WATERVILLE — The Forest Hills High School boys basketball team knows the up-tempo pace at which they play is tough for opponents to sustain. On Friday at Temple Academy, the Bereans hung with the Tigers for about a quarter and a half. When Forest Hills started to pull away late in the second quarter, there wasn’t much Temple could do about it.
“Like our coach (Anthony Amero) always says, he conditions us for eight quarters. If we find a team that can run as much as we can, we’re surprised. Not many teams can do what we do,” Forest Hills junior Hunter Cuddy said.
Temple’s Nathan Wiles, front, loses the ball as Forest Hills’ Dalton Gregoire defends during a game Friday in Waterville.
Cuddy scored 25 points, including seven 3-pointers, helping the Tigers remain undefeated with a 93-67 East/West Conference win. Forest Hills improved to 12-0, while Temple dropped to 9-4.
“They’re on a mission. They’re good at what they do,” Temple coach Scott Corey said of Forest Hills.
A three by Temple’s Illija Ivokovic tied the game 33-33 with 4:52 left in the second quarter. The rest of the first half was all Tigers. Forest Hills closed out the quarter with a 17-4 run to take a 50-37 lead to the break. Cuddy hit three of his seven 3-pointers over the final 4:40 of the second quarter, as the Tigers’ up tempo pace and fullcourt pressure began to wear down the Bereans.
“Obviously, Scott Corey knows what he’s doing. Heck of a coach. We knew he’d have them well-prepared, and they’re very athletic. But our game plan is always, we want to go four quarters as hard as we can go. We can score the ball, and we score in bunches,” Amero said. “You score one, we’re going to score one right back at you, and hopefully two more after that.”
The Tigers opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run, and another Cuddy three gave them a 59-37 lead.
“I just asked Cuddy, ‘Do you roll off the lumber yard and shoot those in the morning?'” Corey said.
All five Forest Hills starters scored in double digits. Cuddy and Parker Desjardins each scored 25. Dalton Gregoire and Brendan Gilboe each added 12, and Jakob Rivas chipped in 10 points for the Tigers. Temple’s size gave Forest Hills trouble early, and 6-foot-4 Stevo Kruta scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the first quarter. The Bereans are battling injuries, Corey said, and it showed against the experienced Tigers.
Temple’s Jaimee Feugill (12) fouls Forest Hills’ Miranda Shelley as they battles for a loose ball during a Class D South game Friday night in Waterville.
“I don’t know that changes the outcome, but we had kids playing minutes against a very good team we’re just not ready for,” Corey said.
In the night’s opening game, the Temple girls scored the first 10 points of the game on the way to a 65-36 win over Forest Hills. Deleyni Carr scored 36 points for the Bereans, while Olivia Baker added 10. The Tigers were unable to overcome 46 turnovers. Taylor Fountaine led Forest Hills with nine points.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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