BANGOR – As Bill McAvoy’s second-seeded Katahdin boys squad was pulling away for a 69-51 victory over No. 11 Bangor Christian team in Thursday afternoon’s Eastern Maine Class D semifinal game, they had a feeling of d?j? vu.

Two years ago, it was their team which was the youthful, upset-minded team in need of some tough tournament experience. Now the Cougars of Sherman Station who are the wily veterans, and that experience borne of past tourney losses was evident as they pulled away from a young and talented Patriots squad.

“They’re gonna be here for a few years. They’re gonna be powerhouse in two years like we’ve become,” said senior guard Brandon McCarthy, who led the Cougars with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists – all game-bests. “I’m kind of glad I’m graduating so I don’t have to see them anymore.”

The 16-2 Cougars, the defending Eastern Maine champs, earned a return trip to Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game against the winner of Thursday night’s East Grand-Woodland game using a patient, ball-control offense in the last three minutes to turn a 53-49 lead into an 18-point victory.

The Cougars hit 10 of 13 free throws in the last 126 seconds to fuel a deciding 13-0 run.

McCarthy’s heroics aside, Chris Robinson turned in a key effort. Katahdin’s 6-foot-4 senior center had the unenviable task of guarding 6-5 center Pat McLeary, a major force for the Patriots during their tournament upset run.

Robinson (six boards, three steals, two blocks) continually fronted and harassed McLeary, who still managed 16 points and seven boards, and held him without a hoop in the final quarter despite second half foul trouble. Robinson, who picked up his third foul late in the third and fourth 40 seconds into the fourth, was spelled by 6-0 reserve Doug Atkinson and 6-3 starter Dan Cullen (both forwards) until he returned with 4:56 to play.

The Cougars also benefited from a great overall rebounding effort as four players finished with four or more rebounds as Katahdin edged the Pats 37-33 on the boards.

Another key was Katahdin’s man-to-man pressure defense, which helped for 19 Pats turnovers while making it difficult for BC’s guards to get the ball inside.

“McLeary has really improved and their guards scared the life out of me because I know how quick they are,” said McAvoy. “I didn’t want us thinking about their pressure. I wanted them to think about us, so we went with the pressure.”

The Pats shot just 32.1 percent from the floor for the game. Sophomore guard David Chrisos (38 percent) led BC and scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, but his assists fell from four in the first to one in the second thanks to Katahdin’s stubborn defense.

Cullen finished with 13 points and seven boards for the Cougars while BC freshman guard Josh Madden was solid with 11 points and five rebounds.

Cougars 69, Patriots 51

Bangor Christian (9-13) Katahdin boys (17-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Jeskey 1 1 0 0 2 Perry 1 2 3

Madden 4 12 0 0 11 Robinson 3 7

Patterson 0 0 0 0 0 McCarthy 11 21 10 14 33

Conley 0 4 0 0 0 Atkinson 2 4

Tyree 1 6 0 0 2 McNally 1 1 2

Patterson 0 1 2 2 2 T.Rodgerson 0 1

Chrisos 5 13 4 5 16 Cullen 6 12 13

Bradford 0 2 0 0 0 Heath 0 0 0

Doten 0 1 0 0 0 Cyr 1 1 2

Sobey 1 2 0 0 2 Kelley 1 4 4

McLeary 5 11 6 7 16 D.Rodgerson 0 0

Totals 17 53 12 14 51 Totals 26 53 15 23 69

Bangor Christian 15 27 38 51

Katahdin 17 32 49 69

3-pt. goals: Bangor Christian (5-22): Madden 3-8, Chrisos 2-8, Bradford 0-2, Conley 0-4; Katahdin (2-6): McCarthy 1-2, Robinson 1-3, Perry 0-1