The top-ranked Machias Bulldogs took care of business to start their Class D North boys basketball tournament, cruising late to beat Central Aroostook 71-46 in Bangor on Monday.
No. 8 Central Aroostook put up a spirited fight early and was only trailing by 1 point over the first quarter. But the powerful Bulldogs poured it on in the second half to run away with the quarterfinal victory.
Senior guard Liam O’Connor led the way for Machias and its balanced offensive attack with 17 points, followed by 15 from junior guard Dallas Richardson. Senior center and co-caption Landon Barrett had 13.
Barrett said the Bulldogs needed the statement win after getting upset early in last year’s tournament.
“I’ve never won a game here in Bangor, so I think this could really get us rolling,” Barrett said.
The co-captain said coach Chad Fitzsimmons emphasizes defense, and that will be key moving forward in the tournament.
Fellow co-captain Mickey Fitzsimmons typically carries a lot of the scoring responsibilities for Machias, but he was held to 5 points on Monday. He helped in other ways by leading the Bulldogs in assists with 7 and rebounds with 6.
“They played good D,” the senior point guard said about Central Aroostook before crediting his teammates. “Just trying to dish it out to my teammates and get them involved. And they played great today.”
The Bulldogs earned their top spot in the Class D North regional tournament with a nearly perfect regular season, only dropping one game to Class C contender Fort Kent. They kept their season rolling with another strong performance on Monday.
“I thought the first quarter, we had some nerves,” coach Fitzsimmons said after the win. “We missed some easy shots that we usually make. Once we got up tempo and once got our rhythm, we started to hit some open shots.”
The coach noted that the Central Aroostook defense put a lot of focus on Mickey Fitzsimmons, though that is something the Bulldogs are used to.
“We have some guys that can step up and take the scoring role,” Fitzsimmons said.