BANGOR – During its 12-game winning streak, the Waterville boys’ basketball team won by making opponents play at an accelerated pace. When they’re at their best, the Purple Panthers run and dare their opponent to keep pace.
Saturday morning at the Bangor Auditorium, Presque Isle did what no team has managed in more than a month. The Wildcats slowed Waterville down, and in the process took a 47-45 win in the Eastern Class B quarterfinals.
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“They were very consistent in controlling the tempo and not letting us get out and go,” Waterville Coach Jason Briggs said.
No. 2 Presque Isle (16-3) will face No. 3 Mt. Desert Island in the semifinals Wednesday. Waterville, the No. 7 seed, ends its best season in more than a decade with a 14-6 record.
“We were trying to make it so they couldn’t throw outlet passes, so they couldn’t push up the court. And we got some of their good players out of the game with foul trouble,” Presque Isle forward Tyler Brooks said.
The Wildcats focused their offense on the low-post duo of Brooks and Bradley Shield. The 6-foot-5 Brooks scored 19 points, while the 6-8 Shields added 14.
“They only could match up with one of us,” Brooks said.
Josh Gormley scored 25 points, including Waterville’s final nine. Justin Jabar finished with 11 points, and Chris Hale grabbed 12 rebounds.
EASTERN CLASS B GIRLS
MDI 38, WINSLOW 31: Molly Carroll scored 12 points and the fifth-seeded Trojans (17-2) turned back the 13th-seeded Black Raiders in a quarterfinal at the Bangor Auditorium.
WESTERN CLASS D BOYS
FOREST HILLS 74, RICHMOND 41: The top-seeded Tigers (17-2) built a 19-point lead in the first quarter and cruised past the No. 8 Bobcats (8-12) in a quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
Evan Worster led Forest Hills with 18 points. The Tigers advanced to a semifinal meeting with A.R. Gould on Wednesday.
Sophomore forward Ryan Petrin scored eight of his 17 points in the first quarter, and sophomore point guard Brandon Ouellette recorded five assists in the first nine minutes. The Tigers led 26-7 at the end of the first quarter and 51-17 at the half.
VALLEY 62, GREENVILLE 56: Carrington Miller and Josh West combined for 50 points, carrying the third-seeded Cavaliers (16-3) past the sixth-seeded Lakers (11-8).
Miller finished with 29 points and West added 21.
Henry Hersey scored 20 points for Greenville.
EASTERN CLASS A BOYS
LAWRENCE 52, BRUNSWICK 41: The third-seeded Bulldogs (15-4) opened with a 14-1 run and maintained control throughout against the sixth-seeded Dragons (10-9) in a quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
Spencer Carey paced Lawrence with 15 points. Xavier Lewis, back in the lineup after missing five games because of illness, added 13 points.
Blake Gordon scored 13 points for Brunswick.
HAMPDEN ACADEMY 78, MT. ARARAT 35: Matt Palmer scored 16 points as the top-seeded Broncos (19-0) cruised past the No. 9 Eagles (8-12).
Jake Demosthenes led Mt. Ararat with nine points.
EDWARD LITTLE 67, MESSALONSKEE 51: Lew Jensen scored 20 points and Quin Leary added a double-double to lead the second-seeded Red Eddies (17-2) to a win over the Eagles.
Leary finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds, including nine offensive. Sean Ford added 15 points and Nate Alexander chipped in with 11.
Jordon Holmes led No. 7 Messalonskee (10-9) with 23 points.
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