Strong defense lifts Owls, Calais into Friday semi Balanced attack sparks Devils

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BANGOR – In basketball, a good defense beats a good offense more times than not, and the Madawaska Owls proved that Tuesday night’s East Class C boys quarterfinal would be no exception to that clich?.

The fourth-ranked Owls shut down No. 5 Washington Academy of East Machias’ fast-break attack, shutting them out in the second quarter and holding them to 1-of-23 shooting in the first half en route to a 66-47 win at the Bangor Auditorium.

Madawaska will meet top-seeded Calais (19-0), a 57-30 winner over No. 8 Penquis of Milo on Tuesday night, in Friday’s 3:35 p.m. semifinal.

In the evening opener, the Owls started to break things open late in the first quarter. Six-foot-four junior forward Mark Sirois’ putback with 2:15 remaining in the quarter started a 21-0 run that extended through the second quarter, during which Madawaska outscored WA 15-0.

Madawaska’s 2-3 half-court zone made it difficult for the Raiders’ sharpshooters to get open looks and limited the inside abilities of 6-4 center Jarred Sternbergh.

“I thought we were moving very, very well in our half-court zone, covering shooters,” Owls coach Matt Rossignol said. “Teams are so hesitant to take it to the middle because we are so big and long.”

The Owls were led by Alan Campbell, a 6-3 senior forward, who hit 5-of-10 from 3-point range on his way to a game-high 24 points.

“Tonight was a hot night for me, so I hopefully I can continue [that] throughout the playoffs,” Campbell said.

Sirois was a monster on the glass and in the paint, generating most of his buckets on the low block and baseline.

“Mark’s a powerhouse. He’s the toughest guy on the team; I think he’s the strongest man I’ve ever met in my life,” Campbell said with a smile.

Sirois said that the Owls needed to get out early and prevent the Raiders from establishing any kind of fast-break attack.

“That’s what we needed to do,” he said. “[But] we needed to rebound, that’s what we did great. We crashed the boards, the shots were falling, it was a good all-around effort,” he said.

Matt Beaulieu finished with 14 points, including 4-for-11 from beyond the arc, while Sternbergh’s 18 points led WA, which shot only 26 percent (17-for-65) for the game.

In the late game, the Patriots maintained their preferred deliberate tempo much of the way, but once the Blue Devils picked up the pace, they ran past Penquis (11-9) in a rematch of a 2005 quarterfinal won by the Patriots.

“We come in with a target on our back, everyone’s kind of shooting for us,” said Calais junior Chris Taylor.

Coach Tony Hamlin’s Patriots hung around, making a serious challenge midway through the third quarter. Nathan Allen scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer that got Penquis within 29-24 with 3:28 left.

Calais dominated after that, ending the quarter with a 9-2 spurt that featured rebound baskets by Mike Guthrie and Taylor, Cal Shorey’s baseline layup and foul shots by Robbie Rogers (one) and Adam Knowles (two).

“All year long we’ve just been playing the run-and-gun type of game,” Taylor said. “We knew they were going to slow it down. We watched a tape of them and we played them last year in the tournament.”

The Blue Devils eventually scored the final 17 points of the game, holding Penquis scoreless for the last 61/2 minutes.

Coach Ed Leeman’s Devils harassed Penquis with 2-2-1 full-court pressure and half-court trapping, which helped them score in transition and turn the tempo in their favor.

Rogers, a junior guard, scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in a balanced effort by the quicker Blue Devils. Brandon Tomah netted nine points with five rebounds, Taylor posted eight points and five rebounds, and Guthrie chipped in with six points and nine rebounds.

Allen paced a smaller Penquis squad with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. Russell Berry added eight points and eight rebounds.

The Patriots shot only 24 percent from the floor and got to the foul line but once.

OWLS 66, RAIDERS 47

WA Raiders (11-7) Madawaska (14-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Leighton 1 6 1 2 3 Cyr 0 0 0

Wood 2 6 0 0 6 Desrosier 0 0 0

R. Smith 0 0 0 0 0 Pelletier 2 6

Von Rotz 3 10 1 1 7 Bosse 0 0 0

Hunter 1 3 2 2 4 Morin 0 0 0

Colbeth 2 12 1 2 5 Sirois 6 13 13

Sternbrgh 6 17 6 8 18 Campbell 6 18 7 11 24

Ramsdell 0 5 0 0 0 Michaud 0 0 0

Porter 0 1 0 0 0 Rossignol 2 7

Nicely 1 2 0 0 2 Beaulieu 5 10 0 1 14

M. Smith 1 3 1 2 3

Totals 17 65 12 17 47 Totals 21 52 12 22 66

Washington Acad. 5 5 23 47

Madawaska 14 29 51 66

3-pt. goals – Washington Acad. (2-14): Wood 2-5, Leighton 0-3, Colbeth 0-2, Ramsdell 0-3, Porter 0-1; Madawaska (10-24): Campbell 5-10, Beaulieu 4-11, Rossignol 1-2, Sirois 0-1

BLUE DEVILS 57, PATRIOTS 30

Penquis (11-9) Calais (19-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Allen 5 13 0 0 11 Tomah 4 13 9

Berry 4 11 0 0 8 Rogers 4 8 10

Morrill 1 4 0 0 2 Taylor 3 6 8

A.Zwicker 2 8 0 0 5 Knowles 0 4 6

Carey 0 4 0 0 0 Guthrie 3 6 6

London 0 0 0 0 0 Leeman 0 1 0

Brown 0 0 0 0 0 Cavangh 0 0 0

Landry 1 3 0 0 2 Stewart 1 3 4

Dolley 0 0 0 0 0 Bell 2 5 5

Bailey 0 2 0 0 0 O’Neill 0 0 0

Andrews 0 0 0 0 0 Wallace 0 1 1

Stevens 0 2 2 2 2 Shorey 4 4 8

B.Zwicker 0 4 0 0 0

Knapp 0 2 0 0 0

Totals 13 53 2 2 30 Totals 21 51 14 19 57

Penquis 6 10 26 30

Calais 7 22 38 57

3-pt. goals – Penquis (2-9): Allen 1-4, Landry 0-1, Morrill 0-1, B. Zwicker 0-1, A. Zwicker 1-2; Calais (1-9): Tomah 0-4, Rogers 0-1, Knowles 0-3, Bell 1-1