Wiscasset Middle High School’s run of losses on the basketball court is over!

The Wolverines won 48-38 over visiting Carrabec Friday night in the Mountain Valley Conference season opener. The win was the first for Jamie Jones who took over as head coach less than a month ago.

“It’s really, really nice to see our guys start out the season with a win,” athletic director Warren Cossette said as the team exited the court to a well deserved round of applause.

Billy Pinkham scored the game’s first basket swishing a three-pointer in from the right side 90 seconds into the game. Wiscasset held a slim 9-8 lead when the buzzer sounded ending the first period. Carrabec’s Nick Dube had scored all eight points for the Cobras.

Caleb Gabriele, who had a big night with six rebounds, canned the Wolverines' first basket when play resumed. Before the period ended, the Cobras had rallied back. With 2:39 left until halftime Thomas Crane canned a three-pointer putting his team ahead 13-12. Drake Mckenney followed with a basket from the top of the key giving Carrabec a three-point advantage. That was the only time the Cobras led in the game, although they made it a fight to the finish.

When the buzzer sounded signaling the half the score was tied at 17. Gabriele hit a three-pointer with 29 ticks left on the clock but the Cobras then tied the score from the free throw line. The Wolverines outscored Carrabec 16-9 and 15-12 in the third and fourth periods. The second half began with Wiscasset’s Chris Loyola hitting a three-point basket. The first of two, his second came with two minutes left in the period and opened up a nine-point Wolverine lead, 30-21.

McKenney then hit his second three of the game for the Cobras with the ball banking off the glass and into the hoop. Wiscasset’s Gavin Wellman netted the final basket of the period putting his team up 33-25.

The Cobras weren’t finished yet. They put on an aggressive press in the final eight minutes forcing Coach Jones to call a time out and regroup. At one point the Wolverines turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions.

Things took a turn for the worse when Wiscasset’s Matt Chapman found himself in foul trouble. A minute later Loyola was injured and had to exit briefly. Noah Michaud and Haiden Dunning filled in off the bench; Dunning chipped in with a pair of baskets. Dube rebounded his own missed shot and scored with three minutes left and suddenly it was a 40-39 ballgame. But that was as close as the Cobras would come. In the final minute Pinkham found Wellman open for a huge basket. The Wolverines then finished off the Cobras on the foul line.

Caleb Gabriele led all scorers with a dozen points, Pinkham had nine, Loyola 8, Josh Gabriele 7 and Haiden Dunning six. Before exiting, Chapman netted five points and recorded seven rebounds, four of those offensive. He also blocked two Cobra shots. Wiscasset struggled on the foul line making just 13 of 24 free throw attempts. Carrabec wasn’t much better making just 9 of 18.

Coach Jones said it was good to see his players pull together down the stretch. “We faced a little bit of adversity tonight when one of our starters got into foul trouble and another was injured. It’s the first time too, that we’ve faced a press. The guys who came in off the bench really did a good job for us,” he said.

WMHS’ run of losses stretched all the way back to the 2016-17 season to when Winthrop knocked the Wolverines out of the class C playoffs.

The Wolverines will be in Farmingdale Monday, Dec. 10 returning home to face Madison Dec. 13.