Following a back-and-forth battle of four and five seeds, the Bangor Christian Patriots defeated the Easton Bears 63-55 in their Class D North boys quarterfinal matchup on Monday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Easily one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far, each side battled back to tie the game on numerous occasions, with momentum swings that sent shockwaves across the court.
Conrad Straubel led the way for Bangor Christian with a commanding 20-point performance, only missing once from the field.
Teammate Jalen Reed was seemingly everywhere, reeling in four steals and adding two blocks. Reed dropped 17 points on the Bears.
Jason Libby was nearly perfect under the basket, and managed to score 14 of his own points to help carry the Patriots to the finish.
On the other side of the ball, Easton’s Owen Sweeney was the heart and soul of the Bears’ victory hopes. Time and time again, Sweeney created space for himself or drove to the rack, making something happen. The guard nailed a few clutch threes, and finished the day on a respectful 7-for-11 shooting mark with 17 points.
Ultimately, Sweeney’s efforts fell flat as Bangor Christian was able to advance to the next round and will take on the winner of Southern Aroostook and Jonesport-Beals. Easton finishes the season at 12-7.
Bangor Christian head coach Charlie Colson admitted it was “difficult” with the fight the Bears had, but praised his team’s ability to respond to adversity late in the game.
“During the foul shots I said we need to keep our composure, and we did.”
