BANGOR, Maine — When you’re the defending state Class B basketball champion facing its first tourney action of the year, there are a few tried-and-true ways to make a dynamic first impression.
Among those: Come out of the gate firing like the No. 2 Mount Desert Island boys did on Saturday morning, making the second half of the game essentially a victory lap.
[ Live blog: Maine high school basketball tournament 2018 ]
The Trojans made 15 of their first 21 shots from the floor (71 percent in the first half), including five straight 3-pointers, en route to a 79-38 whitewashing of Washington Academy of East Machias in a Class B North quarterfinal.
The Trojans advance to a Wednesday 7:05 p.m. semifinal against No. 3 Presque Isle.
In all fairness, coach Justin Norwood’s MDI squad did struggle for a short portion of Saturday’s game, falling behind the Raiders 8-3 in the early going. A 19-0 scoring binge that stretched over seven minutes of the first and second quarters ended that early suspense, and set the tone for the rest of the game.
[ 2018 Maine high school basketball tournament brackets ]
“I think our kids just took good shots, took the shots we’ve taken all year, obviously they all shot it well,” Norwood said. “You get the shots that you’ve seen all year long and everyone happens to be on fire, and that’s what you get.”
The Trojans were cooly efficient on offense, taking aim from 3-point range early and attacking the hoop after that. The Raiders never found an answer for that combination, and four Trojan scorers reached double figures.
Senior point guard Andrew Phelps paced a well-rounded offense for the Trojans with 19 points and five assists. Derek Collin added 14 points while Finn McConomy added four 3-pointers (all in the first half) for 12 points. Drew Shea pitched in with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting while Owen Mild provided a spark off the bench with seven points and six rebounds.
[ The latest schedule and scores from the Maine high school basketball tournament ]
MDI finished the game shooting 57 percent from the field (29 for 51), and burned the nets from the perimeter (9 for 14, 75 percent).
The Raiders finish their season 14-6. They were led by Milan Filipovich (9 points) and Brandon Allard (8 points).
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