Close games played as season winds down

There were some close games and then some lopsided victories last week.
Easton 70, East Grand 36 — On Monday, Easton’s Jacob Bacon, formerly of Houlton, scored 16 points as his Bears used a 20-10 second-quarter advantage over East Grand for a 28-16 halftime lead.
    After the third, the Bears extended their lead to 46-28 for the win.
Andrew Gilman scored 10 points to pace the Vikings, while Seth Cropley netted eight; Aaron Henn, seven and Abe Brittain, six.
 Madawaska 63, GHCA 38 — Last Friday, the Eagles fell behind 16-3 to open the game and trailed 31-19 at halftime, as the host Owls controlled the game.
After three periods, the Owls led 48-31 en route to the win.
Ethan Holmes scored 10 points for the Eagles, while Chad Duff was held to four points and Zach Straubel two. Micah Wiley added seven points, while Ryan Campbell and Adam Little each scored six points.
The Eagles are 9-3.
Washburn 62, So. Aroostook 57 — Last Thursday it was close game in Dyer Brook, as the Beavers led from the onset of the game, 12-8; 26-17 and 41-36 to hold on for the win.
Washburn freshman Mitch Worcester scored 32 points to lead Washburn, while Connor Fitzpatrick had 11 points.
Cody Robinson tallied 19 points for the Warriors, with Dakota Sleeper adding 18 points and Pat Goodall 10 points.
 Presque Isle 61, Houlton 26 — The Shires trailed the Wildcats 29-13 at intermission last Thursday night in the Star City. In the second half, the Shires were overwhelmed, 32-13.
Micah Goetsch led Houlton with 10 points.
Houlton coach Mike Fogarty said that after a decent start, the Wildcat pressure wore down his team, which played its fifth consecutive game without the services of injured starting point guard Jordan Bragan.
“We did a decent job controlling the ball in the first quarter and we were successful with that tempo,” Fogarty said. “We then struggled. PI is a very athletic team, and that allows [them] to be aggressive on the defensive end. We weren’t able to handle their pressure.”
Houlton turned the ball over 20 times in the first half, according to Fogarty.
In the junior varsity game, Presque Isle won, 58-30
Woodland 64, East Grand 32 — Last Wednesday, the Vikings were overpowered by host Woodland.
The Vikings trailed 39-17 at halftime and 48-25 after the third.
Seth Cropley led the Vikings with 14 point and Andrew Gilman scored 13.
 GHCA 59, Ashland 58 — Last Wednesday at Ashland, Zach Straubel hit the winning shot with two seconds left to lift the GHCA Eagles to the win.
Duff led the Eagles with 19 points while Wiley chipped in 14.
The Eagles had trailed at halftime, 33-27 and by one at the end of the third, 45-44.
Hodgdon 57, East Grand 40 — The Hawks built a 31-17 halftime cushion over host East Grand last Wednesday, as Chris Williams scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and Daniel McGillicuddy added 10 of his 14 points in first-half action.
Seth Cropley hit for 19 points and Abe Brittain connected for 18 for East Grand.
Girls wrap up
 Searsport 33, Katahdin 32— On Monday, it came down to the free throw line, as Searsport’s Olivia Quigley dropped in two free throws with 30 seconds left to take the win.
Searsport went up 7-3 to close out the first, but Katahdin held the upper hand at halftime, 20-13. The Lady Cougars stayed in charge through three, 28-19, but in the final period, Searsport outscored them, 14-4 to take the win.
Katahdin’s Olivia McNally tossed in 26 points.
 Stearns 30, Houlton 29 — In Millinocket on Monday, the low-scoring affair had both teams leading at the end of the quarters, as Houlton was ahead 14-12 at halftime and Stearns on top after the third, 22-19.
The win came down to the wire, as Stearns’ Kirsten Marter hit a 12-foot jumper with 31 seconds left.
Vanessa Sanderson led Houlton with 20 points and Martha McPartland chipped in with five.
In the junior varsity game, Stearns came out the winner, 35-28.
CAHS 40, SACS 31 — On Monday in Mars Hill, it was the battle of the number-one and number-two Class D girls’ teams. The Lady Panthers led at the end of each quarter, but not by much, 6-5; 17-12 and 21-18. It was in the final period that the Lady Panthers outscored Southern Aroostook 19-13 to secure the win.
Vicki McIntyre led CAHS with 13 points, while Brianna Hartin added 12 points.
Liz Goodall paced SACS with nine points and Evangeline Goodall added five and Lauren McGary, Kaitlyn Sommers, Rochelle Nadeau and Jasmine Rockwell, all added four points.
In the opening game, SACS pulled out a 31-27 victory.
