Ellsworth Holds Off Presque Isle; Full Recap, Scoring & Pictures
The Presque Isle Wildcats #8 in Class B North took on #1 Ellsworth Eagles in the second game of the afternoon session at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Ellsworth took both of the regular season matchups between the two teams. Presque Isle defeated #9 Hermon in the preliminary round to advance to the quarterfinal round.
1st Quarter
Ellsworth star sophomore Chance Mercier carried the Eagles offense in the first quarter scoring 10 points. Hunter Curtis and Gage Hardy scored 2 points apiece for Ellsworth in the first quarter. Noah Yarema made a three-point field goal on his way to 5 points for Presque Isle. Xavier McAtee and Jack Hallett scored 2 points apiece for the Wildcats with Malachi Cummings going 1-2 from the free-throw line. At the end of the first quarter the score Ellsworth 14 Presque Isle 10
2nd Quarter
Cummings appeared to roll his ankle in the second quarter and was in-and-out of the play trying to work out the pain. Gage Hardy led the offense for Ellsworth scoring 4 points with Miles Palmer, Brody Mercier, Michael Palmer and Hunter Curtis scoring 2 points apiece. Playing through pain, Cummings scored 6 points for the Wildcats with Yarema scoring 2 points and Jackson Maynard making a free-throw. The score going into halftime Ellsworth 26 Presque Isle 18
3rd Quarter
Ellsworth stepped up their defensive intensity while Presque Isle continued to search for ways to work around Cummings at less than 100%. Chance Mercier came back to life offensively for the Eagles scoring 7 points in the quarter and Eamon MacDonald scored 4 points. Cummings scored 4 points for Presque Isle with Jackson Maynard scoring 3 points and Yarema scoring 2 points. After three quarters of play the score Ellsworth 37 Presque Isle 27
4th Quarter
Ellsworth could not shake the Wildcats as they built up a lead of 9 points but Presque Isle got it down to 5 points with under a minute to go. Chance Mercier fouled out with 3:00 minutes remaining and the Ellsworth offense stalled. Mercier finished the game with 25 points. Malachi Cummings scored 17 points to lead Presque Isle with Noah Yarema scoring 11 points and Xavier McAtee scoring 9 points. Final score Ellsworth 54 Presque Isle 48