DEER ISLE- The Deer Isle-Stonington Mariner boys basketball team fell short in a Class D North quarterfinal 45-63 loss to Jonesport-Beals on Saturday, February 16 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
After DISHS got on the board with senior Tobey Snow hitting the back end of two foul shots, the Royals went on an 8-0 run to take an early lead in the first quarter.
The Mariners, who came into the tournament ranked seventh in the Class C North standings, struggled with turnovers early in the game, and gave up early transition points to second-seeded Jonesport, who took a 20-10 lead after the first quarter.
The Royals came out strong in the second quarter, pouring in 16 points to the Mariner’s eight to take a commanding 18-point lead into halftime. Turnovers and poor free throw shooting also plagued DISHS in the first half, shooting less than 50 percent from the charity stripe.
The Mariners managed to cut the lead to 10 midway through the third quarter, but the Royals extended their lead to 18 to close out the first eight minutes of the second half.
The Mariners went on a 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 13 with seven minutes left in the game. A three-point shot by Nathan Thompson with just under five minutes to play cut the lead to eight, but the Royals responded with a two-point bucket to extend the lead back to 10. Jonesport’s offense settled in midway through the quarter, but Deer Isle-Stonington was down by 12 with just over two minutes left to play. The Royals were able to hold on to the lead, and advanced to the semifinals against Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
Coleman Brown led the Mariners in scoring with 12 points, while Thompson contributed 10 points in the game. Dillan Steele had eight points on the night, and Myles Brown and Zach Billings each had six.
The Mariners finished the season with a record of 6-12.