BANGOR- Micah Daigle had 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including a basket with 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to lift Fort Fairfield to a come from behind 52-50 Maine Principals’ Association Class C boys quarterfinal win over Woodland at the Cross Insurance Center on Tuesday night.
Woodland didn’t trail once until that final 23 seconds. Seven first quarter points by Brogan Brown had the Dragons up 10-4 early. Fort Fairfield got back even with six straight points, but Woodland regained a 14-10 advantage after the opening eight minutes. The Tigers fought back with a 12-8 second period and it was tied 22-22 at the halftime break. 10 points in the third quarter by Ethan Monk helped the Dragons go on a 15-4 run and build a 37-26 lead, as they scored 20 points in that eight minutes and held a 42-35 advantage heading to the fourth. Daigle then helped his team back into the game. After a short jumper that was misses by Monk with 1:25 to go, freshman Cayden Ala was fouled and hit 1-2 from the foul line to pull Fort Fairfield within 50-49 just 15 seconds later. Brown had a chance to extend the Woodland lead on a 1 and 1 at the line with 46 seconds remaining, but would miss the front end. That led to the Daigle basket down the right side of the lane that rolled into the basket and put the Tigers ahead for the first time. Monk on the other end had a good look in the closing seconds, but missed a jumper from just outside the foul line on the left wing and a putback was also no good as Daigle got the rebound and was fouled with just 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Daigle made the first free throw but missed the second. The Dragons got the rebound but didn’t have a chance to get up a shot as the buzzer sounded.
Daigle led the way in the win with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Ethan Willard added 14 points and six rebounds. Also scoring for Woodland was Ala with nine points and Blake and Brett Senal with three points a piece. Fort Fairfield (15-5), the #4 seed, advances to play either PVHS or Calais in a Friday semifinal. Woodland had three players in double figures in the loss. Monk had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Shain McIver added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Brown finished with 12 points. Reece Sabattus contributed eight points, and Jack Downing had one free throw for one point as the #5 Dragons end their season at 13-7.
Recap by Chris Lessner/Photos by Anthony DelMonaco/Videos by Zach White and Marc Calnan
