WINSLOW — After his team’s 76-58 loss to Winslow High School on Saturday night, Waterville head coach Wade Morrill stated the story of the game as succinctly as he could.

“They’re one of those teams, when they’re shooting well, they can beat anybody,” Morrill said. “And they shot pretty well tonight.”

Five different players made a 3-pointer for Winslow, which hit 11. Guards Trevor Lovely and Nason Lanphier combined for 42 points, and the Black Raiders got back on track after close losses to Morse and Oceanside.

“It’s better knowing it’s the beginning of the season. We can only go up from here,” Lovely, who scored a game-high 23 points, said.

“This was a much needed win. We know we’re good. We played two very good teams this week,” Winslow coach Jared Browne said. “Waterville is a very good team, too. It’s just an affirmation that we’re a very good team.”

Both Waterville and Winslow are now 2-2.

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Winslow led 22-17 after one quarter, and took control of the game with an 21-2 run to end the second quarter. The run began after Waterville’s Chris Hale was issued a technical foul with 4:54 left in the first half and Winslow holding a 24-22 lead. Lovely made both free throws, and the Black Raiders hit three 3-pointers over the run to pull away.

“We’ve been building that. That’s offseason work. That’s summer basketball. That’s guys showing up and working on their game,” Browne said. “We can do a lot of things offensively. We can rotate guys in and out, and everybody can contribute. Everybody on our team, I think, is a threat to score.”

Added Lovely: “It seemed like they lost their heads, and we were able to keep our composure.”

Lanphier made four 3-pointers for the Black Raiders after missing Thursday’s game against Oceanside after getting injured against Morse. He also played strong defense on Hale, helping to hold the Purple Panthers high-scoring guard to 10 points.

“Nason hit some big shots with kids all over him. It’s finally nice to see Nason pick it up. He had a rough week,” Browne said.

The Panthers let Winslow dictate the tempo, and were not ready to play at such a fast pace, Morrill said.

“They’re quick. They’re a tough matchup for us. We have to play smarter,” Morrill said. “They kind of sucked us into their pace, and we didn’t have the discipline to not play it.”

Owen Brown led Waterville with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Justin Jabar added 18 points. Justin Martin had 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Black Raiders.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242tlazarczyk@centralmaine.comTwitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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