The No. 3 Southern Aroostook boys impressively began their quest for a third consecutive Class D state basketball title on Saturday, dominating No. 6 Jonesport-Beals 67-36 in the regional quarterfinals at the Cross Center in Bangor.
The Warriors scored the game’s first 11 points en route to a 38-24 halftime lead, and never trailed. With the victory, the two-time defending champs improved to 13-6 on the season, and will play the winner of No. 2 Bangor Christian and No. 7 Stearns at 7 pm., Wednesday, Feb. 21. Jonesport-Beals finished the season 12-8.
Right from tipoff, the Royals were on high alert whenever 1,000-point scorer Dylan Burpee touched the ball, so it took a team effort from Southern Aroostook to advance to the regional semifinals, with four different Warriors reaching double figures on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Lincoln Hardy led all scorers with 19 points — including the game’s first seven points and a total of three 3-pointers — while Burpee (three assists) and junior guard Ethan Collier (three offensive rebounds) tacked on 17 apiece. Junior guard Trafton Russell added 11 more for Southern Aroostook, knocking down six of the Warriors’ 14 made foul shots.
On defense, Burpee notched four steals and two blocks, and helped hold the Royals’ chief scorer in senior guard Brevan Kenney (22 points per game this season) to just 10 points and two assists. Junior guards Kaden Beal and Eli Peabody combined for 16 Royal points, and sophomore small forward James Brasted added four.