    Central Aroostook 38, Hodgdon 20 — Last Friday, the Hodgdon girls fell behind 19-8 at halftime to host Central Aroostook and 26-18 after three before being outscored, 12-2 in the final period.
Jillian London led Hodgdon with six points.
In the prelim game, Hodgdon routed Mars Hill, 42-8.
 Madawaska 45, GHCA 27 — The Lady Eagles played a close first half last Friday against host Madawaska, trailing 19-16 at halftime. But, the Owls closed out the third on a 20-0 run, as GHCA fell beind, 39-20.
Mariah Wiley’s game-high 15 points paced the Eagles.
 Southern Aroostook 79, Easton 40 — Last Thursday, the Lady Warriors overpowered visiting Easton behind Liz Goodall and Jasmine Rockwell’s 15 points each.
The Lady Warriors led 13-5 to start the game, but L. Goodall’s 10 points sparked a 31-point second period to bury the Bears.
Sommers added 14 points, while E. Goodall, recently returned from an injury, chipped in with 10 more for the winners.
In junior varsity action, the Southern Aroostook team won, 39-25.
 Calais 59, Houlton 55 (OT) — Last Friday, the Lady Shires gave it their all, coming up short in overtime to visiting Calais.
The Blue Devils opened the game ahead, 21-11, but the Lady Shires closed the scoring gap at intermission, 30-24. In the second half, Houlton knotted the game at 35-all and with the game tied 47-all forced an overtime.
Houlton senior Vanessa Sanderson was phenomenal, pouring in a season-high 30 points and adding four assists. Martha McPartland posted 10 points and five assists.
In the opening game, Calais won 52-45.
 Hodgdon 55, East Grand 31 — At Danforth, the Lady Hawks grabbed a 29-16 halftime led and built a 40-21 third-period advantage en route to the win.
Whitney Wallace led a balanced Hodgdon attack with eight points, while Chelsea Sloat and London each added seven. Brittany Davies finished with six and Haley Quint five.
Kim Armstrong netted 11 points for East Grand.
   Woodland 59, East Grand 15 – Last Wednesday, the Lady Vikings were smothered by host Woodland. The Dragons held a dominating 33-6 halftime lead and 49-12 third-period margin.
Shaunna Beaudoin scored seven points for East Grand.
 Presque Isle 43, Houlton 37 — Hosting Houlton Wednesday, the Wildcats dodged yet another bullet as the visiting Lady Shiretowners took Presque Isle to the wire. Presque Isle hung on for the 43-37 victory.
Houlton’s Marina Cameron led all players with 14 points, while teammate Vanessa Sanderson added nine
“We came into this game with absolutely no pressure,” Houlton coach Shawn Graham said. “They [Presque Isle] are the ones with the undefeated record and No. 1 in Class B, so we figured we would give it our best shot.”
Houlton opened the game red-hot jumping to a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes of play as Fogarty drained two jumpers and Sanderson added an offensive put-back. Presque Isle’s Johnston drilled a 3-pointer and Kofstad added an offensive put-back to give Presque Isle a 7-6 lead with 5:29 to play.
Presque Isle led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, and increased that lead to 22-12 with an 8-0 run to open the second frame. But Houlton clawed its way back into the game with a 9-2 run of its own to end the half trailing 24-21.
The Lady Shires refused to go away and surged back ahead in the third quarter, taking a brief 27-24 lead with 3:43 to play when Sanderson converted a layup off a steal. The Wildcats scratched their way back on top 28-27 on a pair of free throws and would not give up its lead.
In the fourth quarter, Houlton cut the lead to 40-37, but a couple of missed free throws came back to haunt Houlton.
In the prelim game, Presque Isle won, 51-32.
 GHCA 39, Ashland 31 — The visiting Lady Eagles trailed through three periods, 11-6; 20-18 and 25-24 before mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter of play last Wednesday.
Mariah Wiley scored 12 of her game-high 25 points, as the Lady Eagles outscored Ashland, 15-6 in the fourth quarter on their way to victory. McKenzie McGuire added eight for the winners.
Southern Aroostook 55, Hodgdon 39 — Last Wednesday in Dyer Brook, the Lady Warriors more than doubled Hodgdon in the first quarter, 19-8 and held a 36-25 halftime lead and a 45-32 third-quarter advantage.
L. Goodall scored 19 points, with Sommers adding 10 more for the winners.
Hodgdon’s London scored 10 points, while Sloat and Quint each scored seven points.
In the opening game, the Hodgdon jayvees won, 33-22.
 CAHS 45, Katahdin 18 — Last Wednesday, the Lady Cougars fell behind host Central Aroostook, 14-5 at halftime and were outscored 13-4 in the third.
Melissa Duffy led the way for Katahdin with eight points.