Edward Little of Auburn showed why it is the second seed in the Class A North boys basketball tournament, getting 26 points from senior forward Akol Maiwen and 18 points from senior guard Cedric Makelele to pull away from 7th-seeded Hampden Academy for a 60-48 quarterfinal win at the Augusta Civic Center Friday night.
Hampden scrapped and clawed its way back from as much as a 16-point deficit to pull within three points with 7 minutes left in the game (48-45). The Broncos’ scrappy man-to-man and zone defenses along with the scoring of senior guards Mason Studley, Miles Shain and Sawyer Worcester keyed the run.
They simply couldn’t hold off the Red Eddies scoring tandem and smothering man-to-man defense which led to a closing 12-3 run to send Edward Little into Wednesday’s semifinal against No. 3 Brunswick. Hampden didn’t score over the final 4:54 of the game.
Studley finished with 17 points to lead the Broncos, who finished with a 9-10 record on the season. Shain and Worcester each added 13 points.
The Red Eddies gradually pulled out to as much as a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter (29-13) thanks to the hot perimeter shooting of Maiwen who nailed three 3-pointers on the way to 12 points. Makelele added a pair of 3-pointers and a couple of inside buckets en route to 11 points.
Hampden switched from zone to man defense and EL’s shooters cooled off enabling the Broncos to reel off a 10-0 run and pull within 29-23 with 47 seconds left in the half. Four different Broncos scored.
But Maiwen closed the half with an inside bucket for Edward Little to make it 31-23.
