevin McLaughlin’s basket with fewer than 5 minutes to play tied the game 44-44. Derek DiFrederico put the game back in the hands of the Minutemen with a jumpshot, bringing the score to 46-44 in favor of Stearns.

The Patriots quickly regained the lead,  however, with a 3-pointer,by Jordan Allen, bringing the score to 47-46 in favor of Penquis Valley.

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Matt Legassey’s jumpshot gave the game back to Stearns, with a score of 48-47 with 3 minutes to play.

When Stearns next got the ball, Justin Allen went to the line on a foul.  Allen made the first shot to tie the game at 48-48.  He missed the second shot, but Matt Legassey took the rebound for the Minutemen, holding it to the floor, and Stearns called for a timeout.

Following the timeout, Stearns’ Devin Johnson was fouled, and made both shots, yielding a lead of 50-48 for Stearns, with just over 2 minutes left to the game.

But it wasn’t over.  Penquis Valley’s Dustin Perkins was fouled, making both shots, evening the game at 50-50. The Minutemen retook the lead at 52-50 on a jumpshot by Matt Leino, with fewer than 2 minutes to play.  On their next possession, Penquis Valley was given a chance to tie the game on a foul to Jordan Allen. Allen missed the first shot, but made the second, narrowing the Minutemen’s lead to 52-51.

A jumpshot by Kevin McLaughlin widened the gap in favor of Stearns to 54-51, a lead that was extended further when Matt Legassey was fouled, sinking one of two shots.

A foul in favor of Penquis Valley cut Stearns’ lead by one, when Brandon McKenzie sunk one of two shots.  On their next possession, the Minutemen tried to run out the clock, succeeding in running it down to 10 seconds when Derek DiFrederico was fouled, sinking both shots to give the game to Stearns at 57-52.

For the Minutemen, Devin Johnson and Derek DiFrederico scored 15 points each, Kevin McLaughlin 12, Matt Leino 8, Eric Hartwell 4, and Matt Legassey 2.

For the Patriots, Justin Allen and Jordan Allen scored 12 points each, Dustin Perkins 9, Chris Gray 6, Colby Chase 5, Chet Gillis 4, Steve Kissell 2, and Brandon McKenzie 2.

The Stearns Minutemen are 2-3 for the season.

-- Ken Anderson