Foul line kind to GSA, cruel to PCHS as Eagles soar into finals

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BANGOR – Standing at the free throw line meant an entirely different thing Friday afternoon to the George Stevens Academy and Piscataquis boys basketball teams.

For George Stevens of Blue Hill, it was a comfortable place to be. For Piscataquis of Guilford, it was chamber of horrors.

In the end, the third-seeded Eagles shot 15 of 18 from the foul line in the fourth quarter while the No. 7 Pirates made only four of eight during that time and GSA downed Piscataquis 55-46 in an Eastern Maine Class C boys semifinal at the Bangor Auditorium.

The 18-2 Eagles will play the winner of Friday night’s semifinal game between Penquis Valley of Milo and Dexter Saturday at approximately 9 p.m.

The Eagles looked as if they might put the game away in the third quarter. With the score tied at 24, point guard Mike Astbury nailed a free throw line jumper. On their next possession, Astbury, who finished with 11 points, connected on a 3-pointer. He was also fouled after the shot, which gave the ball back to the Eagles. Nick Henry followed with another 3-pointer and GSA suddenly had an eight-point lead.

Astbury’s buckets had basically answered a challenge sent out by the Pirates. The Piscataquis defense sagged into the free throw lane when the senior had the ball, trying to defend the 6-foot-3 Henry and 6-6 senior Travis Templeton. Astbury forced the Pirates to rethink their defensive strategy for the remainder of the game.

“It’s hard to shoot when nobody’s on you, but I stuck the first one. I had confidence after that,” Astbury said.

But the Pirates didn’t go away. They chipped away at the Eagles’ lead behind guard Harper Hoffman’s slashing moves through the lane. The senior had 13 points in the game, nine coming in the fourth quarter when the Pirates made a run at the Eagles.

Hoffman’s basket with 5:25 remaining in the game brought Piscataquis to within two at 37-35, but it was at that point that things began to unravel at the foul line for the Pirates.

“We lost a lot of games this year on the foul line,” Pirates coach Jamie Russell said. “I noticed they made theirs and we missed ours.”

The Eagles’ defensive intensity also picked up in the last half of the fourth quarter and forced the Pirates away from the basket and into long-range shots.

“We played fantastic defense the last four minutes,” GSA coach Matt Mattson said. “When we started banging those outside shots, our intensity level seemed to jump a bit.”

Mark Clapp had 12 points for GSA, including a steal and a fast break layup with 1:09 left to give the Eagles a six-point lead. Henry had 11 points.

John Garrett-Young added 11 points for Piscataquis.

EAGLES 55, PIRATES 46

Piscataquis (11-10) George Stevens (18-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Hoffman 6 12 1 3 13 Astbury 4 8 11

Prescott 0 0 0 0 0 Clapp 4 6 12

Grrtt-Young 3 4 5 9 11 Ledien 1 8 5

Ry. Yeo 1 6 1 2 4 Carter 0 0 0

Luellen 2 5 1 3 5 Freedman 3 9

Jardine 2 8 0 0 5 Henry 3 7 11

T. Tracy 2 2 3 4 8 Templeton 3 7

Saunders 0 0 0

Candage 0 0 0 0

Totals 16 37 11 21 46 18 38 15 21 55

Piscataquis 9 19 27 46

George Stevens 8 16 32 55

3-pt. goals: Piscataquis (3-7): T. Tracy 1-1, Jardine 1-2, Ry. Yeo 1-3, Hoffman 0-1; George Stevens (4-11): Clapp 1-1, Henry 1-1, Astbury 1-3, Ledien 1-6