The Eagles’ Reece Dannenberg, left, and Isaac Wardwell scramble against Calais on their way to a quarterfinal victory February 19 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Photos by Anne Berleant
BANGOR—The George Steven Academy Eagles (17-3) cruised to victory February 19 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor in a quarterfinal match up against #11 Calais (7-13).
Sophomore Andrew Szwez showed why the Eagles intimidate with back-to-back three-pointers in the first 80 seconds, and a third one a minute later, after senior Isaac Wardwell put GSA on the scoreboard with a layup off the tipoff. GSA led 11-0 until the Calais Blue Devils scored two to get on the board three minutes in.
The Eagles led at the end of the first quarter 15-9, and extended their lead to 27-14 in the second quarter. They headed into the final quarter ahead 46-25 for a 73-37 final score.
“Everyone had specific jobs to do and executed them well,” Coach Dwayne Carter said. “Our defense was key to the win and coming out confident and strong right off the tip was the game plan, as we would use our tournament experience as an advantage. Calais had not been to the Cross Center in four years so that we wanted to take advantage of.”
Szwez and Wardwell led GSA with 21 and 18 points, respectively, while senior Reece Dannenberg scored 12 and senior Percy Zentz had eight.
Senior Tanner Ashley scored six points off two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, while sophomore Michael Moon scored two points off a behind-the-back lay up that brought the GSA crowd to its feet. Junior captain Caden Mattson scored two points while leading the Eagles defense, and freshman Andrew Rideout scored four in the final two minutes of the game.
The win moved the Eagles into a semifinal against second-seed Mattanawcook Academy (16-3), a match up that looks to be very competitive—the two teams split their regular season games, with the Lynx winning 55-53 on February 5.
Carter identified the keys to a semifinal victory: “We need to continue to play intense defense, rebound and make good decisions offensively, taking advantage of our strengths and exploiting MA’s weaknesses. We need to keep MA off balance with our defense. We need to limit their three-point shooting and control them crashing the boards.”
The Eagles will play Mattanawcook back at the Cross Insurance Center on Friday, February 22, with a 2:05 p.m. tipoff.
Reece Dannenberg goes for a lay up.
Junior Caden Mattson works the Eagles offense.
Senior Percy Zentz moves the ball down court.
High scorer Andrew Szwez moves through the Calais defense.
Coach Dwayne Carter counsels his team during a time out.
Isaac Wardwell goes for a jump shot.