OLD TOWN, Maine — Championship-quality basketball teams typically rely heavily on star power while chasing that ultimate prize.
But of equal value are the role players who step up when the need arises, role players such as Old Town senior Scott Smart.
The rugged 6-foot-2-inch forward was both role player and leading man Tuesday night, coming off the bench to score nine fourth-quarter points as the defending Class B state champions remained undefeated with a 61-51 victory over Ellsworth in a hard-fought Big East Conference showdown at MacKenzie Gymnasium.
“I just come out and do exactly what coach [Brian McDormand] says,” said Smart. “That’s what I do.”
Old Town (11-0) was in serious jeopardy of having what is now a 21-game winning streak snapped early in the fourth quarter after Ellsworth’s Bruce St. Peter converted a press-breaking layup to forge a 41-41 tie.
But senior forward Adam Richardson — who grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds for Old Town — scored from the low post to give the Coyotes back the lead.
Then Smart buried his first shot of the night, a 3-pointer from the left wing as the trailer on a Coyotes’ fast break. Moments later, Smart struck again, this time from beyond the arc to the right of the key off one of Eric Hoogterp’s 10 assists in the contest.
“My teammates know I can shoot threes,” said Smart, a third-year varsity player whose season got off to a slow start due to an ankle injury. “I’m glad they trust me to shoot threes, so when I shoot them I don’t think about anything. I just hope they go in.”
The Old Town lead was 49-44 with 5:02 left, and while Ellsworth quickly inched back within three points on two Cooper Henderson free throws, the Coyotes put the game away by making eight late free throws — including a 3-of-4 effort by Smart — over the final three minutes.
“We started off pretty poorly, we struggled to make a lot of shots,” said Richardson. “But we kept
working hard and figured we’d get something to go in eventually, and Scotty came off the bench and had some big threes. He really saved us tonight.”
Richardson and Hoogterp each finished with 15 points for the Coyotes, while Drew Coulombe added eight points and Kaleb Gifford keyed a defensive effort that limited Ellsworth standout Nick Bagley to six points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Alex Braley paced the 7-3 Eagles with 14 points while Henderson added 10 by making 10 of 12 free-throw tries.
“It was a tournament-style game.” said Richardson. “It was all fun.”
Old Town jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Ellsworth maintained early contact thanks in part to four first-half 3-pointers, three by Braley.
When teammate Bryce Harmon banked in a straightaway shot from the lane at the halftime buzzer, the Eagles were within 32-26.
Coach Peter Austin’s club then opened the second half with a 9-2 run and took its first lead at 35-34 on two Henderson free throws with 4:31 left in the third period.
Another lead change and three ties ensued before Smart came on to play a leading role in crunch time.
“He’s a guy who shows up every day, works hard, keeps his mouth shut and is never a problem. He always plays with the same intensity,” said McDormand. “In the first half he struggled a little on the boards but I figured we’d give him another shot because he’s steady and makes good decisions with the ball.
“We like to get up and go but we also need guys who use their heads and can slow the ball down and know where we need to go on offense. Scott does that. He’s like having money in the bank.”
