By Joe Cyr and Gloria Austin
Staff Writers
BANGOR — The Greater Houlton Christian Academy boys basketball team ran into a well-rounded Schenck club in the Eastern Class D quarterfinals Monday afternoon at the Bangor Auditorium.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joe Cyr
TURNS THE CORNER – GHCA’s Chad Duff turns the corner to get by a Schenck defender during Monday’s Class D quarterfinal game at the Bangor Auditorium. The Eagles were clipped, 75-43.
The No. 8 Eagles (14-6) were making their first appearance at the Bangor Auditorium, but were defeated 75-43 by No. 1 Schenck (18-1). The Wolverines’ lone loss on the regular season was a 78-57 loss to Class C Lee Academy.
Schenck plays No. 4 Jonesport-Beals (16-3) 3:35 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals. Jonesport-Beals defeated No. 5 Washburn 64-41 in the quarterfinals.
“I’m really pleased with the guys,” GHCA coach Sam Henderson said. “It was kind of an intimidating experience for the guys being here for the first time.”
Chad Duff, Ethan Holmes and Zachariah Staubel each netted nine points for the Eagles, while Micah Wiley and Jason Gray each had six; Russell Socoby, three; and Isaiah Straubel, one.
For Schenck, Jarred White led the way with 21 points, while Brandon Theriault added 18; Eric Theriault, 11; Zach McLaughlin, seven; Aaron Vienneau, four; and Ryan Thompson and Taylor Tanous, each had two.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joe Cyr The early going saw the Eagles fly to a 6-2 lead with 5:49 to play in the first quarter, as Duff hit a pair of shots, with Wiley converting an offensive putback. But Duff found himself in early foul trouble with two personals with 5:27 left in the period and had to take a seat. The Wolverines quickly turned the game around midway through the period taking their first lead of the game, 8-6, with 4:50 to play after Jared Waite scored from the block. Ethan Holmes answered for the Eagles tying the score at 8-8 with 4:15 to go.
The Wolverines then went on a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 14-8 before Wiley found Holmes on the baseline to cut the lead to four points with 2:18 to play.
Straubel drained a 3-pointer, but Waite made 3-of-4 free throws to push Schenck’s lead to 21-13 at the end of the quarter.
Duff came back in the second period, and the Eagles needed to mount a comeback, as the Wolverines went up 25-13. Straubel sparked his team when he drained back-to-back 3-pointers to close the gap, 25-19.
Duff was instrumental in finding Jaron Gray twice in the low post, as Gray laid the first one in, and was fouled when he was cutting through, making the back-end of his free throws to cut the lead to 29-24.
But, a scoring drought hit the Eagles and the experienced Wolverines went on a 9-0 run before Duff found Holmes down low at the buzzer, with GHCA trailing 38-26.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joe Cyr
OVER THE ‘D’ – GHCA’s Ethan Holmes goes for a shot over a Schenck defender in Monday’s Class D quarterfinal game at the Bangor Auditorium.
“There were a few things that could have changed the game,” coach Henderson said. “It’s all about shot selection, and that is the mental aspect of the game that we are missing right now.”
After Schenck increased its lead to 43-26, the Eagles hoped to turn things around in the second half and Duff gave them promise as he started with a 3-pointer, while Holmes converted a traditional three-point play, cutting the deficit to 43-32. But then another scoring drought ensued and the Wolverines (15-0 scoring run) stretched their lead to 58-32 by using their interior strength for inside position and offensive boards for a 45-21 rebounding differential.
The Wolverines put together a strong second half, outscoring GHCA, 37-17 to advance.
“We needed to be more aggressive looking to score, and instead we were back on our heels,” Henderson said. “We’re a really young squad, so we’ll be returning quite a few players next year.”
