DEXTER – Piscataquis Community High of Guilford and Dexter always meet on the basketball court twice each winter.

But several times in recent memory they’ve met three times – the third in the Eastern Maine Class C tournament at the Bangor Auditorium.

So while PCHS capped off a season sweep of the Tigers with an exhausting 44-41 victory at packed Guiski Gymnasium on Wednesday night, Pirates coach Jamie Russell already was envisioning a Heal Points scenario that could set up yet another postseason clash between the schools.

“I think we’ve played them four of the last six years in the tournament, and they’ve all been in the first round,” said Russell, whose team improved to 15-1 with its 13th consecutive victory, “so I’m hoping [Dexter coach] Peter [Murray] doesn’t get in that situation again.

“I’d like to play someone else. I’m tired of playing them.”

PCHS took control with a 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter, a surge featuring two 3-point goals by Shane Tracy as well as a putback by Nolan Lovell and two free throws by Roy Burdin that gave the Pirates a 37-33 lead with 3:02 left.

“Tracy went back to back with those two 3s, and those were big,” said Murray. “That gave them the lead and they had a little confidence. We put a lot of effort out there, but it just wasn’t enough. We just couldn’t seem to finish. We had two or three steals in the last minute, but every time something would go good, it would turn around and go bad.”

Tracy, 1-for-5 from the field through three quarters, hit one 3-pointer from the right wing after taking a feed from Lovell to draw PCHS within 31-30. His second long-range shot came from the left side off a Jeff Robinson pass that gave the Pirates the lead for good at 35-33 with 5:36 left.

“I wasn’t hitting my shots early and I was frustrated, but I just kept shooting,” Tracy said.

Tracy’s second 3-pointer was PCHS’s final field goal, as the Pirates made 9 of 13 from the line down the stretch.

Dexter (9-6) did get within 41-39 on a 3-pointer by Aaron Woodman and to within 42-41 with nine seconds left on a follow-up shot by Dan Beatham.

But Burdin, who made 11 of 16 free throws during the game, hit two with four seconds left to give PCHS a three-point edge. A desperation shot by Dexter was off target at the buzzer.

Plagued by foul trouble in the first half, Burdin scored 17 of his game-high 19 points after intermission as the Pirates sought to focus on their inside game.

“I’ve had a few games this year when I’ve gotten into foul trouble,” he said. “The first few times I just kept playing the same way throughout the game, and coach told me to smarten up so I just went out there, didn’t get as aggressive and make stupid plays like going for the ball over the back, played smart and stayed in the game.”

PCHS jumped out to a 5-0 lead 13 seconds into the contest after Dexter was assessed a technical foul for dunking during pregame warmups.

Senior guard Mike Wharff made two free throws before the clock started, then hit the first of his three 3-pointers in the first quarter to get the Pirates off to a great start.

“That’s the first time that’s happened to me,” said Murray. “We got called for a technical foul for dunking during warmups, and we don’t have anybody on our team who can dunk. That’s the fact of the matter. We’ve got nobody on our team who can dunk, so I’m not sure exactly what happened and I’ve got not control over that, but we spent the whole first quarter digging out.”

Dexter center Steve Robinson added 11 points and six rebounds.

PIRATES 44, TIGERS 41

Piscataquis (15-1) Dexter (9-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Burdin 4 7 11 16 19 A.Wodmn 3 6 8

Douglass 0 0 0 0 0 Spizuoco 1 2

Martell 0 0 0 0 0 Beatham 3 12 7

Ja.Robinsn 0 0 0 0 0 Leal 2 6 9

Je.Robinsn 0 0 0 0 0 Robinson 5 11

Russell 0 0 0 0 0 Peirce 0 1 1

Tracy 3 7 1 2 9 Cote 1 3 3

Wharff 3 12 2 2 11

Zimmermn 0 1 0 0 0

London 0 4 3 4 3

Lovell 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 11 32 17 24 44 Totals 15 36 14 41

Piscataquis 12 15 27 44

Dexter 10 18 31 41

3-pt. goals – Piscataquis (5-10): Wharff 3-6, Tracy 2-4; Dexter (2-8): A. Woodman 1-2, Leal 1-2, Beatham 0-4

Attendance: 600 (est.)