Chris Cummins missed seven games with a concussion late in the season for the York boys’ basketball team, returning only for the final two regular-season games.

Saturday night, he sure looked healthy.

Cummins scored a game-high 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers, as the second-seeded Wildcats ran away from No. 7 Fryeburg Academy 53-35 in a Class A South quarterfinal at the Portland Expo. York scored the game’s first 19 points to beat the Raiders for the third time this season.

“What a great start,” said York Coach Paul Marquis. “And we did it in different ways – in transition, getting some easy layups; we hit a couple deep shots. … That’s a good win, that’s a great start.”

York (16-3) will play No. 3 Falmouth in the regional semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Cross Insurance Arena. Falmouth beat the Wildcats 58-49 on Dec. 29.

Fryeburg finished 7-12.

The Raiders never got closer than nine points after that opening surge by York, coming within 26-17 on a drive by Tucker Buzzell late in the second. But York went on a 9-1 run to take a 35-18 lead into halftime. Cummins had five points in that run, hitting a 3-pointer from the left of the key and putting in an offensive rebound.

York led 49-25 entering the fourth quarter.

“He really helps us go,” Marquis said of Cummins. “He gets to the rim and he defends. He just facilitates our offense and gets looks for the other guys so they can score.”

Cummins, a senior guard who suffered his concussion in a game at Fryeburg on Jan. 10, said the Wildcats came out with a lot of energy Saturday night, especially in their 2-3 zone. Fryeburg had trouble getting any rhythm going in the first quarter, committing nine turnovers.

“It’s a long season and we put in a lot of work to get here,” said Cummins. “But the season started today. The energy was good. …You’ve got to want it and I think we really did.”

Fryeburg Coach Sedge Saunders said he was actually glad when he saw York come out in the 2-3 zone rather than pressing full-court. But York closed out the passing lanes and got out on the shooters, making it difficult for the Raiders to get an open look.

“We worked all week on attacking the zone and I thought we attacked it pretty well,” said Saunders. “But we didn’t convert, we missed some shots and we didn’t keep them off the boards.”

Saunders was pleased with Fryeburg’s rally in the second quarter, but said a couple of late breakdowns allowed York to regain the momentum. “You’ve got to play an almost perfect game to beat a team like that,” he said.

Brady Cummins and Will MacDonald each scored 12 points for York. The Raiders were led by Eli Mahan with 12 and Buzzell with 10.

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH