Mavs defeat Porkies

The North Country Mavericks posted a dominant win over the Nashua Porcupines on Friday, January 25.

“We went to Nashua and it was actually the best we had played all year early in the game and then as soon as we got a little tired, we didn’t play very well but we hung on to that lead,” North Country Coach Ralph Ellsworth said.

In North Country’s win over Nashua, the Mavericks were led by Loden Idler who had 20 points, Ty Murphy who had 19 and Jesse Lee who had 16.

“They came with some decent energy and all three of them were able to knock down shots early,” Coach Ellsworth said. “They got through the tough part of the game and finished it off for us. They were working hard.”

Beau Simonson and John McColly had three points each, Dustin Ostrom had two points, and Jon Rey Taylor had one point.

The Mavs jumped out to a 25-7 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter, thanks in part to solid shooting inside and outside. The Mavs posted each of their three treys in the opening period.

“Most of that was because we were able to make shots and we were able to knock down shots early,” Coach Ellsworth said about his team getting the early lead.

The Mavs outscored Nashua 15-14 in the second quarter but fell off in the third missing layups and other high percentage shots. The team only scored five points but held Nashua to seven. North Country then scored 19 in the fourth while again holding Nashua to seven.

“As soon as we got tired, we were missing layups and free throws and hit a stall,” Coach Ellsworth said of the Mavs’ second-half offensive struggles.

The team will have a much tougher slate this week as they take on Dodson and Scobey, who both defeated the Mavericks earlier this season. The Mavericks will face the Coyotes in Whitewater on Friday, February 1. Dodson defeated the Mavericks 46-42 on Thursday, Jan 3.

“They have got a couple of good, tall kids and we will struggle with that, but talent-wise we are pretty even, so hopefully we can figure out some way to equalize that height and do more of what we are capable of doing,” Coach Ellsworth said.

The Mavericks are scheduled to face Scobey on Friday, February 1. On Friday, January 4, the Mavericks were defeated by the Spartans 61-31.