No. 1 Ellsworth (20-0) was pushed to the brink in Wednesday’s B North semifinal but was able to hang on to a 60-55 victory over No. 4 Old Town (17-3) at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The win puts the Eagles into the B North boys basketball final on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. against No. 3 Orono (17-3), a rematch of last year’s B North final in which Ellsworth came out victorious.
“Everyone played a part in it and shout out to my guys, they’re my heroes,” Ellsworth’s Chance Mercier said after the win. “We’re trying to get a state championship.”
Old Town jumped out to a 10-2 run to begin the fourth to pull within 50-47 with four minutes left and suddenly the Coyotes were within striking distance.
Old Town also upped the defense on Mercier, holding him scoreless in the quarter until a floater was made with 3:42 to play to make it 52-47. The Big East Conference boys basketball player of the year then scored another layup to push the lead to seven.
“They got a little tighter on him but in the first half they were tight on him and he was just making shots,” Ellsworth coach Peter Austin said. “The only thing that could cool him off was halftime, and it did. It cooled him off a little bit and they got a little more physical and it worked. We still overcame it. He’s a great player and I am glad he’s on our team.”
Mercier finished with a game-high 38 points.
With one minute to play, Old Town’s Gabriel Gifford drilled two free throws, then on the next Coyotes possession Brown sank a pull-up 3-pointer from the right wing to pull Old Town within 58-55 with five seconds left.
Brown led Old Town with 17 points.
Mercier fumbled the in-bounds pass but Milkes Palmer grabbed the loose ball and got fouled, sinking both free throws and clinching the victory for the Eagles.
Mercier scored 25 in the first half to lead the Eagles to a 33-17 lead at the break. The star junior shot 10-for-11 from the field over the first two quarters and also scored Ellsworth’s first nine points.
“I was obviously nervous at the start of the game but I hit a couple shots and my teammates got me the ball and we fed off each other’s hotness,” Mercier said. “That’s probably the hottest I’ve ever been.”
Old Town’s Emmitt Byther scored six in the third, while teammates Braydon Brown and Brendan Mahanney each put in five to help the Coyotes to a 20-point third quarter. Still, with Mercier pouring in nine more points in the third, Old Town trailed 48-37.
Last year, Ellsworth beat Orono in the B North final 62-33. The game is still fresh in the minds of players and coaches from both teams.
“I think it’s going to be another great battle,” Austin said of the rematch with Orono. “We have our couple guys and they have their couple guys and we will see what happens. Hopefully our defense comes through, their defense was really good today and gave up 30-something points (31 points in a win over Presque Isle). We know their defense is good and hopefully we can get some transition points off them and they’re probably saying the same thing.”
