Boothbay boys  basketball coach Dan Hallinan has stressed improvement and making winning plays all season. Despite the team’s 5-11 record, those lessons are now starting to pay off. As the regular season starts to morph into the post-season, Boothbay has earned two extremely big wins. On Jan. 23, the Seahawks handed the region’s No. 1 team, Richmond, their only loss, with a 62-56 road win. Boothbay backed up that victory with another one against No. 8 Madison, 54-47, Jan. 29 at Porter Gymnasium. 

The Bulldogs and Seahawks battled the entire game until Boothbay pulled away in the final minutes. Boothbay entered the game in 11th place, one ahead of the tournament playoff cutoff. Madison (6-7) is in eighth position battling for a home playoff berth. So, both teams had plenty of incentive to win. 

Boothbay’s pre-game focus was stopping Madison point-guard Brayden Furbush. Boothbay held the freshmen scoreless. “Madison is big and physical,” said Boothbay forward Spencer Wenners. “We knew we had to shutdown (the coach’s son). We played together as a team and did a good job rebounding.” But Madison showed, it wasn’t one player team. Forward Nathan Kornforth averages 8.7 points per game, but he scored the Bulldogs’ first 16 points. “No. 10 (Kornforth) absolutely killed us. He is tall, athletic and had a great game,” Hallinan said. “But our No. 10 (Wenners) had a great game, too. He owned the backboard like he was a magnet.” 

Boothbay’s defense also played a pivotal role in the outcome. Madison has scored above 50 points twice this season. In the final quarter, Boothbay outscored them 18-10. Boothbay forward Luke Morley was his leading scorer in the first half. Morley scored nine of his 14 points in the first quarter. Finn Harkins assumed scoring duties in the second half. He scored 12 of Boothbay’s 18 fourth quarter points to seal the victory. Harkins finished with 22 points. 

Boothbay point guard Tyson French credited the victory to a total team effort. “We played as a team both on offense and defense. I think playing together made a big difference,” he said.

Other Boothbay scorers: French, 7; Wenners, 6; Braden Davis, 3 and Aidric Canada, 2. 

Boothbay (5-11) has two games remaining. On Feb. 6, the Seahawks host  No. 2 Mt. Abram (13-0) at 6:30 p.m. The final regular season contest is versus  Class B Spruce Mountain (10-5)  at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 in Jay.