BANGOR, Maine — Easton played the role of sleeping giant during the first half of Monday night’s Class D North boys basketball quarterfinal.
But once awakened, the Bears turned what had been steady play into a full-out rampage.
Junior forward Jake Flewelling poured in 10 of his game-high 26 points to spearhead a third-quarter offensive onslaught that carried top-seeded Easton to a 61-40 victory over Wisdom of St. Agatha at the Cross Insurance Center.
Coach Manny Martinez’s Bears (17-2) scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to take the lead for good, then pulled away in the fourth period.
Easton advances to face No. 4 Washburn (14-5) in Thursday’s 8:35 p.m. regional semifinal. Eighth-seeded Wisdom finishes the season at 9-11.
The Bears led only 28-25 when they started clicking offensively. Flewelling (7 rebounds) scored six straight points, the first on a drive and two others on low-post feeds, to start the decisive burst.
Logan Halvorson (14 points) then provided a perimeter presence with back-to-back 3-pointers and Flewelling added a nifty scoop shot from the paint to make it 42-25 with 1:38 to play in the third.
Easton, which received 12 points from Drew Sotomayor, was able to shut down the Pioneers with their aggressive man-to-man defense and was aggressive in transition.
Wisdom was game for a half, but was unable to stop the Bears’ inside scoring. Kodey Cyr connected for 17 points and Adam Pelletier posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Jack Guerrette added six points and nine rebounds for the Pioneers, ,who outrebounded Easton 32-26.
The Bears clung to a tenuous 26-23 lead at halftime.
Easton did an excellent job taking advantage of its frontcourt height by working the ball to the low post and to the baseline for high percentage shots.
The Bears shot 52 percent (12-for-23) from the floor but were hampered by 10 turnovers against the Pioneers’ active 1-3-1 zone defense.
Wisdom kept ball pressure on the wings and was still able to provide some resistance with double-teams in the post, although Flewelling and Doody combined for 15 points, most from the paint.
After making a handful of early turnovers, the Pioneers were able to effectively negotiate the 1-2-2 half-court and three-quarter-court pressure applied early by Easton. The Bears switched into man-to-man late in the first quarter and stuck with it for the remainder of the half.
Wisdom turned the ball over 11 times, but remained aggressive in attacking the basket off the dribble. Cyr had the hot hand as he scored 11 of his 13 first-half points in the opening period.