BANGOR — Basketball fans were treated to a true gem of a game Monday evening as the No. 5 Machias Bulldogs (18-2) bested No. 4 Easton, 66-63, in a thrilling Eastern Class D quarterfinal at the Cross Insurance Center.
Easton ends its season with a 16-4 record.
Machias (18-2) received a stellar all-around effort from senior Logan Wood, who scored his 1,000th career point late in the second quarter, earning an ovation from fans on both sides of the Cross Insurance Center. Wood led his team with 30 points.
“Logan makes my job easy,” Machias coach James Getchell said. “We’re a young team with a lot of freshmen and he really helps calm them down on the court.”
Machias advanced to an 8:35 p.m. Thursday semifinal against Washburn.
Sophomore James Mersereau added nine points for the Bulldogs, while freshman Russell Hanscom had six.
For Easton, sophomore Jacob Flewelling also netted 30 points, while junior Logan Halvorson chipped in 14.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle, as the lead changed hands six times before Machias secured it for good with 3:35 to play in the second quarter on a Wood jumper from the elbow.
“Effort has never been a thing that we worry about,” Easton coach Dillon Kingsbury said. “I can never fault the guys for lacking in heart. We needed to control the glass and we just didn’t. We also made some poor decisions and waited too long to make a run.”
The Bulldogs opened up a 10-point lead late in the third frame, but Easton refused to go quietly, cutting Machias’ lead to two, 59-57, with 3:20 to play, but was unable to get any closer as Machias sealed the game from the free-throw line.
“We didn’t rebound very well, but we made our free throws,” Getchell said. “The good thing for us is we have yet to play our best game.”