Dexter sweeps Central in Penquis pod finals
By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff
DEXTER — It may lack the gravitas of the traditional high school basketball tournament, but the Dexter Tigers are both the kings and queens of the Penobscot Valley Conference’s Penquis pod.
The top-ranked Tigers swept Central of Corinth in the pod finals at Guiski Gymnasium on Friday, March 5 with the Dexter boys scoring a 63-48 victory while the girls remained undefeated with a 41-30 win.
The Dexter boys (12-2) are scheduled to play at Penobscot pod champion Schenck of East Millinocket for the PVC pod title on Tuesday. Schenck outlasted Penobscot Valley of Howland 53-50 on Friday.
The Dexter girls (14-0) will host their Penquis-Penobscot final Tuesday against Penobscot Valley, which topped Stearns of Millinocket 37-26.
“It’s definitely really important to finish this off,” said Dexter senior guard Peyton Grant, a Miss Basketball semifinalist who scored 22 points to reach 1,500 for her career. “It definitely stinks not being able to play at the Cross Center but we’re making the best of it and hopefully we can finish undefeated.”
Defense and rebounding were at the core of both Dexter victories in the Penquis finals.
In the boys game, the Tigers’ frontcourt tandem of seniors Robbie Dorman and Brett Kusnierz and sophomore Will Kusnierz combined for 45 points and 23 rebounds as coach Peter Murray’s club gained control after intermission.
“We just played our game and focused on pounding it into the paint,” Dorman said. “We focused on getting good shots and not taking too quick a shot.”
The Tigers held Central (6-8) to just one field goal during the second quarter, but the third-seeded Red Devils hung with 33-26 at the break by making 11 of 12 first-half free throws.
Dexter outscored Central 20-2 midway through the game, capped off by 11 unanswered points to open the second half.
Dorman and the Kusnierz brothers combined for eight inside points during that early third-quarter run and guard Avery Gagnon added a free throw and a fast-break layup off a Will Kusnierz steal to make it 44-26 midway through the period.
Brett Kusnierz finished with 19 points and eight rebounds while Dorman had 18 points and 11 boards as the Tigers overcame a 30-point performance by Central junior guard Simon Allen.
“The bottom line is we’re just happy to have the season at all,” said Brett Kusnierz, whose team captured the Class C North championship last winter. “We’ve made the best of what we had and it was always our goal to get the final game and that’s what we did.”
The girls’ game had a similar, physical tone as coach Jody Grant’s Dexter club used its defense and rebounding strength to gradually build a second-half lead after second-seeded Central had hung within 19-16 at intermission thanks to 11 first-half points from freshman Izzy Allen.
Dexter’s defense was too much for Central after the break, with the Red Devils ultimately bedeviled by 23 turnovers.
Grant shook off a sluggish shooting start to score 22 points, while senior guard Cheyenne Beem added seven points and seven rebounds and sophomore forward Jozlynn Paige grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Elizabeth Kinney also scored seven points for the Tigers.
“Rebounding and defense has really always been since freshman year for me what it’s about,” Beem said. “If we play good defense that leads to good things on offense.”
Izzy Allen led Central (11-3) with 23 points and seven rebounds.