VAN BUREN, Maine — For the third time this season, the Van Buren boys proved to be too much to handle for the Washburn Beavers.
Van Buren earned a 46-31 win Thursday in the Class D North preliminary playoff game played on the Crusaders’ home floor.
Matt Burgess was the offensive leader for the Crusaders with 18 points, while Colby Hewitt netted 11 for the Beavers. Van Buren jumped out to an 8-0 lead after the first quarter. The Crusaders were up 19-14 at halftime and 30-25 after three quarters before opening it up in the fourth.
Van Buren won the first two meetings by scores of 42-30 and 38-33.
The victory propels Van Buren, the eighth seed, into the quarterfinals for a game against the Woodland Dragons, to be played Monday, Feb. 18 at 3:35 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. The Crusaders improved to 10-8 win the win.
Washburn, which didn’t win a single game all of last season, was the No. 9 seed and finished with a 6-13 record.
