Raiders’ tournament success will center around inside game

BANGOR – Fans familiar with the up-tempo style typical of the Washington Academy of East Machias boys basketball program during the past two decades are in for a change as the Raiders continue through this year’s tournament.

Coach Chad Fitzsimmons’ club is looking inside, rather than up and down.

“Last year we had a great backcourt,” said Fitzsimmons, whose Raiders defeated Schenck of East Millinocket 73-56 in a quarterfinal Tuesday. “We had two 1,000-point scorers [Whitney Stevens and Jared Gray] and a third guard in Ryan Harmon who could fly up and down the court, so we certainly wanted to use our quickness.

“This year our strength is inside. Actually today’s game was probably too fast-paced, because we wanted to slow it down even more and get better shots.”

WA scored 43 points directly from the lane during its quarterfinal victory, with 6-foot-4 senior Sam Hostetter and 6-2 junior Jarred Sternbergh combining for 37 points and 18 rebounds. Hostetter, who had 24 points and 13 boards, set the tone for the game by scoring his team’s first four points after grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds.

“Size made up for a lot of things, like turnovers and missed free throws,” said Fitzsimmons. “We rebounded well. We missed some shots in the beginning, but we seemed to relax after that and played well at the end of the half and the beginning of the second half.”