BANGOR- The George Stevens Academy Eagles built a 17 point lead early in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, and held off a strong rally by the Central Red Devils to escape with a 65-59 win in a Class C North boys semifinal game played at the Cross Insurance Center.
GSA never trailed, using a 9-2 first quarter run to take a 13-6 lead. The Eagles took a 15-9 advantage after eight minutes. The lead went to as many as nine in the second, and was a 29-23 lead at halftime thanks to a 10 point and 10 rebound first half effort from Bryce Schneider. Central after falling behind by 15 in the third quarter, would make a run late in the period. A basket by Bryce Burns, a three-pointer from Simon Allen, and then a three point play from Burns sliced it to 46-39 headed to the fourth. The Eagles then looked as if they’d pull away to start the final quarter. A 2-2 effort at the line by Schneider, two jumpers from Teague Smallidge, a basket from Azaiah Nanson, and two from the line by Sol Lorio made it a 10-0 run for a 56-39 lead. The Red Devils chipped away though as Allen (8) and Will Libby (5) scored 13 of the 20 points for Central in the final eight minutes. A steal and basket in the paint by Lucas Gustin capped off a 13-2 run making it 58-52 with 2:45 to play. Libby cut it all the way down to 60-56 with 1:15 left, but 3-4 from the line from Nanson and Smallidge and a breakway layup by Patrick Dagan iced the win.
Schneider led the way in the victory with 17 points and 16 rebounds. David Gadsby, playing for the first time since being injured back on February 9 against Bucksport, had 13 points. Dagan chipped in 12 points, and Smallidge contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles outrebounded the Red Devils 37-18. GSA shot 15-30 from the foul line. Allen led Central in the loss with 18 points, while Libby had 16. Burns also finished in double figures with 13 points, as the Red Devils as the #11 seed finish the season with a record of 12-9. George Stevens is now 17-2 and will play Dexter on Monday night at 7:45 for the Class C North regional title in Bangor.
CEN 9 14 16 20- 59
GSA 15 14 17 19- 65
