Grades five and six girls’ basketball
The girls’ basketball league tipped off with the Liberty and Stars doing battle. The Stars had a game-high 14 points from Carly Bell on their way to the 26-10 victory. Krystal Kingsbury added eight points, and Amanda Charette and Emily Buckley each tallied two points. The Liberty were led by Jordi Legassie’s four points. The trio of Amanda Palmer, Bailee Robichaud and Kelsey Gilson popped in two points apiece.
The Comets put six players into the scoring column on their way to downing the Stars, 27-22. Jenna Hallett and Morgan Wilcox each poured in eight points to lead the balanced scoring attack. Kelsey Burlock finished with five points, and the trio of Abby Clark, Bridgette Carrier and Emma Kinney scored two points apiece. Bell paced the Stars with eight points, all coming in the first half. Kingsbury scored six points in the second half as the Stars attempted their comeback. Erin Ackerson and Charette rounded out the scoring with four points each.
Grades five and six boys’ basketball
The boys’ basketball league kicked off with the Pistons and Celtics leaving the fans on the edge of their seats. The Pistons jumped out to the early lead, but the Celtics came back to take a slim lead into the fourth quarter. The Pistons tied it up and ended with the thrilling 44-41 overtime victory. Drew Bates poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Pistons. Chase Norton tallied 10 points and Jamey Lessard finished with four points. David Cyr and Matthew Tilley chipped in with two points apiece. The Celtics were paced by the hot shooting of Patrick Burnett, who finished with 20 points. Kyle Nadeau popped in eight points. Nick Raineri contributed seven points and several assists. Keeghan Lowe added four points, and Noah Rossignol rounded out the scoring with two points.
The Clippers pulled off the 22-12 decision over the Spurs in a defensive battle. Tyler Seeley led the Clippers scorching the nets for a game-high 10 points. Grayden Hemphill chipped in with six points, and Ben Buckley finished with four points. Jordan Lyford’s two points brought the Clippers’ total to 22. Andrew Paterson was the high scorer for the Spurs, tallying six points. The trio of Aaron Kofstad, Jacob Carter and John Freeman finished with two points each.
The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack to down the Celtics, 26-20. Kofstad and Paterson each tossed in six points to lead the Spurs. Carter, Liam Hughes and Ryder Soucy all contributed four points, and Cody McGlinn rounded out the scoring with two points. Patrick Burnett paced the Celtics with a game-high 10 points. Raineri poured in six points, and Lowe chipped in with four points.
The Clippers outlasted a short handed Pistons team, 42-40, in overtime. Seeley erupted for a game-best 22 points. Hemphill also notched double-digits, finishing with 10 points. Buckley added eight points, and Lyford finished with two points. The Pistons got huge games from Norton and Bates, whom ended with 19 and 18 points respectively. Tilley chipped in with two points.
Paterson netted 10 points to lead seven Spurs players in the scoring column as they held on for the win over the Pistons. McGlinn tossed in eight points, and Kofstad finished with six points. The duo of Carter and Freeman both scored four points, while Hughes added three points. Ryder Soucy rounded out the scoring with two points. The Pistons were led by a game-high 18 points from Norton. Jamey Lessard chipped in with two points, and Cody Kennedy contributed some great defensive play.
The Clippers had two players score in double-digits en route to their victory over the Celtics. Buckley scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the second half to help secure the win. Seeley notched 12 points, and Hemphill finished with eight points. Lyford and Brian Fournier both contributed four points, and Chris Stepp ended with two points. Raineri paced the Celtics with 10 points. Rossignol and Lowe popped in four points apiece, and the threesome of Kyle Nadeau, Patrick Burnett and Travis Sylvain chipped in with two points each.
Bates scorched the nets for a game-high 16 points to help the Pistons knock off the Clippers, 37-32. Norton chipped in with 13 points, and Tilley and Lessard each netted four points. Hemphill tossed in 14 points to pace the Clippers. Buckley also ended up in double-digits, finishing with 10 points. Fournier added four points, and Austin Thibeau and Lyford tallied two points apiece.
Grades five and six travel basketball
The local boys took on Mars Hill on Saturday morning, and they used some last second heroics to pull out the 38-31 win. Patrick Burnett led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points. Aaron Kofstad used outside shooting to finish with eight points, and the dynamic duo of Nick Raineri and Cody McGlinn each finished with six points. Matthew Tilley tallied four points, and Ryder Soucy contributed two points and several key steals.
The girls traveled to Mars Hill on last Tuesday afternoon, falling to the hosts by a final of 17-7. Carly Bell was the high-scorer with five points, while Lora Ireland finished with two points. Paige Gagnon and Mackenzie Taubin chipped in with some fine defensive play and numerous rebounds.
The boys also made the trip to Mars Hill for a rematch. The locals fell to 0-2 on the day as Mars Hill won the second meeting, 34-30. Patrick Burnett and Andrew Paterson both ended in double-digits, scoring 12 and 10 points respectively. Liam Hughes poured in six points, and Tilley rounded out the attack with two points.
Middle school only night
The Department is offering open gym hours on Friday evenings from 6:30 to 9 p.m. for middle school students.
Students in grades six to eight are invited to come to the recreation center to participate in open gym and various activities. Archery
The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department will be offering an archery program for youth and adults on Sundays from 6:30 to 9 p.m., starting on Jan. 13th. This is an informal, drop-in, program with a $6 fee for each night of shooting. Participants may bring their own equipment, and there will be some available for those whom do not have equipment.
Grades one and two little wildcat basketball
The Department will begin registration for the Little Wildcat basketball program on Wednesday, Jan. 23 for Presque Isle residents at the William V. Haskell Community Center. Non-residents may register beginning Jan. 28.
The program is offered to boys and girls in first and second grades, and will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays after school at the community center. The registration fee is $15. The program begins the week of February 25th.
Youth cross country skiing program and rentals
The Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department will be holding a youth cross country skiing program. The program will be for students grades one to eight. The program will run on Thursdays from Jan. 17 to Feb. 14 for grades six to eight, then Wednesdays from Feb. 27 to March 26 for grades one to five, from 3:15 to 5:00 p.m. also be meetings on Saturdays from Jan. 19 to March 29 from 10 a.m. to noon, with the exception of Feb. 23. The fee is $15.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
BASKETBALL EXPERTISE – Recreation basketball participant Caleb Nadeau practices dribbling at a University of Maine at Presque Isle basketball team clinic to open the previous recreation basketball season.
