BANGOR, Maine — After watching a 12-point first-quarter lead vaporize in the second quarter, the Rockland boys basketball team came out with a different approach in the second half.
The third-seeded Tigers used their speed, size and athleticism on both ends of the floor to wear down No. 2 Presque Isle in the second half, and coach Mike Breen’s club used a 20-7 third-quarter burst to pull away for a 57-39 Class B semifinal victory at the Bangor Auditorium Wednesday night.
Rockland improves to 17-5 and advances to Saturday’s 3:35 p.m. regional championship game against top-seeded Camden Hills, a 60-36 winner over No. 4 Hermon on Friday night.
The Wildcats wrap up a fine season at 18-3.
Rockland came out firing early on, with Teel Ilvonen scoring eight first-quarter points as the Tigers built an 18-6 lead.
But free-throw shooting and aggressive defense enabled the Wildcats to claw back into it, as PI went 10-for-15 from the line in the second quarter and held the Tigers to one field goal to take a 24-22 halftime lead.
“We came out hot in the first quarter, hit a few three’s then we started to live by it,” Breen said. “We were reaching on defense, they were in the double bonus most of the second quarter and got most of their points from the foul line.”
The Wildcats, however, spent most of their energy climbing back to catch the Tigers, and could not sustain that momentum through the final 16 minutes, as coach Tim Prescott’s club scored only 15 second-half points to 35 for the Tigers.
“We haven’t come from behind very much this year, this is physically probably the strongest team we’ve played,” said Prescott. “I think we spent a lot of energy in the beginning of the game. I believe [Rockland] played very good defensively.”
A baseline jumper by Dylan Mecklin with 1:38 to play in the third jumpstarted a 12-0 run that broke the game open in Rockland’s favor.
Chris Nolan, who led the Tigers’ balanced offense with 19 points, scored 10 of them in the second half.
Nolan was 12-12 from the foul line; Ilvonen finished with 12 points and Nick Baudanza 10 for the Tigers, who played PI’s Russ Mortland and Dillon Kingsbury tough all night, holding them to six points apiece.
“We were pretty concerned about Mortland, he’s a nice player can do a lot of nice things,” said Breen.
Baudanza did a solid job defensively on Mortland, denying him any open looks at the basket.
“They didn’t give us one single easy basket all day,” Prescott said.
With their defense clicking, the Tigers used their quickness to penetrate to the basket more after the break as opposed to settling for perimeter shots.
Nate Ackerson was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 10 points while Oliver Zubrick tallied seven.
In the nightcap, Camden Hills showed why it is undefeated this season.
Taking full advantage of the fact their five starters were, on the average, four inches taller than the starting lineup for the Hermon Hawks, 6-foot-5 sophomore center Tyler McFarland and his mates controlled the boards en route to an impressive triumph.
Not only did the Windjammers outrebound the Hawks 39-24, they also created a high tempo with their stifling full-court zone trap and that led to numerous Hermon turnovers.
Camden Hills (20-0) blocked or altered several Hawk shots thanks to that height advantage and their exceptional athleticism.
“They’re the tallest and strongest team we’ve faced all year,” said Hermon senior guard Kevin Tarr, who had a team-high 13 points. “They’re a very well-rounded team.”
“We used our inside-outside game. And we rebounded well,” said McFarland, who finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds, both game-highs.
“As a shooter, it’s good to know if you miss, you’ve got guys who can get offensive rebounds. It gives you a lot of confidence,” said sophomore guard Graham Safford, who tossed in 13 points and had four steals.
The Windjammers distanced themselves from the hardworking Hawks with a 16-7 spurt in the second quarter that built a 30-14 halftime lead.
Gordon Fischer had five points and two assists in the rally and McFarland had six points.
A 16-3 run in the third quarter, fueled by Safford’s two 3-pointers and assist, sewed up the win.
Fischer finished with nine points before suffering a slight injury in the fourth quarter and leaving the game. Kiefer Lammi contributed seven points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Andrew Ball had eight points and 12 rebounds for Hermon, which finished up at 16-5. Alex Pedersen had five rebounds.
