After a back-and-forth first quarter, No. 3 Schenck dominated both offensively and defensively 60-39 over No. 6 Katahdin in the Class D North quarterfinals on Saturday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
While the first quarter was an evenly matched game, it was all Schenck from that point on as they put on a defensive clinic holding Katahdin to just six points in the second quarter and seven in the third.
With this win, Schenck advances to the Class D North semifinals to face the winner of the #2 Machias vs. #7 Wisdom game on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m. back at the Cross Insurance Center.
“I’m happy with our defensive effort out there today,” Schenck head coach Aaron Hutchins said after the game. “We wanted to mix up our defense as much as possible, and we got a lot of transition baskets.”
Junior center Brady McAvoy led Schenck in scoring with 18 points as he was a force down low, making multiple putback shots, and it seemed Katahdin had no answer for him.
Senior center/forward Ryan Ingalls was second with 16 points. While McAvoy did most of his work down low, Ingalls dominated the outside game making three 3-pointers.
Senior guard Grady Ritchie led Katahdin in scoring with 10 points and was the only player to make multiple jump shots in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Samuel Boone and senior forward Kyle McNally added eight points apiece.
“Schenck is an incredible team,” Katahdin’s head coach Greg Bivighouse said after the game. “Our team improved a lot throughout the season, and yeah, we gave it a try, but Schenck is a good team and good luck to them.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Katahdin’s Sam Boone in a photo caption. It has been updated.