By Sam Canfield, BDN Staff
The No. 3 Fort Fairfield boys defeated No. 11 Dexter 57-46 in Monday’s Class C North regional quarterfinal basketball matchup at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, winning the Tigers-vs.-Tigers battle.
Fort Fairfield, now 13-6, will play the winner of No. 2 Fort Kent and No. 7 Mount View on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. Dexter finished its season 8-12, coming off a preliminary round upset of No. 6 George Stevens Academy, 40-31.
Hamstrung by some poor shooting and excess foul calls, Fort Fairfield managed only 20 points in the first half, heading to the locker room down 24-20 following an 8-0 Dexter run. After a long halftime meeting, the favorites returned to the hardwood with conviction, exploding for 17 points in the third quarter and never looking back.
After three, Fort Fairfield had taken a 37-31 lead, and continued to build on its margin in the fourth, fueled by 14 second half points from senior center Micah Daigle (23 points and three steals on the night), and Fort Fairfield’s potent full court press (the Tigers finished with 13 total steals).
In addition to Daigle’s efforts, sophomore guard Cayden Ala (10 points, three assists, two offensive rebounds and six steals) also had a big night for Fort Fairfield, as did junior forward Brett Senal (16 points, one steal).
Pacing Dexter’s offense were sophomore guard Bryce Cooper (15 points, two assists) and senior guard Kellen Peavy (10 points). Down low, junior forwards Ethan and Cole Doherty combined for 13 points and four offensive rebounds. Off the bench, senior forward Will Spratt tacked on four points and four offensive rebounds.
