The Bangor Christian Patriots ended Machias’ undefeated start to the 2023-24 season on Friday night, beating the Bulldogs 53-35 at the Cross Center in Bangor.
It was a matchup of respected playoff teams, with BCHS (15-5) and Machias (16-5) both making deep tournament runs last February, with similar expectations this season.
Right from tipoff, the Patriots didn’t give Machias any space to breathe, and used their length to steal the ball 16 times and reel in 12 offensive rebounds. With the win, BCHS improved to 4-1, while Machias moved to 3-1.
The Patriots were led by scrappy seniors Jalen Reed (18 points, five steals, one block) and Colton White (14 points, four offensive boards, five takeaways), with Reed scoring through contact twice and White jamming home a fast break dunk.
“We used a 1-2-2 zone to trap the corners and get as many steals as we could — our rotations were really good too,” Reed said. “Coach Colson trains us a lot on on-ball defense, because he wants a lot of pressure; especially with Mickey Fitzsimmons out.”
The Bulldogs’ leading scorer Fitzsimmons was out with an illness on Friday, which hurt Machias’ flow on the offensive end. Still, senior Bobby Richardson was able to record 11 points and two offensive rebounds, and sharpshooting junior Hayden Blake knocked down four 3-pointers.
Fitzsimmons is averaging 20.3 points per game this season, with Richardson (16.8 ppg) and Blake (16.7) also generating solid output for the Bulldogs. On the BCHS side, Reed was the Patriots’ leading scorer (20.6 ppg), ball stealer (3.6 spg) and rebounder (8.5 rpg) last year. Senior Conrad Straubel (seven points Friday night) also had 3.3 steals and 4.7 assists per game last season.
“We have to pass the ball better — sharper, crisper — and that showed tonight against their quickness and strength,” Machias head coach Chad Fitzsimmons said. “Some of that gets cleaned up with Mickey, but we still gotta rebound better.”
Next up, BCHS will host Searsport on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m., while Machias will host Shead on Dec. 28 at 2:30 p.m.
