Throw in an MVC opponent with whom the KVAC-mainstay Black Bears hadn’t crossed paths during the regular season and it’s probably no earth-shattering revelation that Lisbon hung around for half of Saturday’s Class B South quarterfinal at Portland Expo.

Once the No. 2 seed had a chance to get inspired, irritated, or both, Maranacook looked the part of a co-favorite in the regional bracket, racing off with a 57-37 victory.

“If we get down or feel like we’re in a tight game, these guys dig in and play harder,” Maranacook coach Rob Schmidt said. “We can’t seem to do that out of the gate, but it’s good that we have that extra gear.”

Kyle Wilbur scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half for Maranacook (17-2), which advanced to a semifinal meeting with No. 3 Yarmouth at 7 p.m. Thursday, to be played at Cross Insurance Center.

The Black Bears led 27-20 at the half, and a baseline jumper by Lisbon’s Tyrese Joseph trimmed the margin to five points in the opening minute of the third quarter.

Not even five minutes elapsed before Maranacook cranked up the next 18 points, thanks largely to extended, 1-2-2 zone pressure that confounded the Greyhounds.

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Lisbon (10-9), which sought the school’s first quarterfinal win since 1974, stumbled into 31 turnovers.

“We knew they were going to come out in the half-court trap. We practiced against it all week,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “We just didn’t do a good enough job executing against it. They’re very athletic. They got down the court well and put us in a hole.”

Joseph led Lisbon with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Bedford added nine points.

The Greyhounds wouldn’t go away after Maranacook enjoyed a relatively explosive start, by its standards. Wilbur and Silas Mohlar nailed 3-pointers in an early surge to a 20-9 lead.

“I think we did a really good job of being able to weather the storm at the beginning,” Gentle said. “It didn’t seem like we were too nervous. At least we hid it pretty well.”

Nine Maranacook turnovers and only two field goals in the second period let Lisbon back in it. Bedford chalked up six of his points in that session, including back-to-back inside buckets by way of Joseph to close it out.

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“That’s been our biggest hurdle, to come out with that intensity,” Wilbur said. “We talked at the half about how we had to cut the middle off. They were good at getting it into the middle. We just needed to bring the tempo up.”

Four of Maranacook’s five third-period field goals came on the fast break. Steals by Jason Brooks and Ty Smith set up two of them.

The Black Bears also sank eight consecutive free throws in the surge and went 16-for-21 overall.

“They don’t really have a weak offensive player on their team,” Gentle said. “They spread you out, and they move so well without the ball.”

Kent Mohlar combined 12 points with five steals for Maranacook. Levi Emery landed nine points and tore down eight rebounds. Brooks bagged six points and five assists.

“Sometimes you have to pick your poison (between Wilbur and Kent Mohlar),” Schmidt said. “We try to spread them out so they can stretch the defense out, and they have been doing a good job with the unselfishness, looking for the open guy. And we have other contributors, too.”

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Jonah Sautter, Troy Galarneau and Josh Huston combined to hit four 3-pointers for Lisbon.

The Greyhounds’ 2014 Class C preliminary game was the program’s only other tournament exposure in more than a decade.

“It was a great season,” Gentle said.  “It’s great to make it to the playoffs. It doesn’t happen very often for Lisbon, but it’s always great when it does.”

koakes@sunjournal.com


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