Falcon boys looking to regain momentum

RUMFORD -- Things never remain the same and the Mountain Valley boys' basketball team experienced adversity firsthand during the latter part of the regular season. However, the team has an opportunity to redeem themselves in the upcoming Class B playoffs.

The Falcons struggled to find their groove during tight wins over Winthrop and Livermore Falls, followed by a loss to Dirigo.

MV is a very uptempo team that likes to run and its objective on offense is to launch up a shot every 12 seconds.

“We have asked players to step up and play different roles and we have struggled to find that balance,” said coach Rick White. “At times some players have tried to do too much, which has gotten us out of the flow of our offense. We need to go back to our basic sets and play solid man-to-man defense. We need to maintain our focus for the whole 32 minutes, not just the first eight to 16 minutes.”

The offense is led by Cam Kaubris (18.3 ppg), Jacob Theriault (12.2) and Izaak Mills (13.4).

Every player receives playing time in each game, so understanding their roles is important. Hanson Gorham and Justin Carter, the 6-5 centers, each play two or three minutes at a time, unless they are playing really well.

Isaac Roberts is the leading rebounder, however, the team needs to box out at times and exploit the transition game. Kaubris and Theriault led in assists and three pointers, respectively.

“We need to bring the tempo back up as well,” said White. “We are a better running team than we are a half court team. We can play both but we prefer the uptempo game.”

Adam Volkernick, Ryan Nicols, Andrew Child or Brandon Milligan will provide energy, hopefully. Defensively, Zach Radcliffe (steals leader) has really stepped up his game; he has a more active role in guarding the opposing point guard.

“The players' roles have changed,” said White. “We have players now that must step their game up to a different level and they have struggled with that. We still have not been able to get all the players on the same page together.”