By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — The No. 3 Washburn boys (17-2 overall) outlasted No. 6 Katahdin 66-51 Monday morning in an Eastern Class D quarterfinal. With the victory, Washburn advances to the semifinals 7:05 p.m. Thursday against No. 2 Jonesport-Beals (17-1 overall).
Washburn and Jonesport-Beals did not face each other during the regular season. The Royals earned a spot in the semifinals with a hard-fought 72-70 victory over No. 7 Fort Fairfield. Katahdin finishes 12-7 on the season.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
REACH AROUND — Katahdin’s Billy Livezey, left, looks to pass the ball around Washburn’s Mitchell Worcester during Monday morning’s quarterfinal.
“We finally picked up the tempo in the second half,” Beaver coach Randy Norsworthy said. “We have a number of 3-point shooters, so we are not afraid to launch the three. This was just a total team effort today.”
Washburn’s Mitch Worcester put on a masterful shooting performance from the foul line, as he was a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line, drained five 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. Jordan McLaughlin added 13 for the Beavers, while Mason Turner added 11; Nick Bragg and Chase Chandler, each had five; Connor Fitzpatrick, four; and Kyle Huston, two.
For Katahdin, Kolby Gallagher led the team with 14 points, while Brandon Robinson added 12; Colton Bivinghouse, 11; Steven Whitney, four; William Livezey and Kohle Birmingham, each had three; and Jesse McNally and Brady McNally, each had two.
The Beavers were 14-of-22 (64 percent) from the foul line, while the Cougars were 9-of-16 (56 percent) from the line.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
BALL BATTLE — Colliding as they go for the ball are Katahdin’s Colton Bivinghouse, left, and Washburn’s Connor Fitzpatrick as Cougar Brady McNally looks on during Monday’s Eastern Class D quarterfinal game at the Bangor Auditorium. Washburn won 66-51.
Coming into the game, coach Norsworthy was hoping to push the score into the 70s, while controlling the tempo of the game. The Beavers did just that, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Worcester and Turner on their first two possessions.
Both teams traded baskets for much of the opening stanza, with Washburn taking an 18-13 lead. Katahdin then tightened up defensively, limiting Washburn to just seven points in the second quarter, while cutting into the Beavers’ lead. Washburn led 25-23 at the half.
In the third period, Gallagher gave the Cougars a 26-23 edge with a 3-pointer to open the second half, but Washburn quickly regained the lead on the next possession when Chandler converted a traditional three-point play with a layup and subsequent free throw, giving the Beavers a 28-26 lead. Katahdin would never lead again.
Washburn drained 10 3-pointers in the contest. Eight of those treys came in the second half, which helped the Beavers control the tempo of the game.
Coach Norsworthy added he was pleased to see scoring from a number of different players in Monday’s quarterfinal.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
HEAD FAKE — Cougar Brandon Robinson, left, gives a quick head fake to Washburn’s Jordan McLaughlin in Monday’s quarterfinal.
“One of the rubs that this team has been taking is that it’s all Mitch Worcester,” he said. “Mitch did have a great game with 26 points, but we had balanced scoring from a bunch of different guys today. That is key for us.”
Katahdin coach Shawn Craig said his plan of attack was to keep the score low.
“If we could have stuck with that plan, we would have been better off, but it got out of hand in the third quarter,” Craig said. “We started to run out of control and took too many quick shots. We knew they [Washburn] wanted to run-and-gun, so we tried our best to keep them under wraps. It just didn’t work out for us.”
COUGARS 13 10 8 20 — 51
BEAVERS 18 7 17 24 — 66
