By Pete Warner, Special to the BDN
There were no mysteries when Bangor Christian and Stearns of Millinocket hooked up for Saturday’s Class D North boys basketball quarterfinal.
The two teams met twice during the regular season and the Patriots won both games handily. Bangor Christian again exhibited its aggressive defense, crisp ball movement and scoring balance en route to a 66-36 victory over the Minutemen at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Coach Charlie Colson’s second-seeded Patriots (16-3) advance to play No. 3 Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook (13-6) in Wednesday’s 7 p.m. semifinal at the Cross Center.
Seventh-seeded Stearns closed out the season at 7-12.
“I really think that the hallmark of our team is our defense,” Colson said. “And pretty much all of our offense comes from our defense.”
Bangor Christian got off to a bit of a slow start, but complemented its perimeter shooting with the stout low-post play of Jesse Booker while building a 39-9 halftime advantage.
The Patriots caused plenty of problems for the Minutemen with intense man-to-man defense that resulted in numerous turnovers and effective transition scoring.
Stearns committed 19 first-half turnovers in the face of the Patriots’ defense and Bangor Christian scored the last 18 points of the quarter to end the suspense.
“Defense is our best offense, honestly,” said BC senior guard Jalen Reed, who made his presence felt at both ends. “That’s definitely the key to our game, when we can get out in transition.”
Booker, a sophomore, led the Patriots with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. His efforts were magnified as BC received only limited minutes from starting center Colton White, who has been hampered by a foot/ankle injury.
“He’s been big for us all year with rebounds and putbacks and making good moves,” Reed said of Booker.
Reed helped facilitate the Patriots’ efforts at both ends. He tossed in 17 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out six assists and made six steals.
Elliot Straubel contributed eight points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals, while Gabe Gahagan added eight points for the winners. Rajon Reed grabbed nine rebounds for BC, which outrebounded the Minutemen 44-22.
“I think we’re pretty confident in ourselves and in our team,” Jalen Reed said.
Senior guard Caleb Shearer led the way for Stearns with 12 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots and Caden Raymond posted nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.
The Minutemen’s turnovers and rebounding deficit were simply too much to overcome.