DI-S holds off Royals; Lee rallies to win Pandas, Mariners in semifinal

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BANGOR – The advertised depth within the Eastern Maine Class D boys basketball world was on display at the Bangor Auditorium on Monday, with No. 1 Deer Isle-Stonington and No. 5 Lee Academy gaining quarterfinal wins against foes they had split two games with during the regular season.

Deer Isle-Stonington outlasted No. 9 Jonesport-Beals 65-59 while Lee shaded No. 4 Katahdin of Stacyville 61-56.

As a reward, the survivors will face each other for the third time this season in a regional semifinal Thursday at 3:35 p.m..

Their earlier two meetings? A split, of course.

“There’s a lot of good teams in Class D,” said Lee senior forward Kris King. “It’s anyone’s ballgame.”

Sophomore center Collin Ciomei had 22 points and 13 rebounds as Deer Isle-Stonington improved to 16-2.

The Mariners used a 12-0 run early in the third quarter to take a 38-24 lead, but Jonesport-Beals rallied behind the offensive persistence of 6-foot-4 seniors Joseph Libby and Ross Griffin,

The Royals drew within four points in the game’s final two minutes before Deer Isle-Stonington made 9 of 12 free throws to preserve the victory.

“It was a game of runs,” said Mariners coach Glenn Billings. “They’re a good, big, physical team, and I knew it was going to be a challenge, but our kids hit the big foul shots when they had to.”

Junior guard Bryant Ciomei added 17 points and eight rebounds for Deer Isle-Stonington, which limited Jonesport-Beals to 31 percent (21 of 66) field-goal shooting.

The Mariners also got a boost from their bench, as Jon Eaton contributed seven points and six rebounds while 5-10 freshman Eben Powers, who had split time between varsity and junior varsity this season, guarded Griffin when Collin Ciomei was in foul trouble.

“He’s strong with his right hand, so I tried to force him left a lot,” said Powers.

Libby led 15-5 Jonesport-Beals with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Griffin added 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

In the first game, Lee’s tournament hopes were on the verge of extinction, down 40-28 midway through the third quarter after the Pandas’ bench was whistled for a technical foul for an illegal substitution.

But instead of panicking, Lee turned to fullcourt defensive pressure, with junior guard Peter Pickering leading the way.

Pickering made two straight steals, one he took in for a layup and the other that led to one of his two straight 3-point goals to spark a 14-4 run that cut the gap to 44-42 by the end of the period.

“I sagged off and I could kind of tell when they were going to pass,” said Pickering. “I had perfect position, and I got lucky.”

A 3-pointer by Everett Houghton extended the Lee run to 17-4 and the Pandas had their first lead since late in the first quarter.

Two ties and three lead changes ensued before Tyler Thompson gave Lee the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 53-51 edge with 3:22 left.

Pickering scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, and also pulled down 10 rebounds.

“When teams press us, he’s very good in the open floor,” said Lee coach Randy Harris. “He can create shots for himself, he creates shots for other guys, and when teams press us he’s usually a one-man wrecking crew.”

Tom Bird added 13 points for the Pandas, while King pulled down 12 rebounds as Lee finished with a 36-18 domination of the backboards.

Owen McCarthy led 15-5 Katahdin with 18 points, 11 in the first quarter as the Cougars moved out to a 17-15 lead. Patrick Willett added 15 points for the Cougars and Jared Anderson scored 10.

MARINERS 65, ROYALS 59

Jonesport-Beals (15-5) DI-Stonington (16-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Smith 0 0 0 0 0 Powers 1 3 4

Backman 1 7 2 2 5 C. Ciomei 6 10 8 12 22

Alley 1 3 0 1 2 J. Eaton 1 7

Barton 1 2 0 0 2 Douglass 1 2

Libby 9 28 6 10 24 Brown 2 6 5

Griffin 5 18 4 8 15 B. Ciomei 4 17

Ellis 2 5 2 4 6 S. Eaton 2 8

Kelley 2 3 1 4 5 Billings 0 0

Brock 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 21 66 15 29 59 Totals 17 45 27 39 65

Jonesport-Beals 13 22 34 59

Deer Isle-Stonington 9 26 41 65

3-pt. goals – Jonesport-Beals (2-15): Backman 1-3, Griffin 1-4, Libby 0-8; Deer Isle-Stonington (4-12): C. Ciomei 2-4, B. Ciomei 2-4, Billings 0-4

PANDAS 61, COUGARS 56

Lee Acad. (12-8) Katahdin (15-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Connick 1 4 0 0 3 Brayall 0 0 0

Roux 0 0 0 0 0 Willett 5 11 2 14

Houghton 4 12 0 0 9 Qualey 0 0 0

Parker 1 1 0 0 2 Ja.Andrsn 5 10

Pickering 6 9 8 11 22 Jo.Andrsn 2 4

Thompson 3 8 1 2 8 Gould 1 6 3

King 0 4 4 4 4 McAvoy 1 7 0 2

Bird 6 11 0 2 13 K.Andrsn 2 6 5

Kelly 0 0 0 0 0 Harris 0 0 0

Crocker 0 0 0 0 0 McCarthy 6 11 5 7 18

Boulrisse 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 21 49 13 19 61 Totals 22 52 15 56

Lee Acad. 15 24 42 61

Katahdin 17 30 44 56

3-pt. goals – Lee Acad. (6-19): Pickering 2-3, Bird 1-2, Connick 1-3, Thompson 1-5, Houghton 1-6; Katahdin (3-10): Willett 2-3, McCarthy 1-2, McAvoy 0-1, K. Anderson 0-1, Gould 0-3