Drake Weston swished a 3-pointer from the left corner at the halftime buzzer and was quickly mobbed by his teammates at halfcourt. The basket encapsulated how things went for the Warriors on Saturday, as they defeated No. 2 Machias 78-46 in the boys Class D North final.
No. 1 Southern Aroostook (21-0) will face the winner of No. 1 Forest Hills (17-3) and No. 2 Valley (13-7) in the D South final in the D final on Saturday, March 4. The Warriors will return to the D final to try and win their second championship in a row.
“I gotta tell you, it feels great,” Southern Aroostook coach Brett Russell said. “I am elated for the kids. Playing at the top spot is totally different, even at second place you don’t have the target, so this game was even more gratifying.”
Weston hit four 3-pointers in the first half and finished the first two quarters with 14 points. Dylan Burpee added 10 for the Warriors at half.
Russell said his team had been shooting behind the farthest 3-point line instead of the normal high school line and that the team worked on shooting as close as possible.
“It’s been a struggle as all of us know. We couldn’t hit a shot,” Russell said. “We relaxed in practice the last couple days and practiced ‘catch, step and shoot.’ Everyone starts behind that black line, and I told the boys to start at that black line and then catch, step and shoot, and we couldn’t miss.”
Machias struggled from the field early and mustered just five points in the first quarter.
“We worked on multiple defenses, and it seemed like we played five different defenses, and they just hit shots,” Machias coach James Getchell said. “Coming in we knew they’re a great team, and in games like this, whoever hits shots first is in a better spot, and we didn’t respond. They came out and shot well, and I give them all the credit in the world, and I hope they win the gold ball.”
Southern Aroostook extended its lead in the second, 39-14, and in the third started to hit 3s from all over the floor.
Weston and Burpee took turns draining triples in the third quarter, with the duo hitting five total in the frame. After three quarters, Weston had six 3-pointers and Burpee five. The record in a Class D playoff game is eight, made by Mitchell Worcester of Washburn in 2011.
Burpee finished with 25 points, while Weston added 22 in the victory.
It felt great, and even though we were up by a lot it felt amazing to finally hit some shots,” Burpee said.
Weston had struggled in the Warriors’ previous tournament games but started knocking down shots on Saturday.
“I see it a lot during the year. He can hit big shots,” Russell said of Weston. “He plays great defense, but down here you can struggle. I think it was because he was way behind that 3-point line, and today he was closer. He’s a capable young man.”
The Warriors took a 58-26 lead into the fourth quarter where Graham Siltz of Southern Aroostook took over offensively. Siltz scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth.
Shane Feeney scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half to pace the Bulldogs. Kason Ferguson also scored 12.
“We were just focused on Shane,” Burpee said. “They’re all good shooters, and they have a couple shooters, but the plan was for me to guard Shane full court, and when he got to the post, have Graham guard him. We got out with the win.”