LINCOLN – Preliminary-round games were full of stressful moments for Derek Libbey during his first three years with the Mattanawcook Academy boys basketball team.

An overtime loss to Schenck of East Millinocket as a freshman, an overtime win over Camden Hills of Rockport as a sophomore and a come-from-behind two-point victory over John Bapst of Bangor in last year’s playoff round left the senior guard with his fair share of angst as the fifth-seeded Lynx prepared to host No. 12 Belfast on Thursday night.

There was no need to worry.

Backcourt mate Brady Vose scored 23 points, and Libbey scored 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter as Mattanawcook pulled away to a 69-40 victory.

“This is my last game for Mattanawcook in this gym after four years,” said Libbey, “so it’s definitely a big deal for me to come out and get a win tonight.”

Mattanawcook has little time to rest, as coach Rick Sinclair’s club will face No. 4 Caribou in a regional quarterfinal Saturday morning at the Bangor Auditorium. MA defeated the Vikings 63-58 at Caribou last Dec. 21 in their only previous meeting this season.

Belfast ends its season with a 10-9 record.

These teams didn’t know that much about each other coming into the game, with Mattanawcook in the Big East Conference and Belfast representing the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

But one defensive adjustment changed the game’s momentum, as Mattanawcook switched from man-to-man to a 1-2-2 zone after the teams had played to a 7-7 tie through the game’s first five minutes.

“We knew they had a couple of shooters, but it wasn’t necessarily their strength,” said Sinclair. “They were more of a mid-range team so we wanted to push them out a little more on the floor, and it worked to some extent.”

The Lynx then held Belfast to just one field goal over the next seven minutes, and Vose scored eight points during that stretch to spark a 15-3 run good for a 22-10 MA lead midway through the second quarter.

“Playing zone has just been a great factor for us this year,” said Vose, a junior. “We just come out and play really hard on defense, because defense comes first before anything else and that’s been what’s winning us the games.”

Belfast crept within 27-19 by intermission, but Mattanawcook then took control with a 14-0 run to open the second half.

Libbey was the catalyst, opening the third quarter with a runner after teammate Jake Smith had grabbed an offensive rebound, and following up a feed to Vose for a 3-pointer with four straight baskets – including a 3 of his own – to give the Lynx a 41-19 lead with 4:06 remaining in the period.

“It’s just whatever the defense gives me,” said Libbey, who also contributed seven assists and six rebounds on the night. “If I feel like I can get my shot off and it’s a good shot, I’m going to shoot it. If I feel like I can set my teammates up for a good shot, that’s what’s going to happen. Whatever’s best for the team.”

Two 3-pointers by Belfast’s Ben Philbrook did help close the gap to 44-29 by the end of the period, but MA ran off the first 12 points of the fourth to put the game away. Smith scored twice during that stretch, while Vose added a leaner from the lane and a 3-pointer off an assist from Smith as the Lynx took command at 56-29 with 4:49 left.

“I thought the run to start the third quarter was a real big key for us,” said Sinclair. “We always try to talk about making the other team call the first timeout in the second half, and Brady hit a big shot and Lib hit a couple of big shots to stretch that lead out.

“Once you’ve got that you can sit in that 1-2-2 a little more and make them shoot it from a long ways away.”

Senior center Tyler White added 10 points – including 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter – and seven rebounds for Mattanawcook, while Smith finished with nine points, all in the second half.

Senior guard Jake Arthers led Belfast with seven points, while senior forward Ben Felton had six points and 10 rebounds and Philbrook and junior center Jim Davis also scored six points each.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

LYNX 69, LIONS 40

Belfast (10-9) Mattanawcook (15-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

LaCivita 0 0 0 0 0 Cahill 0 0 0

Drinkwater 0 1 0 0 0 Laird 1 1 3

Arthers 2 8 1 2 7 Campbell 0 0

Benjamin 1 9 1 4 4 Libbey 6 16 12 22

Philbrook 2 6 0 0 6 Vose 6 12 23

Bernosky 0 0 0 0 0 Smith 3 5 9

Riorda 0 1 0 1 0 White 5 6 10

Martens 0 3 2 2 2 Hanningtn 0 0

Ja. Davis 2 4 0 0 5 McKinnon 1 2

Felton 3 11 0 0 6 Langevin 0 0

Lehman 0 1 0 2 0 Hanscom 0 0 0

Murphy 2 7 0 0 4 Bernier 0 0 0

Ji. Davis 3 8 0 2 6

Totals 15 59 4 13 40 Totals 22 44 18 27 69

Belfast 9 19 29 40

Mattanawcook 17 27 44 69

3-pt. goals – Belfast (6-17): Philbrook 2-2, Arthers 2-6, Benjamin 1-4, Ja. Davis 1-1, Martens 0-1, Felton 0-2; Mattanawcook (7-16): Vose 4-6, Libbey 2-7, Laird 1-1, Campbell 0-1, Smith 0-1

Attendance: 450 (est.)