BANGOR- The defending state champion Southern Aroostook boys basketball team put three players in double figures, and seven in the scorebook on Monday afternoon in pulling away from Jonesport-Beals for a 64-24 Maine Principals’ Association Class D quarterfinal win at the Cross Insurance Center.
Southern Aroostook led from start to finish, and a very slow moving first quarter with 11 fouls called in the first six minutes had the Warriors up 15-6 behind a combined nine points from Graham Siltz and Trafton Russell. Jonesport-Beals got back into the game when they scored the first seven points of the second on a three point play by Garrett Libby and baskets from Brevan Kenney and Damon Beal to slice the deficit to 15-13. Southern Aroostook though ran off eight straight points before the half including a pair of three-pointers by Ethan Collier for a 23-13 advantage. They started the third quarter on a 19-2 spurt (27-2 overall) to go up by 27 and put it away. Royals senior guard Damon Beal scored a basket 1:34 into that third period going over 1,000 career points.
Buddy Porter led Southern Aroostook with 16 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Dylan Burpee added 15 points and five rebounds, while Siltz had a double double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Also scoring for the 19-0 Warriors was Trafton Russell with nine points, Collier with eight points and six rebounds, and Lincoln Hardy along with Richard Chambers with two points a piece. They’ll play Bangor Christian in a semifinal game that is scheduled for Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Damon Beal finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss for Jonesport-Beals, while Kenney had eight points and Libby had three as the Royals end their season at 9-11.
Recap/photos by Chris Lessner/Videos by Zach White
