BANGOR- Taylor Schildroth had the one of the best games of his high school career on Saturday night at the Cross Insurance Center. And it couldn’t of come at a better time. The sophomore guard had 32 points to help lead the George Stevens Academy Eagles to a 55-43 win over Bucksport in the Class C Northern Maine championship game.
Bucksport controlled the better half of almost six minutes in the opening quarter. Two three-pointers and a jumpshot inside the arc from Tyler Pye and a Hayden Craig jumper made it 10-0 Golden Bucks just over four minutes in. Schildroth put GSA on the board with a basket almost six minutes into the game.
A Riley McLeod jumper for Bucksport made it 12-2 but then the Eagles took off. Back to back three-pointers by Beckett Slayton and Schildroth and then a floater in the lane from Schildroth cut the lead down to 12-10 at the end of the quarter.
Schildroth tied it early in the second but Bucksport would respond to the 10-0 Eagles run by running off a 7-2 surge of their own. A pair of free throws sandwiched around another three-pointer from Pye and a Craig bucket made it 19-12 Bucks. Schildroth scored the next seven points and tied the game at 19. Schildroth was the only scorer in the quarter for GSA. A late Pye layup restored the lead for Bucksport 21-19 at the half.
Schildroth was at it again in the third quarter. His driving layup in the lane gave GSA their first lead 23-21 about a minute in. When Schildroth cut down the lane for another basket and extended the Eagle lead to 30-23, he had scored 18 of the last 20 points for his team. Schildroth said after the game, “It’s all about the team, they recognized I was on and they were getting me the ball. That’s the magic of our team, if I wasn’t on and someone else was we would get them the ball”. Schildroth had 10 in the third quarter and GSA led 38-30 after 3.
The Eagles would lead by as many as 12 in the final quarter and also would knock down 11-17 from the line to help seal the win. Bucksport cut the lead down to nine a couple times in the final eight minutes but could get no closer.
Bucksport, who finishes their season 16-5 as the number three seed, they were led by Pye who had 20 points and five rebounds. McLeod finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Craig finished with six points.
For GSA, now 20-1 and winners of the North region as the number one seed, they got six points each from Slayton, Nick Szwez, and Jarrod Chase to go along with the big night for Schildroth. Szwez and Chase also had six rebounds a piece. Coach Dwayne Carter talked about his point guard after the win, “Taylor is really great. He is one of best players as far as I am concerned. He does so much for our team, he passes well, he sees the floor, he feeds people, he gets everyone involved. Which we really worked on this year, he is very unselfish. Tonight, he needed to take it to them and he did.”
George Stevens Academy will now play for the Class C state championship next Saturday, February 27th at 8:45 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center when they face South champion Waynflete.
