Easton Storms to Northern Maine Final Behind Pelletier’s 34

Easton is headed back to the Northern Maine Championship, and Saturday morning started with a statement.

The 2-seed Bears shook off a slow, feel-out first quarter, then turned it into a track meet in the second behind Mason Pelletier, rolling past the 3-seed Katahdin Cougars 72-42 in the Class S boys semifinals. The win locks Easton into the title game, where they will face the winner of No. 1 Jonesport vs No. 5 Shead.

The opening eight minutes were tight, with both sides adjusting on both ends and neither team finding a rhythm. The first quarter ended tied 8-8, and it felt like the game could swing either way.

Then Pelletier grabbed the wheel.

In the second quarter, he blew the game open with a flurry of steals and finishes, scoring 15 of his 34 points in the frame as Easton surged to a 26-15 halftime lead. The third quarter picked up right where the second left off. Easton came out of the break on a 7-0 run, pushed the lead to 17, and kept pouring it on to take a commanding 56-31 advantage into the fourth.

With the outcome in hand, the final quarter turned into a back-and-forth stretch of trading buckets, and Easton calmly closed out the 72-42 win.

Pelletier stuffed the stat sheet with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 steals. Drew Lamoreau added 17, and Raiden Cochran finished with 10 in a balanced effort behind the headliner. Katahdin ends its season 11-9, led by Conor Schmidt with 16 points and Calvin Richardson with 14.

Easton now waits to see who they will meet on Championship Saturday, with the Jonesport-Shead winner up next.

Read More:

• 🏆 Athlete of the Week hub: Winter Week Ten Athlete of the Week voting is  live! Vote for student-athletes across the County >> [LINK]

• County Athletes named to the McDonald's All-Star Team, read about who made the team >> [HERE]

• Read about local County schools and their past tournament results, and some records that may shock you HERE>> [HERE]