Pats continue improbable run Bangor Christian upsets Royals

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BANGOR – After dropping their last five regular season games and limping into an open tournament seemingly designed with them in mind, the Bangor Christian Patriots had to answer one question more than any other on Saturday night.

“What are you still doing here?”

The answer: Peaking.

The 11th-seeded Patriots walked away from their third postseason game – a Class D quarterfinal against No. 3 Jonesport-Beals -with a 66-55 win and an appointment to face either Katahdin of Sherman Station or Greenville at 3:35 p.m. on Thursday.

The Patriots got a 28-point, nine-rebound, four-block effort out of 6-foot-5 junior Pat McCleary and a steady floor effort from its backcourt in the face of a pesky, swarming Royals defense.

Bangor Christian turned the ball over only 11 times – just once in the pivotal fourth quarter – and ousted the perennial powers from Jonesport-Beals.

“I think the urgency finally set in,” McCleary said. “With the open tournament, I don’t think the urgency was there, saying, ‘We really have to win some games here.’ But now that we’re in the tournament, and we know that we have to win to stay alive, that’s when these guys are really starting to play ball.”

Sophomore guard David Chrisos and freshman guard Josh Madden pitched in with 13 points apiece for the Patriots.

Chrisos said a team effort has been the key to three playoff wins.

“We’ve really come together, and we’re hitting all our shots,” Chrisos said. “And Pat’s really picking it up and doing a good job in there.”

D.R. Alley and Alvin Beal scored 17 each for the Royals while Shane Alley had 11.

The Patriots went into the fourth quarter up by two and reeled off a 13-4 run to kick off the period and blow the game open.

All five Bangor Christian starters scored during the run.

Longtime Jonesport-Beals coach Ordie Alley, who led the Royals despite a season-long battle with the neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis, credited the Patriots for the win.

“They just played a good game. They played a good basic game. As far as I saw it, the difference was the turnovers we created for ourselves,” said Alley, whose team committed 24.

Patriots 66, Royals 55

Jonesport-Beals boys (14-5) Bangor Christian (9-12)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

D.R. Alley 4 13 8 9 17 Madden 4 9 13

Mitchell 0 0 0 0 0 Conley 2 7 5

J. Beal 0 0 0 0 0 Tyree 1 2 4

A. Beal 7 8 3 3 17 Chrisos 5 13 13

Robinson 1 2 0 0 2 Bradford 0 3

S. Alley 5 13 0 0 11 Sobey 0 0 0

Merchant 0 0 0 0 0 McCleary 8 12 12 15 28

J. Alley 2 5 4 4 8

Totals 19 41 15 16 55 Totals 20 45 20 29 66

Bangor Christian 11 32 44 66

Jonesport-Beals 13 29 42 55

3-pt. goals: Bangor Christian (6-17): Madden 4-7, Conley 1-4, Chrisos 1-5, Bradford 0-1; Jonesport-Beals (2-7): D.R. Alley 1-3, S. Alley 1-4