MDI boys beat John Bapst, fall to Orono

Mount Desert Island High School’s Nate Philbrook drives to the basket during a high school boys’ basketball game against John Bapst on Jan. 9 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. MDI defeated John Bapst 53-27 to earn its fifth win. BARRY GUTRADT PHOTO

BAR HARBOR — The Mount Desert Island High School boys’ basketball team is 5-6 on the season after defeating John Bapst last Thursday and enduring a tough loss to Orono on Saturday.

MDI began the second half of its regular season slate last Thursday as it took on John Bapst at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. The Trojans outscored the Crusaders 30-8 in the second half to earn a 53-27 victory and notch their fifth win of the season.

Brady Renault led MDI in scoring with 10 points, and the senior added three steals and an assist in the win. MDI also got contributions from Porter Isaacs (nine points and four rebounds), Nate Philbrook (eight points, five rebounds and two assists), William Hodgdon (seven points and eight rebounds) and Erik Merchant (five points and five rebounds).

On Saturday, MDI fell to a 46-41 home loss against Orono. The Trojans led by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, but being outscored 13-3 in the final period, the Trojans were outscored 10-6 in overtime to fall to a bitter defeat.

Renault and Erik Merchant scored eight points apiece for MDI, and Ethan Merchant added seven points. The Trojans’ other scorers were Charlie Parker with five points, Isaacs and Philbrook with four apiece, Cadin Lunt with three and Maddox Laurendeau with two.

With the loss to Orono, MDI dropped to 10th place in the Class B North standings. The top-12 teams make the playoffs with teams 9-12 playing road preliminary games.

MDI was scheduled to host Old Town (6-5) on Wednesday. The Trojans will be on the road against Ellsworth at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.

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Mike Mandell

Mike Mandell is the sports editor at The Ellsworth American and Mount Desert Islander. He began working for The American in August 2016. You can reach him via email at [email protected]

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