In one of the program’s best seasons in years, the Lumberjacks suffered a 57-45 loss to the Section 2, Class C champions, the Maple Hill Wildcats, in the NYSPHSAA Class C subregional round. Tupper Lake finished its season with a 19-4 — its best record in over 20 years.

Maple Hill, which came into Tuesday’s contest ranked sixth in the state for Class C basketballl, according to the New York State Sports Writers Association, used its height and strength to power past the 18th ranked Lumberjacks. The Wildcats connected on just one 3-pointer in the contest.

“We were worried about their size and that’s why we really tried to pack in defensively. It helped a little bit,” Tupper Lake head coach Brian Bennett said. “And Brady Cole … we tried to stop him.”

Maple Hill’s Cole, a senior forward, paced his team with 22 points — all of which came from the inside or from free throws. Austin Prest and Nicholas Novak chipped in with double figures for the Wildcats. Prest had 14 points and Novak had 10. Dean Chevrier contributed with eight.

Tupper Lake’s Michael Corneau (21) shoots with Maple Hill’s Nicholas Novak defending him during Tuesday’s NYSPHSAA Class C subregional round at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Lumberjack senior Tom Peterson, who closed out his varsity career with a school-record 1,434 points, led all scorers with 26 points. Peterson was also named North Athletic Conference East Division’s Most Valuable Player.

“(People) say that North Country basketball is different than everywhere else,” Bennett said. “It’s good to see (Peterson) have a strong game against Section 2.”

Freshman Garrett Pelkey also reached double digit figures, scoring 12 points for the Lumberjacks. Ashton Clark, a junior, had four points, Michael Corneau, a senior, had two and Tyler LaPlante, also a senior, had one.

In a back-and-forth opening quarter, Peterson connected on 12 of his team’s 14 points, including a game-tying half court 3-pointer at the buzzer evening the game at 14-14.

However, Maple Hill kicked off the second quarter with a 9-2 run before heading into halftime with a 34-25 lead.

Tupper Lake’s Ashton Clark, left, lays up a shot with Maple Hill’s Austin Prest defending him during Tuesday’s game. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Despite a 8-2 run to start the third quarter from Tupper Lake, the Wildcats never relinquished the lead to advance to the NYSPHSAA Class C regional round.

“(We’re) not used to being down and that’s the honest truth,” Bennett said. “Maple Hill gave us a hard battle. I thought (we) played great defense.”

After Corneau recorded a layup to cut Maple Hill’s lead to 36-33 with 3:09 left in the third quarter, the Wildcats went on a 13-5 run of their own, which essentially put the game out of reach.

Despite coming up short of the program’s first-ever NYSPHSAA state playoff victory, Bennett said he was more emotional about Tuesday being the final time his seniors — Corneau, LaPlante, Peterson and Markel Esturo — suited up for the Tupper Lake.

Over the past three seasons, this years’ senior class has helped the Lumberjacks accumulate a 51-16 record, including two sectional championship berths and one title, which came this season. Two of the four seniors also recorded 1,000 career points during their varsity career. But Bennett said winning that Section X, Class C title was his number one goal heading into this season.

Tupper Lake’s Tyler LaPlante shoots a 3-pointer during Tuesday’s subregional state playoff game against Maple Hill at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“I told everyone that everything else was icing on top,” he said.

Tupper Lake is slated to have two starters — Clark and Pelkey — from this year’s team returning to its lineup next season.

“We have some sophomores and juniors who came off the bench,” Bennett said. “They’re going to have a crucial role next year.”

While the Lumberjacks season wrapped up, Maple Hill, which improved to 21-4 overall, will take on the Section VII, Class C champions, the Moriah Vikings, in the regional round at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Clinton Community College Gymnasium. The winner of that contest will advance to the NYSPHSAA Class C semifinal round in Glens Falls.

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Maple Hill 57, Tupper Lake 45

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Wildcats 14 20 8 15 — 57

Lumberjacks 14 11 13 17 — 45

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Maple Hill (57)

Fish 1-2-4, Novak 4-2-10, Flach 0-0-0, Loszynski 0-0-0, VanKempen 0-0-0, Reutzel 0-0-0, D. Chevrier 4-0-8, Cole 6-9-22, Prest 6-1-13, Sherling 0-0-0, Camadine 0-0-0, B. Chevrier 0-0-0. Totals: 21-14-57.

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Tupper Lake (45)

To. Peterson 9-4-26, Corneau 1-0-2, LaPlante 0-1-1, Pelkey 3-2-12, Clark 2-0-4, Esturo 0-0-0, McClain 0-0-0, Tower 0-0-0, Ti. Peterson 0-0-0, Bujold 0-0-0, O’Connor 0-0-0, Barkley 0-0-0. Totals: 15-9-45.

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3-point goals: Tupper Lake (6) Peterson 4, Pelkey 2. Maple Hill (1): Cole.