AUGUSTA — The Erskine Academy boys’ basketball team accomplished a lot this season, but beating near-perfect and top-seeded Hampden Academy proved too difficult a task.
Christian McCue scored 17 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, to carry the Broncos past the Eagles 53-38 in an Eastern Class A quarterfinal Saturday night.
“We did the best we could,” Erskine Coach Ben Willoughby said. “We had a good game plan, but their big players made big shots.”
Fred Knight, a 6-foot-7 center, scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Hampden (18-1).
Erskine junior guard Devin Duncan led all scorers with 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Tom Grady added nine points.
“We struggled a little bit shooting, but Hampden’s defense limited us to take tough shots,” Willoughby said. “But Duncan hit some big shots for us.”
Hampden (18-1) will play No. 5 Bangor (14-5) in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Eagles never really let Hampden run away with it, but they never could pull into a lead, either.
Erskine trailed 39-33 with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter after Duncan hit his third 3-pointer of the night. But the Broncos answered with a McCue basket off penetration and a Zach Gilpen 3-pointer.
Gilpen finished with 10 points.
“We hung in there,” Willoughby said. “We cut it to six, but McCue made some big plays.”
Despite the loss, the season marked quite a turnaround for Erskine. The Eagles, after finishing with just two victories last season, first earned a postseason berth and then a trip to the big stage in Augusta after dispatching Cony in a prelim game.
“The last third of our season, our seniors really stepped up and got us here,” Willioughby said. “We had a great season.”
The Eagles hung around for much of the first half, despite giving away a few inches to the taller Broncos.
Erskine trailed just 19-15 with 3:21 left in the second quarter after Tyler Scates sank a pair of free throws.
However, the Broncos closed the half on a 9-3 run to take a 28-18 lead.
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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