Big second half keys Beavers in semis
BANGOR, Maine — The top-seeded Washburn High School Beavers had their hands full with the youthful Machias High School Bulldogs, who started three freshmen and a sophomore.
But the Beavers opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run that expanded the lead to 65-50 and went to post an 80-64 triumph in their Eastern Maine Class D semifinal at the Cross Insurance Center on Thursday night.
Junior guard Noah Caron began the decisive flurry with a pair of free throws and then hit a six-foot jumper after Cam Bragg stole the ball and passed it over to him.
Jacob Godfrey converted his own miss for Machias but Bragg hit a pair of free throws. Caron then anticipated a cross-court pass, stole it and laid it in. Jarrett Olson’s free throw capped the flurry with 6:33 remaining.
Machias made a couple of runs but couldn’t get any closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Caron finished with a team-high 24 points to lead Washburn and he also had four rebounds. Noah Farley had 19 points, four steals and three assists and Bragg wound up with 15 points, four assists and two steals.
The Beavers also got a big lift off the bench from Cameron Preston, who grabbed seven rebounds and had six points.
Logan Wood’s game-high 30 points paced No. 5 Machias, which wound up 18-3. Freshman Godfrey had 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while James Mesereau had 10 points and Jordan Grant six points and three assists.
“That was the best second half we’ve played all season,” said Caron, whose Beavers led just 34-32 at the half. “We stopped turning the ball over, we pushed the ball up the court better, we boxed out and limited their second chance opportunities and we hit our foul shots.”
He also said they had better shot selection.
“They’re a great team. They’re the best team we’ve played this year. They’re fast,” Wood said.
“We had trouble getting back on defense. They hit their shots and we didn’t. And they hit their foul shots. But we gave it our best shot against the number one seed,” Wood added.
Washburn went 28-for-31 from the foul line, including 14-for-16 in the fourth quarter.
The Beavers built a 30-17 lead with 5:02 left in the first half behind their full-court pressure, which forced several turnovers resulting in some easy baskets.
But the Bulldogs closed out the half with a 15-4 run to pull within two thanks to Wood’s 11 points and Grant’s four points and two assists.
The Bulldogs also capitalized on Washburn turnovers.
Farley had 14 points in the first half for Washburn and Caron had seven.
