AUGUSTA – The ballroom, and the other dancers, were too big for Cinderella.

No. 12 Livermore Falls hung around for three quarters with No. 4 Georges Valley in the Western Class C quarterfinals, but the Buccaneers’ size and experience proved to be too much for the Andies to pull off another upset.

Seniors Brett Hutchinson and A.J. Staples dominated the second half as Georges Valley broke open a one-point game at intermission and cruised to a 75-57 win Monday night at Augusta Civic Center.

The bigger Buccaneers (13-6) controlled the boards from the outset and owned the offensive boards in the second half, outrebounding the Andies 19-3 on the offensive glass. Hutchinson and Staples, four-year starters with loads of tourney experience, combined for 14 of the Bucs’ second chances. The senior duo’s dominance in the paint triggered a 19-4 run to start the fourth quarter that ultimately doomed the Andies.

“That’s basically what we’re all about. We get to the glass,” said GV coach Nick DePatsy. “That’s been our forte all year, getting second and third shots.”

“Those two guys ate us alive on the boards and inside,” said Andies’ Ross Hamblin. “We couldn’t stop them.”

Staples had 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Hutchinson finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. The pair combined for 38 of the Buccaneers’ 47 points in the second half. Brad Bryant paced the Andies (6-14) with 18 points and five steals, while Garrett Young added 13 and Mike Chamard 12.

Georges Valley burst out to a quick 7-0 lead, but Livermore Falls battled back to take its only lead of the game, 10-9, on a Bryant free throw midway through the quarter. The Bucs (8-for-14) continued to shoot well from the field and held a 17-12 lead at the end of the period.

Georges Valley took its first double-digit lead three minutes into the second quarter on a Staples steal and layup. The Andies clawed their way back into it, however, with a 14-4 run sparked by a pair of Young treys, the second of which tied the game at 27 with a minute left in the half. GV went into the break with a one-point lead.

That margin widened quickly to six in the third quarter. Georges Valley struggled from the field (6-for-14) in the quarter, but Staples and Hutchinson attacked the glass and combined for all 20 of GV’s points in the period to inflate the gap to 48-40 at the end of the quarter.

“The thing I was impressed with was that we mentally stayed focused,” DePatsy said. “Defensively, we did it all night. They were pretty much one-and-done that second half, which was big for us.”

A Staples bucket put the lead in double digits for good with seven-plus minutes left. The Andies, who upset fifth-seeded Telstar in the preliminaries, never recovered.

“We’re still young,” Hamblen said. “I’d like to say we’ll be back, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work. People didn’t think we were supposed to be here, but we lost eight games by five points or less. But we got here. That’s all that matters.”

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