WISCASSET — Things went about as poorly as possible for the Winthrop High School boys’ basketball team in the first half against Wiscasset on Friday.

The Ramblers made just four of 21 shots, committed 13 turnovers and scored a pedestrian 16 points through 24 minutes.

Winthrop coach Todd MacArthur wrote a big zero on the chalkboard in his team’s locker room at halftime, signifying the number of transition points Winthrop scored in the first half.

His team obviously listened and read well, as Winthrop (4-2) turned everything up about 10 notches in the second half, coming from behind for a key 55-52 Mountain Valley Conference win over the 3-2 Wolverines.

Winthrop shot 66 percent (14 of 21) in the second half, and kept the turnovers to a minimum (seven) while forcing nine Wiscasset miscues.

“We went to the locker room and our coaches stressed how much our defense was lacking, and we had to come out and play defense, stressing the backside rotation, and we started hitting our shots,” said Winthrop’s Matt Sekerak, who scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the second half. “We shot and played horribly in the first half. We made an adjustment to their zone, and we attacked it, getting open shots or lanes to the rim. This game was circled on our schedule. Just a great win for us.”

“We struggled offensively, even struggled in transition, which is our strength,” said MacArthur, whose squad returns to MVC action Dec. 30 at home against Lisbon. “We changed up a little bit in our press and where we brought traps. The first half, we trapped and didn’t get any quality turnovers. We got some quality steals in the second half and got our transition going.”

“They got a little more physical and turned the tempo up, and we just didn’t handle pressure well enough,” said Wiscasset coach Dana Lawrence. “Night in, night out, there is a whole group of teams that play like this. They are a good opponent, and we would love to play them 10 times. They just executed.”

Trailing 23-16 at the half, both teams played well in the offensive end in the third quarter, with the Ramblers cutting their deficit down to three points, 41-38. Wiscasset was no slouch from the field in the quarter, making nine of 16 shots to stay in the lead, although Winthrop was coming hard, outscoring the Wolverines 7-2 to close frame in cutting its deficit down from eight points (39-31).

A key technical foul on Wiscasset early in the fourth kept Winthrop’s momentum going, with Jacob Hickey making both shots to make for a 41-40 game, and moments later Hickey drilled a short jumper to give the Ramblers their first lead since an early first quarter 7-6 edge.

“They picked up their offensive intensity and it got to us,” said Wiscasset forward Dale Peaslee.

The run continued as Sekerak drove the lane for two points, and a pair of free throws by Sekerak with 4:17 remaining gave Winthrop a 48-42 lead.

Wiscasset refused to fold, answering with a 10-4 run, capped off by an NBA-range 3-pointer from Travis Padilla with one minute left on the clock for a 52-52 tie.

“We got our intensity up when Travis made that shot, but Winthrop shut it down after that,” said Peaslee, who watched as Taylor Morang sank a pair of free throws for a 54-52 Ramblers edge. After Wiscasset miss-fired on the front end of 1-and-1, Dakota Carter made a free throw for a 55-52 lead with 28 ticks remaining.

Wiscasset missed a chance to tie on its next possession, but Winthrop failed on two potential game-clinching free throws to give the Wolverines a chance. But, Padilla’s trey clanked off the rim and out of bounds as the buzzer sounded.

Missed opportunities

Trailing 7-6 midway through the first quarter, Wiscasset began a run that extended well into the second frame. An 8-0 spurt, where Winthrop missed seven straight shots, all one and done, gave Wiscasset a 14-7 lead. And, when Matt Craig drilled a 3-pointer with 2:12 left until halftime, the Wolverines had a 10-point lead, 20-10.

“Credit to Dana and Wiscasset because they are a great half-court team, half-court defensive team, and we just want to get out and go, something we were not able to do in the first half,” said MacArthur.

Wiscasset had difficulties of its own, committing 12 turnovers in the second quarter.

“We had opportunities to put them away, several possessions where we left at least 10 points on the court by committing turnovers,” said Lawrence, whose Wolverines finished with 24 turnovers in all.

Hickey had 13 points for Winthrop, with Morang adding 12, Ben Allen seven and Carter six points, six rebounds and three steals. The Ramblers shot 42 percent (18 of 42) and made 18 of 25 from the charity stripe.

Craig paced Wiscasset with 13 points, Padilla had 10 and Chandler Longfellow eight points, six boards, five steals and four assists. The Wolverines went to the line just 10 times, making five, and Wiscasset was 21 of 45 (46 percent) from the field.