1 week Ago
AUBURN — The Edward Little boys basketball team will be the first to say there’s always room for improvement. So while the Red Eddies extended their win streak to three games Friday night with a 55-42 victory over Oxford Hills, they say there are things that need to be cleaned up. For example, sloppiness seeped into Edward Little’s performance in the second half, according to junior guard Akol Maiwen.
“I think it was just more, in the first half, we communicated, played together, made the extra pass and worked together,” Maiwen said. “And, you know, kind of fatigue got us at the end. And those simple breakdowns that we kind of got to face to get back deep into the playoffs.
” Maiwen, who scored 15 points, added that the mistakes Edward Little (9-6) made that kept Oxford Hills (7-8) within reach are fixable. “I think those mental errors are definitely a lot easier to fix because, you know, it’s just about being disciplined and you know how bad you want it,” Maiwen said. “That’s kind of the thing that we got to fix.
” Jimbo Philbrook, who is in his first season as Edward Little’s head coach, said that he might need to make fixes on his end. “Some of it might be fatigue, and maybe I got to get some more guys in ..
. maybe (use) my timeouts a little more wisely,” Philbrook said. “Maybe it’s just subbing some other guys in to get some guys some breaks.
So, I might have to do that and look into that, you know, down stretch here.” That being said, the Red Eddies have been playing some good basketball the past week and a half. After losing to Lewiston on Jan.
14, the Red Eddies defeated Westbrook 48-47 and Mt. Ararat 67-51 before Friday’s win over Oxford Hills. “I think it’s kind of executing our game plan, just being mentally locked in at the start of the game — although we didn’t do a great job versus Mt.
Ararat,” Philbrook said. “But just stress it in practice, you know. We stress the start of the practice and end of practice the same way.
And that’s how we want to do the games. And, you know, we played well for about three and a half quarters tonight. So we’re getting there.
” Junior guard Cedric Makelele (12 points) said the loss to Lewiston has motivated Edward Little. “I just think we’re taking every game personally,” Makelele said. “The Lewiston game, you know, that was a big game for us.
When we eventually lost, we just saw things we got to work on. And if we want to keep winning, we got to take every game personally and play together and keep going as a team.” The Red Eddies, who rank third in the Class AA North Heal standings, took control early in Friday’s game, leading 11-2 after one quarter and 23-8 at halftime.
Maiwen credited the defense, which has been playing well recently. “Holding them to eight points in the first half, you know, that’s tough for a lot of teams,” Maiwen said. “But I think, defensively, we can play one through five, and we keep each other on a string, and we move in, like, unison, you know?” Diing Maiwen was was Edward Little’s top scorer Friday with 16 points, and he, Akol Maiwen and Makelele have been the offensive catalysts throughout the season.
But Philbrook said many players have been contributing in many ways lately. Makelele highlighted two, Christian Rodriguez and Julian Barajas, whose contributions be be getting overlooked. “You know, definitely big guys,” Makelele said.
“Julian is a freshman. He’s getting those minutes, he’s getting that experience. And Christian, he’s a 3-point shooter as well as a guard.
He just hangs those big shots when we need him the most. So, I think just, you know, our team, everybody’s stepping up in every single way.” Brayden Murch was Oxford Hills’ leading scorer with 14 points.
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