BANGOR, Maine- Brayden Bradbury scored a game high 22 points Tuesday afternoon as the top seeded Central Aroostook Panthers used a huge second quarter run to defeat the #9 Stearns Minutemen 72-48 in a Maine Principals’ Association Class C boys quarterfinal played at the Cross Insurance Center.
Stearns got off to a quick 5-0 lead on a Michael Clark basket and a three point play from Jacob Kowalski. The Minutemen took their largest lead of the game when Clark scored underneath again making it 15-8. Central Aroostook got a three-pointer from Josh Thomas to cut it to 15-11 after the opening eight minutes. After the Panthers cut it to just two early in the second, Kowalski hit a three-pointer to push it back to a six point Minutemen advantage. That is the point where the 15-4 Panthers would take over the lead for good. CAHS went on a 21-0 run to end the half, helped by eight points from Lucas Haines and six from Bradbury to take a 38-23 lead into halftime.
Stearns came out in the third quarter to score the first four points with both baskets by Bennett Dunstan to slice the margin to 11, but that is as close as they would get. Bradbury had eight more points in the period and the Panthers were comfortably in control 51-34 headed to the fourth. The lead would grow to as many as 25 in the final eight minutes on another Bradbury hoop.
Bradbury had eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals in addition to the game high in points in the win for CAHS. Thomas finished with 13 with three 3-pointers. Hayden Kingsbury and Haines both had eight points, with Kingsbury also grabbing seven rebounds. Josh Dahl also contributed five points, Jacob Carvell and Ethan Pryor had four each, Cody McCrum and Drew Belmain each had three, and Stetson Nicholas added a basket for two points. The Panthers had eight 3-pointers as a team and also outrebounded Stearns 27-19. They also shot 10-20 from the foul line.
Dunstan led Stearns with 13 points in the loss. Cole Kenyon had 11 points. Kowalski ended with nine points. Also chipping in was Elliot Shearer with six points, Clark with four, Gavin Darling and Aidan Sanders with two each, and Ethan Plourde with a free throw for one point. The Minutemen shot 5-7 from the foul line and end their season with a record of 10-10.
Central Aroostook will face George Stevens in a 7 p.m. semifinal game on Friday.
