BANGOR—-The Ellsworth Eagles used a 21-point, eight-rebound effort from Chance Mercier and a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double from Hunter Curtis to defeat the Old Town Coyotes 55-47 in the Class B North Boys Semifinals on Wednesday evening at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. The Eagles advance to play the Red Riots of Orono, who beat the John Bapst Crusaders earlier in the night, in the Class B North Boys Finals on Saturday at 3:45.
The Coyotes opened the game with a 5-0 lead as the Ellsworth offense struggled to get going early. One free-throw each for Isaac Hayes and Gabe Gifford, along with a three from Gifford, put Old Town ahead. The Eagles didn’t take long to answer, as they went on a 13-0 run of their own that saw Mercier score seven points during the stretch. Grayson Thibeault, of the Coyotes, and Mercier traded three-pointers to end the first period to make the score 16-8 Ellsworth.
The second quarter saw Old Town fight its way back into the game. After Brett Bragdon opened the quarter with a basket for Ellsworth, the Coyotes responded by going on a 14-4 run to tie the game at 22-22. During the run, Emmitt Byther recorded four points, while Gifford and Thibeault each scored three, and Renato Fernandes and Braydon Brown both tallied two points. After a free-throw split for both teams, Michael Harris would put the Eagles up 25-23 going into the halftime break.
A back and forth third quarter saw the Eagles gain a point on their halftime lead, as they led 41-38 going into the final period. Mercier and Curtis each added three baskets during the quarter for the Eagles, in addition to one basket by Michael Palmer, while the Coyotes used balanced scoring to stay in-reach of the game, as five different players recorded at least one made field-goal in the frame.
Ellsworth used a 12-6 scoring run to start the fourth quarter and break the game open. An Eamon MacDonald three, followed by a seven straight points by Curtis, and a layup by Miles Palmer helped the Eagles pull away during the stretch. The Eagles controlled the ball and put the game away to advance to the Northern Maine Class B Finals.
In addition to Mercier’s 21 points and eight rebounds and Curtis’s 16 points and 13 boards, Gage Hardy added six points for the Eagles. Harris and MacDonald recorded three points each, and Bragdon, Miles Palmer, and Michael Palmer all got into the scoring column with two points each.
For the Coyotes, Gifford and Thibeault recorded 12 points each to lead the way. Emmitt Byther scored eight points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Braydon Brown and Renato Fernandes added seven and five points respectively. Carson Ellis tallied one basket for two points and Isaac Hayes put in a foul shot for one point to round out the scoring for Old Town.
Written by Zak Mills
