Fans at the Cross Insurance Center were treated to a brilliant individual performance on Saturday as Machias senior Shane Feeney scored 37 points to propel the Bulldogs to a 73-50 win over the Wisdom Pioneers in a Class D North boys quarterfinal.
The second-seeded Bulldogs, who entered the game at 14-4, took to a physical style of basketball all night. Feeney scored most of his points in the paint, and grabbed plenty of boards to give his team more looks at the net. Ethan Foss scored 16 for the Bulldogs, including two 3-pointers.
The seventh-seeded Wisdom Pioneers, who entered the game at 11-8, focused their approach around 3-point shooting. Dominick Gendreau scored five 3-pointers on the night for 15 total points, while Camden Pelletier led the way for Wisdom with 18 points.
While the final score may not indicate a close game, Wisdom finished the first quarter within two points of the Goliath Bulldogs thanks to the team’s quick and scrappy distance shooting.
Wisdom’s aggressive play in the first quarter forced Machias coach James Getchell to rethink his game plan.
“We kinda changed our defense a little bit. Gendreau was killing us there, had four threes in that little span” Getchell said.
“In the second, we put someone on him all the time, and pretty much took him out of that game.”
Coach Getchell was also impressed with Feeney’s individual performance.
“Shane’s one of the best players I’ve had. I’ve had a lot of good ones at Machias. He dominated the glass.”
Machias will go on to face the third-seeded Schenck Wolverines on Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Cross Insurance Center.
