BANGOR – Ellsworth wasn’t about to sit back and allow John Bapst to set up and work the ball inside to its big men Tuesday night.

Instead, the Eagles applied relentless full-court zone pressure.

Ellsworth capitalized on its diamond-and-one trap, coming up with 14 steals and using its transition attack to grind out a 61-53 victory over the Crusaders at the Bangor Auditorium.

Tireless senior guard Corey DeWitt spearheaded the pressure, racking up seven steals to help Ellsworth hold off a solid John Bapst ballclub.

“We work on our press a lot,” said DeWitt, who scored 20 points, including a 9-for-10 effort from the foul line. “We use our hands a lot and you can’t stress enough to get your hands up. It paid off tonight.”

DeWitt also posted eight rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.

Coach Jay Brown’s Eagles improved to 3-2 after dropping back-to-back home games to Caribou and Presque Isle last Friday and Saturday. They harassed John Bapst into 19 turnovers and converted several of them into 16 points.

“When we play a team that’s got size on us, we’ve got to try to create some uptempo,” Brown said. “The kids really got their hands on a lot of balls today.”

Senior Dem Katsiaficas, who played out front on the press along with DeWitt and Chris Archer, paced Ellsworth with 21 points and provided eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot.

James Doe chipped in with seven points, all during a key stretch of the third quarter, and three assists.

John Bapst (1-3) was effective when it was able to negotiate the Eagles’ pressure. The hosts scored against the press on several occasions, but also ran its half-court offense well against Ellsworth’s 2-3 zone defense.

John Burke, a 6-foot-4 senior, went 9-for-11 from the field on his way to a team-high 18 points for the Crusaders. Ethan Cushman, a 6-8 junior, scored 13 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked two shots.

John Bapst shot 59 percent (24-for-41) from the floor but made only four trips to the foul line.

“Other teams have pressed us so far, but that’s been the best pressure we’ve faced,” said Bapst coach Jason Mills. “At times their pressure put us back on our heels a little bit instead of us attacking them.”

Point guard Kyle Gallant chipped in with seven points, eight assists and three steals for John Bapst.

The contest had already featured eight ties and five lead changes when Ellsworth finally made its move two minutes into the third quarter.

Doe scored from underneath off a penetrate-and-dish feed from DeWitt as the Eagles took the lead for keeps at 33-31. DeWitt quickly came up with a steal and cashed in with a lay-up, then Sam Coombs made a layup in transition off a Katsiaficas pass, precipitating a John Bapst timeout.

DeWitt made a steal on the ensuing possession, was fouled and made both foul shots to give Ellsworth a 39-31 lead with 5:20 left in the third quarter.

“They started playing with us and I thought that was good. That was to our advantage,” Brown said.

The Eagles led by as many as nine points at 48-39, but Bapst made one more run in the fourth quarter.

Burke used strong baseline moves while scoring the Crusaders’ first eight points of the fourth quarter amidst an 8-3 run. His layup off a Gallant steal and feed cut the deficit to 53-51 with 5:12 remaining.

However, the Eagles slowed things down a bit. A clutch offensive rebound basket by Coombs at the 4:49 mark jumpstarted a 6-0 run that put Ellsworth back in charge.

EAGLES 61, CRUSADERS 53

Ellsworth (3-2) John Bapst (1-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Doe 3 6 0 0 7 Gallant 3 4 0 7

DeWitt 5 13 9 10 20 Ortiz 1 4 2

Katsiaficas 8 14 4 6 21 Healey 6 12 12

Archer 0 5 1 3 1 Merritt 0 0 1

Coombs 2 4 0 0 4 Cushman 5 5 13

Stubbs 2 3 0 2 4 Burke 9 11 18

Kelley 1 1 0 0 2 J.Gagnon 0 0

Murphy 1 5 0 0 2 Frye 0 1 0

Totals 22 51 14 21 61 Totals 24 41 53

Ellsworth 16 25 50 61

John Bapst 16 24 43 53

3-pt. goals – Ellsworth (3-9): Doe 1-2, Katsiaficas 1-2, DeWitt 1-3, Murphy 0-1, Archer 0-1; John Bapst (1-8): Gallant 1-2, J. Gagnon 0-1, Healey 0-5

JV: John Bapst 56-37

Attendance: 150 (est.)