Brushton-Moira Stops SLC Comeback in Second-Half

Justin Poirier of Brushton-Moira slam dunks the ball against SLC..
Photo by: Robert Bice

The #4 seed St. Lawrence Central was not going down with out a fight. They proved just that when they faced Brushton-Moira Tuesday night in the Class "C" Semi-Finals. The Panthers of Brushton-Moira came out with a bang, getting one fast break lay-up after another. They built huge momentum as kingpin Justin Poirier threw down a couple of huge slam dunks. The Panthers quickly built a 21-10 first quarter lead. In the second, St. Lawrence Central looked to find their groove. The Larries used a flurry of fast break lay-ups themselves to cut the Panthers lead to nine, 30-21, with four minutes left to play in the first half. From there, they held the Panthers to no points and went on a 10-0 run sending the Larries faithful into a frenzy. The Larries led 31-30 at half-time. The Larries came out in the second half adding to their run, taking their biggest lead 33-31. The Panthers would then pick up their game as Josh Sevey hit a free throw to end the 15-0 run, and then regain the lead with 3:50 left in the third with a three-pointer, 36-33. The Panthers quickly took advantage of their found momentum and put on a smothering full-court man-to-man press and got three quick steals and three lay-ups going up 10 points 45-35. The Panthers gained a 47-38 lead after three quarters. In the fourth, the Panthers buried the Larries with their full-court 2-2-1 press. They forged on to a 68-52 victory after a valiant effort by the St. Lawrence Central Larries. The Panthers go on to face the Tupper Lake Lumberjacks Saturday at Maxcy Hall on the campus of SUNY Potsdam at 1 p.m. Craig Peets and Brian Ramsdell both had 14 for the Larries. Justin Poirier had 13 points and Austin Martin had 15 points for the Panthers.