By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Matt Wheelock and Jon Hill were too big and too strong. Ben Laflin was just plain too good.

Senior captain Laflin exploded for a career-high 29 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five assists Monday night, launching top-seeded Hall-Dale to a 81-47 rout of No. 8 Jay in the late boys’ quarterfinal at Augusta Civic Center.

Laflin is nine inches shorter than Wheelock, the Bulldogs’ celebrated, 6-foot-10 center. But it’s he the Tigers will see in their daydreams, either blowing by them for an uncontested bunny, knocking one down from the perimeter or dishing to Wheelock or 6-foot-7 Jon Hill for a painfully easy deuce.

With Wheelock blocking shots, altering shots and basically dissuading good Jay shooters from taking shots, Laflin took control at the other end. He scored at will and did just about everything else right, too.

Laflin went 8-for-9 from the floor in the first half while guarding four-year tournament veteran Justin Wells on the defensive end. Wells finished with 11 points.

“Scoring is secondary with Ben’s game,” said Hall-Dale coach Chris Ranslow. “I coach him, I play against him in practice, and I know the kind of things he does, yet I’m always amazed when I look at the stats at the end of the night. Here, he had all these points and I couldn’t get over the three turnovers he had in the second quarter.”

Hill finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Wheelock added 10 points, 12 boards and seven blocked shots for MVC champion Hall-Dale (19-1), which will meet No. 4 Telstar in the semifinals.

Hall-Dale beat Jay in their lone regular-season meeting. That night, the Bulldogs trail

“Jon Hill was out. Just about the whole team was sick,” Laflin said. “You know, we’re looking for bigger and better things. I don’t think Jay expected what they got tonight.”

Ryan DiPompo led the Tigers (9-11) with 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

Jay was the defending Western Class C champion, a title it won twice during DiPompo and Wells’ career.

“It was extreme lack of intensity. I don’t know why. Maybe nerves,” Wells said. “People kept talking about all the experience we supposedly had, but other than Ryan and me, most of our team hadn’t played on this floor.”

Hall-Dale never trailed. Jack Leet and Shane Abbott (10 points) each drained a 3-pointer in the first period, staking the Bulldogs to a 17-9 lead.

That swelled to 37-20 at the half thank largely to Laflin, who christened the period with a jumper off a feed from Jay Skillings.

Next, he scored underneath. He scored along both baselines. He sank two free throws. He led a fast break, then finished another.

In the closing seconds of the half, his steal set up Leet for a lay-up that neat the buzzer.

“You don’t want to get behind here,” Ranslow said. “We’re always pretty confident. Did I expect to get up by 40? No, probably not.”

The Bulldogs made garbage time plentiful. Hill scored nine, Laflin eight and Wheelock six in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 62-32.

Seven seniors played their final game for Jay. Shane Bourgault, Jacob Farrington, Leigh Trask, Adam DeSanctis and injured Joel Ouellette joined Wells and DiPompo.

Wells and DiPompo both played key minutes when Jay won the state championship their freshman year.

“It’s been a lot of fun playing on this floor,” said Wells. “I’m glad it ended here. I’m glad we didn’t lose in a prelim game.”