’Cat boys drop game to Tigers
By Joseph Cyr
Sports Editor
BANGOR — The Presque Isle boys basketball team made an unexpected early exit from the second straight season as the No. 3 Wildcats were upset by No. 6 Gardiner 57-44 Friday night at the Bangor Auditorium in an Eastern Class B quarterfinal.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
CHESS MATCH — Presque Isle’s Travis Dyer, left, sizes up his opponent, Gardiner’s Jake Palmer just outside the 3-point arc. In the background is Gardiner coach Jason Cassidy.
Wildcats 44
Tigers 57
Last year, Presque Isle was also bounced in the quarterfinals 46-42 by Medomak Valley of Waldoboro.
“We just didn’t play well tonight,” Presque Isle coach Tim Prescott said. “We had some tournament jitters and appeared out of sorts right from the beginning. We never hit a rhythm or found a flow in our offense.”
Gardiner (14-5) advances to the semifinals on Saturday. Presque Isle ends its season with a 17-2 record. The Wildcats’ only other loss on the season was a 55-50 loss to Ellsworth in the regular season.
Presque Isle’s Travis Dyer led all players with 22 points. The 6-foot, 1-inch senior poured in 12 of those 22 points in the first half. Other Wildcat scorers were Alex Tuttle and Oliver Zubrick, each with eight; and Wilder York, Brandon Bonville and Andrew Legassie, each with two.
For Gardiner, Aaron Toman had a sensational second half, pouring in all 18 of his points in the third and fourth quarters. The Wildcats were unable to stop the 6-2 senior from getting multiple offensive rebounds and converting them for baskets.
Michael Trahan added 13 points for the Tigers, while Jake Palmer chipped in nine; Kaleb Smith, eight; Spencer Allen, seven; and Justin Lovely, two.
Gardiner dominated on the offensive and defensive glass and at times it seemed like every bounce rolled the Tigers’ way. The game featured eight lead changes before Gardiner took over the lead for good with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter.
“How many points did Gardiner have on offensive boards?” Prescott said. “We missed timing on rebounds and missed positional plays. They played a very solid game and killed us on the boards. Everything they tipped, they got, which is not normal for us. We are typically a very good rebounding team.”
After Gardiner scored the game’s opening points with back-to-back layups off steals, the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard when Dyer drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner and Tuttle followed with a layup to give the Wildcats a 5-4 lead. As was the case for most of the game, Gardiner answered every Wildcat flurry with a big basket as Palmer hit a trey of his own to put the Tigers back up 7-5.
The two sides traded baskets for most of the first quarter, with the Wildcats getting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Tuttle for a 16-15 edge to close out the first period.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats grabbed their biggest lead of the game when Dyer opened the period with a pair of baskets for a 20-15 lead. That lead proved short-lived as Gardiner scored the next five points, knotting the game at 20-20.
Just before the half, the Wildcats suffered a blow as Dyer fell awkwardly and rolled his ankle. Although he was able to return in the second half, he was clearly affected by it.
“He could barely run,” Prescott said. “We taped him up at halftime, but he couldn’t get any lift. He was trying his best.”
Losing Zubrick, a 6-5 senior, to foul trouble in the second half also hurt the Wildcats as it created the opportunity for Gardiner to control the rebounding action. Wildcat Andrew Legassie was also playing hurt after dislocating his right thumb during practice earlier in the week. He played with his hand heavily bandaged.
In the second half, Toman took over for Gardiner, scoring eight points in the third quarter and another 10 in the final period.
Trailing 41-35 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats cut that lead to one (43-42) thanks to a pair of buckets from Dyer and another by Zubrick. That was as close as the Wildcats could get, however, as Presque Isle went ice cold from the floor in the final five minutes, while Gardiner went on a 14-2 run to close out the game.
“Gardiner played a good game and I think they have a really good chance to move along,” Prescott said. “They did a lot of things that a team needs to do down here. They took care of the basketball. We just didn’t answer the bell.”
TIGERS 15 13 13 16 —57
WILDCATS 16 11 8 9— 44
