By Ryan O’connor
He’s not ready to admit it just yet – not to himself, not to his
players and certainly not to the media – but Mike Smith is inching closer
to an increasingly probable reality.
Prior to the season, the John Stark boys basketball coach said his squad would
be middle of the pack in Class I, with a chance, if everything fell right, to
compete with some of the better teams in the state.
After a 6-1 start and a 69-67 road victory at upstart Pembroke Academy, Smith
grinned a little when asked if his Generals may, in fact, have entered the upper
echelon.
“I’m never comfortable saying that,” he said. “I think
we’re right around the top four teams right now, but I don’t think
we’re the best team yet. I think there’s some potential here. I think
this team has as good a chance to win as any team that I’ve coached, but
we weren’t running around, jumping up and down, giving each other high
fives (after the PA win) … What we talked about was how to get better
and how to win in March.”
Defensively, he said, the squad still has plenty of room for growth, as evidenced
in the win over PA.
“Both teams shot the ball phenomenally. I don’t think I’ve
seen a game where both teams shot the ball this well in a long time,” said
Smith. “I think both teams were getting in the way a little bit defensively,
but I think anytime our offenses created open shots for people they knocked them
down.”
The back-and-forth Friday, Jan. 11 matchup featured 37 lead changes or ties – 18
in the first quarter alone when the squads combined for 51 points – and
concluded when senior Ben Titcomb sank a 15-foot jumper with six seconds remaining
in the contest to break a 67-all tie.
The pesky Spartans had a chance to tie or win the game, but the Generals forced
foe Drou Goff to take a hurried three-pointer at the final buzzer. The shot rimmed
out.
“(John Stark) made all the shots they had to make and it was enough to
beat us tonight,” said PA coach Matt Alosa.
“They earned it. We tried to make kids that don’t normally make shots
for them make them, and they did that. … We put them in a tough spot,
and they did what they had to (do) to win.”
Senior guard Zach Morrill-Winter led Stark in scoring with 15 points, edging
classmate Gavin Sappier, who netted 14 points and brought down 10 rebounds.
Titcomb added 12 points, Shane Arsenault contributed 11, and junior Nick Campono
provided 10.