The Cross Insurance Center was a great place to be on Monday if you like extra basketball.
Two of Monday’s North regional games in Bangor went into overtime, keeping fans on the edge of their seats throughout regulation and beyond. A slate of eight Monday games wrapped up in bombastic fashion, with the seventh ranked Calais boys needing extra time to take down No. 2 Machias in a 48-47 Class C upset.
It was the second overtime game of the day at the Cross Center, with Bangor Christian battling back to beat Lee Academy 52-48 in Class D after never having the lead until overtime. It was the kind of game that had Bangor Christian coach Charlie Colson joking afterward that he needed a blood pressure pill, and it was that kind of action that made multiple games so entertaining throughout the day and into Monday night.
Along with Calais’ upset over Machias, the sixth-ranked Dexter girls defeated third-ranked Fort Kent thanks to their stifling team defense. And the No. 6 Dexter boys took No. 3 Madawaska to the brink, falling just short of an upset of their own. The Madawaska squad will continue its impressive run with a 54-52 win in regulation Monday night.
Madawaska had been undefeated until its last regular season game, dropping that contest to Fort Fairfield in double overtime and dropping to 17-1 heading into the tournament.
“I think it helped us more than it hurt us,” Madawaska senior forward Sam Thibeault said Monday about that previous loss. “It humbled us a little bit, it humbled us, and it made sure that we were ready for what’s coming.”
Next up for Madawaska is the plucky Calais team, which looked like it might let Monday’s victory slip away after giving up the lead in the fourth quarter. Calais was up by four with just over seven minutes to play, when Machias’ Kaiyden Carter, Mickey Fitzsimmons and Tyler Alley helped equalize things with around three minutes left.
Machias junior guard Liam O’Connor had a steal and finish to put the bulldogs up 43-41, but Calais wouldn’t go away. They forced overtime, and down by one with 47 seconds to go in the extra time, Calais senior guard Kaeson Dana calmly stepped up and hit throws to go up 48-47. Those ended up being the winning points.
Dana led Calais with 16 points on the night, and Fitzsimmons led Machias with 18.
Machias entered the game 16-2, with two of their regular season wins coming against Calais. But that last win on Jan. 21 was a harbinger of the tough battle to come, with Machias barely escaping 43-42. Monday’s one-point game went the other way, and Calais moves on to face Madawaska on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a Class C semifinal matchup.
