Eastern Maine Basketball Tournament Saturday Roundup: Broncos Cruise, Rams Fall
The first full day of the Maine Principals' Association High School Basketball Tournament featured some of the state's best high school players fighting to move on from the quarterfinal rounds and one step closer to the gold ball.
Top Seeded Broncos Cruise Into Semifinals
The undefeated Hampden Broncos added a 19th win to their season with a 78-35 win over Mt. Ararat in the quaterfinals. Like they have done most of the year, Coach Russ Bartlett's team jump out to a quick lead and never looked back. Matt Palmer hit 4 three pointers and finished with 16 points while Zach Gilpin added 13. Hampden next faces Lewiston in the semifinals on Wednesday. Edward Little and Lawrence play in the other semifinal.
Lewiston Boys Eliminate Bangor
The season is over for the Bangor Rams after losing to Lewiston 69-59 in the quaterfinals. The Blue Devils led by as many as 17 points in the second half before before Bangor made a run that came up short. Senior guard Josh Thomas led the way for Lewiston with 19 points while Alex Campbell had 17 for Bangor in the loss. The Rams finish the season with a record of 13-6.
Presque Isle Boys Win Tight Game Against Waterville
In the first Class B game of a packed Saturday at the Bangor Auditorium, the second-seeded Presque Isle boys held on to beat Waterville 47-45. Waterville controlled the tempo in the first half as they lead PI at the break 24-21, but the Wildcats didn't go away. They got big momentum plays from Tyler Brooks and Bradley Shields in the third quarter, which sparked a 17 point quarter for PI. A late turnover by Michael Boone made the game interesting with six seconds and Waterville with the ball. Jordan Derosby got a good look at a three-pointer, but missed it. Brooks ended up with 19 points, while Shields chipped in with 14 of his own.
MDI Girls Hold Off Stubborn Winslow Team
Winslow got bit by the turnover bug early and that hurt them down the stretch. MDI led the first quarter 14-5 and they forced six first-quarter turnover against Winslow. Winslow did bounce back in the second and third quarters cutting the MDI lead after three quarters. Devin Fitzgibbons carried the load with 11 points, but was outdone by Molly Carroll for MDI as she had 14 points and more importantly secured the 38-31 win. Full story
Foxcroft Boys Pull Off Another Upset Beating Caribou
The Cinderella story for the Foxcroft continue on with a 41-32 win against Caribou. It was a tightly contested , defensive struggle in the first quarter as neither team could get an early flow. Kobly Kendall had 10 of Foxcroft's 19 first half points and they had a five point lead after two quarters. Third quarter, Ryan Rebar out on an offensive explosion of his own. He had a nice alley-opp finish from his teammate Hunter Law. Later in the quarter, Rebar went to the reverse for two points, building the Pony's lead even more. But he topped it all off with a buzzer beating shot to end the third quarter to put his team up nine. Rebar finished with a game-high 18 points, while his running mate Kendall put up a ten spot.
Presque Isle Girls Roll Over Ellsworth As They Stay Perfect
The Presque Isle Wildcats showed the Ellsworth Eagles why they are the number one seed with a 75-27 win. Presque Isle lived on the three point arch as they hit five threes to open the game with a 26-6 lead. From there, they never looked back and they continued to cruise in this game. Four out of five starters scored in double figures, with Chandler Guerrette leading the way with 14 points.
Medomak Edges Out Camden 52-47
It was a tightly contested first half as neither team could amount much of a lead. It was knotted up at 23. A back-and-forth game throughout with Camden's Jayson Kuhn and Connor Hart hitting buckets, while Medomak's John Murray was carrying the load for the Panthers. Murray and Jonathan Hendrickson-Belloguet provided enough of a spark at the end of the game to secure the five point win.
Here are the rest of Saturday's scores plus a link to updated brackets:
Eastern Maine
Class A
Boys
Lawrence 52, Brunswick 41
Edward Little 67, Messalonskee 51
Western Maine
Class A
Boys
Bonny Eagle 48, Scarborough 32
Class B
Boys
Cape Elizabeth 57, Wells 51
York 64, Greely 38
Mountain Valley 63, Spruce Mountain 52
Falmouth 58, Maranacook 30
Class D
Boys
Valley 62, Greenville 56
Hyde 45, Seacoast Christian 35
Gould 64, North Haven 49
Forest Hills 74, Richmond 41