BANGOR, Me- Taylor Schildroth had 29 points, 19 in first half to help George Stevens build a big lead, and Max Mattson added a double double with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks to help the Eagles win the Class C North regional title with a 62-39 win over Fort Fairfield Saturday night at the Cross Insurance Center.
GSA (20-1) ran out quickly, building a 7-0 lead just over a minute into the opening quarter. The Eagles got 14 from Schildroth in the opening eight minutes on their way to a 24 point first period to make it 24-11 at the end of the first.
Five more from Schildroth and seven points for Mattson in the second quarter allowed GSA to go up by as many as 25 at 36-11. The Eagles led 38-15 at the half.
GSA continued to hold a big advantage in the third, leading anywhere from 16-25 points. Schildroth added eight in the quarter, as the Eagles put things on cruise control the rest of the way. The lead would grow to as many as 30 points in the final quarter as the Eagles won their third straight regional championship. GSA will attempt to also win a third straight state title next Saturday.
Fort Fairfield finishes their season with a record of 18-3. The Tigers were led by Isaac Cyr who had 14 points. Jared Harvey added seven points and six rebounds. Liam McNamee chipped in six points and four rebounds.
Along with Schildroth and Mattson, GSA got eight points from Percy Zentz. Caden Mattson also chipped in with six points. George Stevens will face Class C South champion Hall-Dale next Saturday night at 8:45 p.m. in Augusta for the state championship.
Schildroth after the game said, “I think it all starts with defense, we make a plan for every team. Defense is always a start, we mix it up well, we go half court, full court, zone, man, and we just try to get people to turn it over and we get alot of fast break layups. Even when our shots weren’t falling, and I know what NBA players complain about with the back to back and being tired, cause we were tired and our shots weren’t falling and we got alot of fast break points off good defense. They only got 39 tonight, so we know if we hold teams to 30s and 40s we got a good chance to win.”
Talking about his senior class who played their final game at the Cross Insurance Center, coach Dwayne Carter said, “As freshman they lost to Orono and that’s one of the only losses we’ve had in the last three years, we’ve had three now. We didn’t talk about this being their last game on this floor no matter what, cause I didn’t want them to think about it. But to win it their sophomore, junior, and senior years and win it on this floor was really awesome. They’re just a really special group of kids. And the seniors, there is noone better. We have done so much together, besides basketball too”.
FTF 11 4 14 10- 39
GSA 24 14 16 8- 62
Three point goals: Fort Fairfield- Cyr 2, McNamee, Watson, Griffeth GSA- Schildroth 2, C. Mattson 2,
Free throws: Fort Fairfield 8-9 GSA 8-16
Turnovers: Fort Fairfield 18 GSA 10
