BANGOR, Maine — A strong all-around performance lifted the top-ranked Fort Kent boys to a 59-39 victory over No. 8 Calais Tuesday in a Class C North quarterfinal.
The Warriors (19-1) advance to the Class C North semifinals, 7 p.m. Friday at the Cross Insurance Center against No. 4 Dexter, which beat No. 5 Lee Academy, 67-39.
The dynamic duo of Austin Delisle and Ethan Daigle combined for 53 of Fort Kent’s 59 points. Delisle connected for 10 field goals and made 8 of 13 free throws, for 28 points, while Daigle connected for seven 3-pointers, and made 4 of 6 foul shots, for 25 points.
Drew Deschaine added three points, while Ethan Raymond had two and Evan Deschaine chipped in one.
The Warriors bolted to a quick 17-9 lead to end the first quarter, thanks to three Daigle 3-pointers, but that lead quickly evaporated in the second quarter as Calais went on a 9-0 run to start the period to seize an 18-17 lead.
Calais managed to do a lot of its scoring from offensive putbacks and shots from the baseline.
“We wanted to control the boards, but had a real hard time doing that in the first half,” Fort Kent coach Chad Cyr said. “We were hoping to play a little more disciplined than we did offensively, so we have some stuff to work on going into the next game.”
The two squads traded leads twice more in the second quarter before the Warriors finished out the half with an impressive 10-3 run to take a 35-25 lead into the break. During that run, it was all Delisle as the senior forward scored several layups and converted an offensive rebound at the buzzer.
“The fight, grit and heart was there for sure tonight,” coach Cyr said. “These guys battle and battle and never give up. My hat is off to Calais, though, they are a great team.”
The semifinal will feature a rematch of the 2020 matchup between Fort Kent and Dexter, a game the Tigers won 55-52.
“Dexter is a good club for sure, but we are looking to get a bit of revenge,” coach Cyr said.
For the Blue Devils, Jace Cook tossed in 11 points, while Jeremy Turner added seven points; Jacob Sockabasin and Evan Gillespie both had six; Kaden Small, five; and Alex Richard and Matt Dana each had two.
Calais ends its season with a 10-9 record.
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Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Austin Delisle’s name. It has been corrected.