Cougars nip Hodgdon boys in quarterfinals, 49-48

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    BANGOR — Clinging to a one-point lead, the Katahdin boys basketball team held its collective breath Monday afternoon as the final shot of the game rolled off the rim, giving the Cougars a tough victory over Hodgdon at the Bangor Auditorium.
    No. 4 Katahdin (15-5 overall) squeaked past No. 5 Hodgdon, 49-48, in an Eastern Class D quarterfinal. The Hawks finish their season with a 14-6 record. With the win, the Cougars advance to Thursday’s semifinal contest against No. 1 Jonesport-Beals (17-2). The Crusaders advanced to the semifinals with a 57-42 victory over Easton Monday. Katahdin did not face Jonesport-Beals during the regular season.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
GETTING THE BALL — Hodgdon’s Chris Hudson, No. 20, and Tyler Sherman battle Wyatt Morse of Katahdin for a rebound during Monday’s Eastern Maine Class D quarterfinal game in Bangor.
    Katahdin split with the Hawks during the regular season, losing 65-52 at home and winning 62-53 on the road.
    “There were no surprises coming in,” Katahdin co-coach Cliff Urquhart said. “I don’t think the lead was any more than one possession in the final quarter.”
    Monday’s game was another thriller as the lead changed hands 12 times during the contest, including four times in the fourth quarter. Hodgdon’s biggest lead was eight points, while Katahdin never led by more than four.
    Katahdin guards Billy Livezey (a junior) and Wyatt Morse (a sophomore) led the Cougars with 22 and 19 points respectively. For Hodgdon, freshman Chris Hudson led all players with 28 points, while sophomore Tyler Sherman added nine and junior Josh Hudson, Chris’ brother, added eight.
    Trailing 48-44, things seemed to be looking up for Hodgdon when Chris Hudson drained a 3-pointer in front of his own bench and was fouled on the play. He converted the free throw for the four-point play, to knot the game at 48-all.
    On their next possession, Katahdin seemed content to play for the final shot, or send the game to overtime, as the Cougars worked the ball around the perimeter. All that changed though when Livezey was fouled with 18 seconds to play. He sank the first of two foul shots, for what turned out to be the game-winning shot.
    Hodgdon coach Rob Smith quickly called a timeout to set up the game’s final play with 13.9 seconds remaining. The Hawks were able to get the ball into Josh Hudson’s hands for the game’s final shot, but his four-foot jumper rolled off the rim as time expired.
    Urquhart said the Cougars’ game plan in the final moments of the contest was simple.
    “We had to come out of our two-three zone,” Urquhart said. “We just wanted to make sure we didn’t give up any layups. If they shoot over the top and make it, then they were good enough to beat you.”