By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — The team with the deeper bench is often the one that emerges victorious on the basketball court.
Such was the case Monday morning as No. 3 Central Aroostook used its depth to edge No. 11 Katahdin, 67-56, in Eastern Class D quarterfinal action. With the victory, the Panthers (15-5 overall) advance to Thursday’s semifinal round where they will face No. 2 Washburn (19-1 overall) at 7:05 p.m. at the Bangor Auditorium.
Washburn advanced to the semifinals with a narrow 70-69 win over No. 7 Bangor Christian Monday. During the regular season, the Beavers beat Central Aroostook 54-52 at Mars Hill and 82-39 at Washburn.
For the Panthers, Chandler Brewer led the way with 27 points, six rebounds and a steal; Steven Decker added 18 points, six rebounds, two blocks, four assists and five steals; and Joe Stiles chipped in 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Staff Photo/Joseph Cyr
ON THE FLOOR — Katahdin’s Billy Livezey fights for the loose ball while surrounded by CAHS players.
For Katahdin, Billy Livezey scored 16 points and had six rebounds, three steals and three assists to lead his team. Colton Bivighouse chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds one block and two steals.
“I was very pleased with our effort today,” said CAHS coach Tim Brewer. “We played Katahdin twice during the season, and it’s always hard to get that third win. Billy didn’t play in those games, and this team is certainly a lot better with him on the floor. He definitely adds a lot and I know he’s not even close to 100 percent, but he put in a very gutsy performance today. He’s definitely a very good ballplayer.”
Livezey suffered a torn meniscus during a preseason game and missed the majority of the season as he did rehab on the injured knee.
It rained 3-pointers early in the contest as the Cougars took a quick 3-0 lead when Matt Morse drained a 3-pointer to open the game, but CAHS countered with a trey of its own from Chandler Brewer. Morse answered with his second trey of the quarter, pushing the lead back up to 6-3. Bivighouse gave the Cougars their largest lead with a quick post jumper on the next possession for an 8-3 Katahdin lead. 
Staff Photo/Joseph Cyr
POST UP — Colton Bivighouse goes up for a one-handed shot over Panther Zach McClung.
The Panthers came roaring back with a 16-7 run to finish out the first quarter and the Cougars never recovered.
Katahdin coach Cliff Urquhart said he was pleased with how his team started the contest, but it was the play down the stretch that was the deciding factor.
“We made some mental mistakes and they (CAHS) shot well from the foul line, which was really the difference in this game,” Urquhart said. “There wasn’t anything particular that we did wrong. I think they (CAHS) just executed a little bit better than we did.”
The Panthers converted 26 of 31 foul shots (84 percent), while the Cougars made 13 of 20 free throws (65 percent).
The Panthers pressed early and often against Katahdin, which led to several Cougar turnovers.
“We wanted to put a little pressure on them and hope that our depth would be able to sustain that pressure and it did,” he said.
Coach Brewer added he felt his team was starting to come together at the right time, and would hopefully be able to avenge two of his team’s losses on the season when the Panthers meet up with Washburn Thursday.
CENTRAL AROOSTOOK (67)
Murray, Pryor, Folsom 1 0-0 2, Stiles 4 5-6 15, Canney, Brewer 7 12-12 27, McGrath, Kingsbury, Decker 5 8-10 18, M. Davis, McClung 1 1-1 3, Garrison 0 0-2 0, Rusby. Totals: 18 26-31 67. 3-pointers — Brewer 3, Stiles 2.
KATAHDIN (56)
Morse 2 3-5 9, Livezey 5 5-5 16, Heath, Young 2 1-1 5, C. Bivighouse 6 3-3 15, Russell 0 0-2 0, Drew 1 0-1 2, E. Bivighouse 2 0-0 5, Porter 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 13-20 56. 3-pointers — Morse 2, E. Bivighouse.
Panthers 19 13 12 23 — 67
Cougars 15 13 7 21 — 56
