Dexter earns a sweep over PCHS
DEXTER – Both the Dexter Regional High School teams jumped out to early leads during a boys and girls basketball doubleheader against neighboring Piscataquis Community High School on Monday, Dec. 20. The advantages helped each Tiger team double up the opposition via the final score as the Dexter boys won 72-36 and the Tiger girls earned a 40-20 victory.
The boys tipped off first and Dexter built a 17-10 lead after the opening quarter. Tiger junior forward Will Kusnierz hit four shots from the floor and sank a free throw for the first nine of his game-high 26 points (more than double anyone else’s from either squad). The 26 points came in less than three quarters of work as the starters sat out the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-3 inch Kusnierz, a third-year starter for head coach Peter Murray’s club, began his scoring blitz with a steal and slam dunk to cap off a game-opening 6-0 run for the Tigers.
ABOVE AND BEYOND – Dexter junior Will Kusnierz scores on a layup during the second quarter of a Dec. 20 game against PCHS. Kusnierz recorded 20 points in the first half and 26 in less than three quarters of work to lead all players with 26 points in Dexter’s 72-36 victory. Trailing on the play are, from left, PCHS seniors Alex Lyon and Matt Chadbourne and sophomore Ben Higgins.
He went to the bench for the final time late in the third quarter after making 11 of 14 field-goal attempts, including his only 3-point try, and going 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
Kusnierz added seven rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot as Dexter improved its record to 3-0. PCHS fell to 1-2.
Senior guard Seth Robbins contributed 14 points and teamed with backcourt mate junior Bryce Connor to pace the Dexter attack. Senior guard Avery Gagnon finished with seven points while Connor and junior Caden Brown scored six points apiece for the Tigers.
ALL IN – Players from Dexter and PCHS coverage around Pirate senior Elizabeth Kendall with the ball during a Dec. 20 contest in Dexter, a 40-20 Tiger victory. From left are PCHS junior Katelynn White, Kendall, Dexter sophomore Hannah Dean, PCHS senior Martine Hill, and Dexter sophomore Cally Gudroe.
PCHS used its early rebounding strength to hang within 14-10 after a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Ben Higgins with 2:08 left in the opening quarter.
But Dexter’s man-to-man defense held the Pirates scoreless for the next 6 minutes, 59 seconds while the Tigers scored 16 unanswered points to pull away to a 30-10 advantage.
Kusnierz kicked off the run with the final points of the opening quarter, a three-point play off a drive with 2:08 left in the period.
GIVE HIM A HAND – Sophomore Ben Higgins goes up for a layup around Dexter junior Bryce Connor during the third quarter of a Dec. 20 game. Looking on is Dexter senior Seth Robbins and PCHS sophomore Scott Chadbourne.
He added 10 of Dexter’s first 13 points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer off an assist from junior Brady Reynolds to give the Tigers the team’s first 20-point cushion of the night.
Reynolds added a 3-pointer and Robbins scored on a follow-up shot and after making a steal as Dexter built its lead to 39-17 by intermission.
Dexter, the 2019 Class C North champion, now has allowed an average of 37.7 points per game in victories over Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, Penquis Valley High School of Milo, and the Pirates.
LOOSE BALL – Dexter sophomore Cally Gudroe and PCHS senior Elizabeth Kendall get ready to grab a loose rebound, with Pirate junior Kendall Kimball and Dexter junior Jozlynn Paige looking on.
For the Dexter girls, the game was the team’s first of the 2021-22 following a pair of postponements. The 40-20 victory for the home team ended up being the first loss of the season for PCHS (2-1).
Following a pair of free throws from Pirate junior Brylee Ricker, the Tigers had 10 unanswered points to close out the opening quarter. Sophomore Hannah Dean made three short-range field goals for six points and senior Elizabeth Kinney added four more on a jumper and shot from the low post following an offensive board. The two would tie with a game-high 14 points apiece.
The Dexter defense held its opponent scoreless for the first half of the second quarter before a jump shot by Pirate senior Elizabeth Kendall at the 3:50-mark at which point the game was 16-4 after the 16-0 run across 11:04 of game time. Kendall led PCHS with 10 points, exactly half of her team’s total output.
POINTS OFF A TURNOVER – Pressure from PCHS senior Matt Chadbourne on Dexter senior Owen Brown in the fourth quarter led to a turnover and Pirate basket.
A 12-10 scoring advantage in the second quarter helped the visiting team get within six at the half, 20-14.
A 12-2 point advantage in the third quarter helped Dexter go ahead by a score of 32-16. A pair of layups and a putback on an offensive rebound gave Kinney a half dozen points in the third, while sophomore Cally Gudroe made a pair of layups and Dean had a layup as well.
The four teams are scheduled to play again with a doubleheader in Guilford on Monday, Jan. 31, with the girls starting the twin bill at 5 p.m.
Ernie Clark of the Bangor Daily News contributed to this story.
FIVE ON ONE – Dexter senior Elizabeth Kinney is surrounded by a PCHS quintet as she gets ready for a rebound. From left are seniors Martina Hill, Elizabeth Kendall, and Hailee Hartford and juniors Kendall Kimball and Brylee Ricker.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Dexter 72
PCHS 36
PCHS 10 7 4 15 – 36
DEX 17 22 22 11 – 72
PCHS (1-2): S. Chadbourne 10, M. Chadbourne 9, Lyon 6, Simpson 6, Higgins 5.
Dexter (3-0): Kusnierz 26, Robbins 12, Gagnon 9, C. Brown 6, Connor 6, Reynolds 5,
Bourgoin 3, Allen 2, Spratt 2, C. Brown 1.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Dexter 40
PCHS 20
PCHS 2 12 2 4 – 20
DEX 10 10 12 8 – 40
PCHS (2-1): Kendall 10, Hartford 2, Hill 2, K. Kimball 2, B. Ricker 2, White 2.
Dexter (1-0): Dean 14, Kinney 14, Gudroe 6, J. Paige 4, Bagley 2.